Honey - Good or Bad?

I've been hearing many good things about honey. How it heals many parts of you, whether ingested or used externaly. I also heard that no bacteria/germs can live in honey. I've been eating natural raw honey back when I had many stomach illnesses and it did help.

However, I also heard that honey is made of simple sugars, decays teeth faster than sugar, and contains lots of calories.

I wonder if perhaps all this negative publicity about honey is a conspiracy to prevent us from using it and relying on 'good ol' medicine' instead.

here are some links:

Honey the good

Honey the bad - Halfway down the page

Originally posted by quintar
I wonder if perhaps all this negative publicity about honey is a conspiracy to prevent us from using it and relying on 'good ol' medicine' instead.

I know that honey is bad for babies, because of the naturally occuring bacteria in it.

i thought bacteria couldnt live in honey-as said in the first post?

Babies aren't supposed to eat honey but I don't know what the reason is.I think they can have allergic reactions.

Another good point is that your locally produced honey is very good for hayfever.

Originally posted by secretlysexy
i thought bacteria couldnt live in honey-as said in the first post?

Adults, can get rid of the toxin that exists in honey. Under one year of age, babies, can not get rid of it, it turns into Botulism
"Honey can contain bacterial spores that cause Infant Botulism-a rare but very serious disease affecting the nervous system that only young babies can get. Scientists don't know why, but this disease has never been reported in a baby older than 11 months of age. More than 1000 cases have been reported since it was recognized in 1976. Over 20% of the babies who developed the disease had been fed honey."

home.earthlink.net...

It's good as a replacement for refined, white sugar whereever you can use it.

Originally posted by parrhesia
It's good as a replacement for refined, white sugar whereever you can use it.

Only raw, and if heated should be consumed immediately. As a general rule honey should not be boiled or overheated.

...Most honey sold in grocery stores is not raw. It has been filtered, and in some cases, heated to kill any bacteria that might be contained therein. Heating the honey is what renders it unhealthy for adults, and dangerous for infants. In the heating process, all the live enzymes in the honey are destroyed. It is the live enzymes and their precursors, contained in the honey, that make it such a healthy food for both adults and infants.

Why are the live enzymes in honey important? According to Dr. John McKenna, "We know that honey is antibacterial - it kills bacterial cells by drawing water out of them. In addition, the enzyme inhibine, which is found in honey, converts glucose and oxygen into hydrogen peroxide, a well-known disinfectant" (1). In fact, "honey helps replace missing enzymes for nearly all purposes throughout the entire body" (2). This is only true, however, of honey that has never been heated over about 96 degrees Fahrenheit during processing and packaging. Since enzymes power all immune system functions, unheated honey is be a powerful way to boost the immune system.

More...

It's like the super carb anti-atkins. Pure energy aka SUGAR, and getting less and less popular.

Honey coated = wasted calories.

But I like it.

Does anyone here know if solid honey is less likely to be pasteurized than liquid honey?

Like Kronos said, it must be raw and unheated.

Only in raw, unheated honey will you find the health benefits people have been touting about for centuries.

Raw, unheated honey contains several sugars. An important one is levulose which is absorbed slowly and prevents sharp blood-sugar spikes and over-secretion of insulin. Levulose is partly responsible for the sustained energy effects of honey. Such honey also contains an insulin-like compound produced by the bees. This compound converts 90% of the carbs in nectar (from flowers) into enzymes that help digest proteins. Thus, it is a great dietary supplement in aiding a weak digestive system. This honey is even safe for diabetics in *any* amount, though doctors will warn diabetics not to consume honey because they don't understand the metabolic actions of raw, unheated honey, and know only of the deleterious effects of heated honey. And for infants, it is an excellent food for them as well, but it is recommened to be given in small doses at a time. Combine raw, unheated honey with raw milk, and you have an even more superb infant food! Honey is also a good source of potassium, and is a wonderful daily health tonic when combined with raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.

Beware of honeys that only say "raw" on the label. They must also say "unheated," otherwise they have been heated to a lesser or greater degree. A good source of raw unheated honey is Really Raw Honey (do a web search).

I would say bad because the queens are now
raped!!

no kidding i'm not vegan yet but when i taste a spoon of honey , i always try to keep in mind the hours of hard work bees did to make it.

Originally posted by kalki
I would say bad because the queens are now
raped!!

I don't have any particular feelings toward the way we get our food at this point in time, but that is changing. Humans are such bastards when it comes to our selfish wants and our need to have more of everything. Including food.

From the hip,
DeltaChaos

Originally posted by quintar
I've been hearing many good things about honey. How it heals many parts of you, whether ingested or used externaly. I also heard that no bacteria/germs can live in honey. I've been eating natural raw honey back when I had many stomach illnesses and it did help.

However, I also heard that honey is made of simple sugars, decays teeth faster than sugar, and contains lots of calories.

I wonder if perhaps all this negative publicity about honey is a conspiracy to prevent us from using it and relying on 'good ol' medicine' instead.

here are some links:

Honey the good

Honey the bad - Halfway down the page

I'm not sure if it helps out any, but I know that infants cannot consume honey because their stomachs cannot ingest it.
Interesting though...

I don't know about any benefits of honey but I sure love the stuff.

u can always brush your teeth and jog to get rid of sugar and calories

Umm I always drink honey in hot water with a bit of lemon when i have a sore thoat is works wonders
so it does have its benifits!

Ist of all honey is used for an energy source, it is proved that the use of honey as an ergogenic aid & nutritionally, honey vary widely in calories, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.