BEE NEWS & HEALTH TIPS
New Article: Can honey really be used as food for people living
with HIV/AIDS?
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Diabetes & Honey
One way to effectively combat diabetes is to restock the liver prior
to sleep (and natural honey is the gold standard food for this). Much
modern diabetes type 2 is caused by poor quality sleep.
Mike McInnes
Edinburgh, Scotland
+ 44 131 622 5101
Ronald Fessenden, MD, MPH
www.worldclassemprise.com
Co-chairman Committee for the Promotion of Honey and Health, Inc
www.prohoneyandhealth.com
Honey - The Modern Wound Healer -
(Courtesy Wounds UK Publishing)
Honey: an easy-to-use bioactive dressing that provides a moist healing
environment, with the advantage of having within a single product a
range of actions: debriding (the removal of dead, damaged or infected
tissue from a wound in order to expose healthy tissue and allow the
wound to heal), deodorizing, antibacterial, growth-promoting, anti-inflammatory,
and scar minimizing.
The Nutritional Value of Honey
Raw unfiltered honey is the key to ultimate nutrition.
Honey is an instant energy-building food containing all the essential
minerals necessary for life, all of the B complex group, amino acids,
enzymes, and other vital factors. Honey is virtually free of bacteria.
Raw honey contains up to 80 different substances
important to human nutrition. Besides glucose and fructose, honey
contains: all of the B-complex, A, C, D, E, and K minerals and trace
elements: magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, calcium, chlorine,
potassium, iodine, sodium, copper, and manganese. The live enzyme
content of honey is one of the highest of all foods. Honey also contains
hormones as well as antimicrobial and antibacterial factors.
Simple Common Honey Uses & Recipes:
- In one's morning and evening tea and/or coffee
- On toast and crumpets, scones and croissants
- Topping one's pancakes and waffles
- Mixed in yogurt
- Over ice cream and berries
- Baste one's turkey, ham or chicken - both inside
and outside
- Slathered over a soon to be roasted lamb - add rosemary and /oregano
- Pan fried vegetables or stir fried meats - a spoonful
livens up the flavors
- A dash added to the lasagna meat or spaghetti
sauce - gives a hint of something 'special'
- Dripped over a vegetable entree
- Used as a 'natural sweetener' instead of sugar - baking etc.
- Drip over a spicy curry dish to smooth and give a sweet/hot taste
- Apples dipped
- Peanut butter and honey on toast or stuffed inside a croissant
- Fried bananas laced with rum and honey
- In a 'Hot Toddy' or Daiquiri
- Put on a burn, an abrasion, scratch or blemish and the inherent qualities
of honey begin to work their magic...
Substituting Honey for Sugar
Printed from COOKS.COM
Honey has been a favorite sweetener since prehistoric times and still
has advantages over sugar even today. Honey is composted of two simple
sugars, glucose and fructose, honey is absorbed in a different manner
and therefore causes a slower, more gradual rise in blood sugar. Because
honey has a slightly higher percentage of fructose than sugar, it tastes
sweeter, and less is required for equal sweetness. Remember that honey
does contain calories.
The flavor, aroma and color of honey vary with the kind of flowers
from which the bees gather the nectar used to make the honey. The fructose
gives honey its sweet flavor, and the nectar adds the characteristic
taste of the floral source to your recipes. Honey can easily be substituted
for sugar as shown with the common recipe favorites. Due to honey's
ability to retain water, products made with honey tend to remain moister
longer than similar products made with sugar or other sweeteners. Some
minor adjustments may need to be made to a recipe when substituting
honey for sugar:
- Use equal amounts of honey for sugar up to one cup. Over one cup,
replace each cup of sugar with 2/3 to 3/4 cup over honey depending
upon the sweetness desired.
- Lower the baking temperature 25 degrees and watch your time carefully
since products with honey brown faster.
- In recipes using more than one cup honey for sugar, it may be necessary
to reduce liquids by 1/4 cup per cup of honey.
- In baked goods, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of honey
if baking soda is not already included in the recipe. This will reduce
the acidity of the honey, as well as increase the volume of your
product. Moisten a measuring spoon or cup first with water, oil,
or an egg before measuring the honey to prevent it from sticking
to the measuring utensil. Honey is heavy by weight. A 12-ounce jar
equals one standard 8-ounce cup. A quart weighs 3 pounds.
Cinnamon & Honey
SOURCE: Weekly World News, a Canadian magazine, issue
dated 17 January, 1995
(Bet the drug companies won't like this one getting around.)
Facts on honey and cinnamon: It is found that a mixture
of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of
the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a "Ram
Ban" (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can
be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.
Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right
dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News,
a magazine in Canada, in its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following
list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western
scientists:
HEART DISEASES:
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and
jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in
the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already
had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the
next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and
strengthens the heartbeat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes
have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries
and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize
the arteries and veins.
ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water
with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken
regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research
conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors
treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon
Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the
200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain,
and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around
because of arthritis started walking without pain.
BLADDER INFECTIONS:
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass
of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.
TOOTHACHE:
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and
apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until
the tooth stops aching.
CHOLESTEROL:
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces
of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the level of
cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for
arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According
to information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily
relieves complaints of cholesterol.
COLDS:
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm
honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.
UPSET STOMACH:
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers
from the root.
GAS:
According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that if honey
is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.
IMMUNE SYSTEM:
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects
the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey
has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens
the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.
INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves
acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.
INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient that
kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.
LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages
of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and
three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to
four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life
spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of
a 20-year-old.
PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this
paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If
done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.
SKIN INFECTIONS:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures
eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.
WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at
night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If
taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also,
drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body
even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.
CANCER:
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of
the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from
these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon
of cinnamon powder for one month, three times a day.
FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather
than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take
honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr.
Milton, who has done research, says that a half-tablespoon of honey taken in
a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing
and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when the vitality of the body starts
to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.
BAD BREATH:
People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon
of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh
throughout the day.
HEARING LOSS:
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore
hearing.
Remember when we were kids? We had toast with real butter and cinnamon
sprinkled on it!
Can honey really be used as food for people living with HIV/AIDS?
Bee Products : Salutary Food Supplements for PLWHA
Tunde Fabunmi
Lagos, Nigeria.
In many studies that have been done, it is found that HIV infected persons
are deficient in several nutrients including antioxidants, B vitamins,
proteins and calories (Alice Ojwang 2003) Yet of all foods, beehive products
have the cutting edge of being the richest sources of all known
micronutrients essential for healthy living. as food supplements, honey,
pollen can help bring the organ systems and biochemical
reservoirs of the body to their maximum capacity, which in turn provides the
most efficient and effective defense mechanism against infections. Products
of the beehive contain all the nutritional factors and other biologically
active substances to help human body function at its maximum capacity.
(Robert L. 1997).
Honey: This life-gate diet is vital to the survival and well being of
mankind including PLWHA. Honey is rich in micronutrients including minerals,
vitamins, hormones, enzymes, organic acids and antioxidants. The minerals in
honey include zinc and selenium, which play a key role in preventing the
spread viral infection. The factor of stress in HIV/AIDS infection has
always been overlooked, yet an infection that is tantamount to "death
sentence" like HIV/AIDS cannot but burden the mind of the victims, thus
making their body vulnerable to cocktail of infections.
Such development further suppresses the immunity because emotional stress is
a major factor in weakening the immune system and allowing infection to occur.
Research study has demonstrated that mind and matter are connected at least as
far as our body immune system is concerned. (Robert L. 1997). This is because
the stress hormones require vitamin C for their synthesis and this reduces vitamin
C levels in the body below what is
necessary for the white blood (immune) cells to work properly.
But honey is rich in vitamin C (ascorbic acid); which is vital to the revival
of immune system being an antibiotic vitamin and detoxifying agent 100 grams
of honey contain 0.50 mg of vitamin C. The other vital nutrients that can effectively
stem the negative effects of stress are also found in honey.
These are amino acids, potassium, B vitamins, thiamine and magnesium. In
most cases too, malnutrition is the precursor for HIV in infection, which may
develop into full-blown AIDS as the viruses replicate in the cells. Yet, in redressing
malnutrition, no drug or food can equal honey. HIV/AIDS infection also causes
nutritional absorption problem and this may deprive PLWHA of vital nutrients,
thus further exposing them to flurry of infections.
But honey contains live enzymes, which are important to the internal actions
of many systems of the body. The enzymes in honey include glucose oxidase,
invertase, diastase (amylase) catalase and acid phosphate, which help predigest
our foods, lessen the work of digestive organs and relieve the stress on the
digestive glands.
Honey also has pH Balancing System (PHBS) to help digestion and absorption
of nutrients in our foods. PLWHA are prone to fatigue, which renders them
unproductive and scientists also agree that reduced energy intake is the
most important determinant of weight loss in HIV associated wasting
(Macallan et al 1995).
But such condition can be countered with carbohydrate
rich food like honey to provide energy requirement of the body. Honey is 85
per cent mainly pre-digested carbohydrate, which has proved to be the best
source of quick and concentrated energy. The rapid assimilation of invert
sugars which honey contains makes it a desirable source of quick energy, and
a practical food for PLWHA. Studies actually confirmed that the unique
mixture of sugars in honey work best in preventing fatigue.
PLWHA are also
vulnerable to diarrhea that can cause life-threatening dehydration and deficiency
of enzymes necessary to digest lactose (Taylor et al 2000). But clinical records
indicated that honey is as effective as glucose in achieving re-hydration.
(Peter M. 2001) PLWHA need low fat diet, which further makes honey critical
to their well-being because chemical analysis of the product shows that it
neither contains fat nor cholesterol.
Sleep is also essential to the welfare of PLWHA because its deprivation
affects the production of white blood cells and the hormone cortisol, making
a person more prone to infections and circulatory diseases. During sleep the
body does most of its repair work and muscle tissue is rebuilt and restored,
while hormones are also produced to carry out running repairs and boost the
immune system. Yet, nothing promotes sound sleep better than honey, because
it contains calcium, which relaxes the nerves and muscles and amino acid
tryptophan that increases the levels of neurotransmitter serotonin, a sort
of sedative in the brain. Moreover, honey can also be blended with other
natural products like lemons and carrot juices to ensure optimal health for
PLWHA more so that (Roger et al 2002) reported an effective use of lemon
juice as killer agent for HIV/AIDS virus.
TIP: It might be wise to carry a penny in your
pocket while working in the yard......... BEE STINGS! The copper in
the penny counteracts the sting.
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