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Tue, 7 Aug 2007 16:49:27 -0400 |
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I appreciate the hype for different honeys in wound healing, but it
seems more an advertising ploy to sell specific honey. There are
differences, but the primary component that makes honey effective is the
enzyme glucose oxidase. It is put in honey and pollen by the bee and is
the true antibacterial agent. You get more of it the longer honey cures
mostly because of the bees adding more nectar, hence more enzyme, so
high water content nectar should give the best results. But there is a
point where you have enough and more is overkill.
Honey acts as an anti-bacterial agent in three ways. The first is as a
supersaturated sugar solution. It dessicates bacteria. Medicine uses
sugar solutions to do the same thing. The second is its acidity. The
third, and what sets it apart, is the action of glucose oxidase. It
creates gluconic acid (which is why honey is acid). When it comes in
contact with water it breaks down to hydrogen peroxide which is an
exceptional anti-bacterial agent. All the other anti-bacterial agents
are nice but the peroxide is what does the real heavy lifting.
The reason it does so well is because it allows the wound to heal from
the wound surface up and will not scar over. The hydrogen peroxide
cleans out dead tissue and kills bacteria, a one-two punch. Most all
this information has been around since the 60s, so we are not in untrod
ground. What is amazing is the lack of knowledge in the western medical
community. Honey's healing properties are well known and used in Asia.
China uses it for major burns, among other uses.
I had hand surgery a few years ago and talked the doctor into allowing
me to use honey (my own) to treat the resulting wound. He was reticent
at first, but allowed it only after the wound took its own sweet time to
heat using prescribed meds. After I applied the honey, it healed quicker
and I had greater mobility than normal for the operation. There was
almost no scarring and you would be hard pressed to see where the cuts
were made. My doctor was amazed.
After my other hand was operated on, he allowed me to use honey right
off and spoke of it to other doctors.
So my own backyard honey was as good as anything from away and did the
job well. If the glucose oxidase concentrations are low, it just means
you have to apply honey more often. Heat will make it ineffective, so it
must be raw and fresh.
Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine
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