Honey as a dietary supplement
Honey, a natural food with a long history of medicinal use, is often promoted as a dietary supplement for various health benefits. Its primary applications include the treatment of burns, wounds, and ulcers; however, honey is also explored for other potential uses such as alleviating alcohol intoxication, constipation, gingivitis, hay fever, high cholesterol, cough relief, and immune system support. Rich in fructose and glucose, honey exhibits properties that can combat microorganisms, making it effective for topical healing.
Research has suggested that honey may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and aid gastrointestinal issues, while also potentially offering anti-inflammatory benefits. Medical-grade honey, like manuka honey, has been specifically studied for its effectiveness in wound care. Although honey is generally safe for adults and children over one year, it should be avoided in infants due to the risk of botulism. While some studies support its therapeutic benefits, others have shown inconclusive results, indicating that further research is needed to fully understand honey’s health implications. Overall, honey is recognized for its antioxidant properties and may provide various health advantages when used correctly.
Honey as a dietary supplement
- DEFINITION: Natural food promoted as a dietary supplement for specific health benefits.
- PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: Burns, wounds, ulcers
- OTHER PROPOSED USES: Alcohol intoxication, constipation, gingivitis, hay fever, high cholesterol, cough suppressant, immune system support, anti-inflammatory
Overview
Honey has been appreciated as a type of food since the dawn of human history. Its medicinal use is also ancient. The Greek physician Hippocrates recommended topical application of honey for infected wounds and ulcers of the lips. Roman physicians used honey as an oral medication for constipation, diarrhea, upset stomach, sore throat, and coughs.
Uses and Applications
Honey consists largely of fructose and glucose, two related forms of sugar. Its sugar concentration is high enough to kill microorganisms in the same manner as the sugar in jams and jellies. This would appear to be the primary basis for honey’s most-studied use: as a topical application to treat or prevent infection. Medical grade honey, such as manuka honey, is often used in wound care and other medical applications.
Unlike many homeopathic treatments or supplements, honey has been subjected to scientific research. Many of these studies suggest therapeutic benefits in multiple areas. One of these is to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Honey is also believed to aid with gastrointestinal tract conditions, such as diarrhea and constipation, and neurological diseases. These include anti-depressant and antianxiety benefits. Another benefit of honey is that it is safe to consume by most adults, except those allergic to pollen.
Honey is also safe for children older than one year, although precautions must be taken to prevent its consumption by children younger than this age. Honey contains antioxidants, which are beneficial in preventing naturally occurring cell damage, which may lead to chronic health conditions. These antioxidants, along with honey's probiotics, may provide immune-system-boosting powers. Honey is also believed to spur levels of adiponectin, a hormone that decreases inflammation.
In some controlled trials, honey has shown promise for treating abscesses, diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, minor abrasions, and postoperative wound infections and preventing infections following surgery and catheter infections in people undergoing hemodialysis. Honey is also widely marketed as a substance for treating coughs. In most of these studies, honey was used not alone but with standard treatments, such as oral or topical antibiotics or surgical debridement (removal of dead tissue). However, not all studies show clear benefits. One trial found that antibacterial honey (Medihoney) did not significantly improve wound healing in 105 persons with mostly leg ulcers. The best evidence is probably for the acute treatment of minor burns, though the studies supporting this use remain inconclusive.
Sugar paste, too, has shown promise as a wound treatment. However, some evidence hints that honey may be more effective than concentrated sugar. If true, this suggests that additional, non-sugar constituents of honey provide benefits. In honey-related literature, it is often stated that honey produces hydrogen peroxide, which explains additional benefits. However, there is no evidence that honey produces sufficient hydrogen peroxide to have any meaningful effect. Another theory is that honey might stimulate healing.
Other uses of honey have also shown some promise. In one study, when participants with gum inflammation (gingivitis) regularly chewed “honey leather,” their inflammation decreased.
Honey might have a slight laxative effect when consumed orally. It might also increase the body’s ability to metabolize alcohol, thereby limiting intoxication and more rapidly reducing alcohol blood levels. One study hints that honey might improve cholesterol profiles and blood sugar levels.
It has been suggested that honey consumption can reduce symptoms of hay fever. However, the one published study designed to test this suggestion failed to find benefit. A small study of forty people suggests topical honey may help prevent the development of oral mucositis (painful inflammation of mucus membranes in the mouth) in persons having radiochemotherapy for head and neck cancer.
Dosage
When used topically to treat burns, honey is generally applied either directly to the wound in a thin coat or in the form of a honey-soaked dressing. Oral dosages of honey for medicinal purposes range from 1 to 5 tablespoons, several times daily.
Safety Issues
As a widely consumed food, honey is believed to be quite safe. However, infants younger than twelve months of age should not consume honey because of the risk of infant botulism. Honey may contain slight amounts of pollen. However, it appears that an allergy to honey is uncommon among persons allergic to pollen.
Bibliography
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Cooper, Rose. "Impact of Honey as a Topical Treatment for Wounds Remains Unclear." Evidence Based Medicine, vol. 19, no. 1, Feb. 2014, p. 11. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=94065435&site=ehost-live. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
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Glazier, Eve. "Medical-grade Honey Is Viable Tool in Wound Care." UCLA Health, 25 Aug. 2021, www.uclahealth.org/news/article/medical-grade-honey-is-viable-tool-in-wound-care. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
"Honey." Mayo Clinic, 10 Aug. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-honey/art-20363819#. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
Loria, Keith. "New Study Champions Honey to Help Wounds Heal." Dermatology Times, 3 Nov. 2022, www.dermatologytimes.com/view/new-study-champions-honey-to-help-wounds-heal. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
Okeniyi, J. A., et al. "Comparison of Healing of Incised Abscess Wounds with Honey and EUSOL Dressing." Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, vol. 11, 2005, pp. 511-513.
Robson, V., S. Dodd, and S. Thomas. "Standardized Antibacterial Honey (Medihoney) with Standard Therapy in Wound Care." Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 65, 2009, pp. 565-575.
Shoemaker, SaVanna, and Jerlyn Jones. "Everything to Know About the Health Benefits of Honey." Healthline, 12 Jan. 2024, www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-honey. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.