Honey as a Medicine #2 - Quality and Composition of a good Honey
In this series, we have been reading a lot about the medicinal aspects of Honey. We discussed about different types of honey in my previous article. Though honey holds a very good reputation in solving many health issues, it is important that we choose the right Honey. Consumption of a contaminated honey can lead to lots of harmful effects and energy imbalances in the body. This article will detail you on how to identify a high quality honey, harmful effects of consuming contaminated honey and Composition of a good Honey.
Everyone is concerned about longevity without any health issues. What if I tell you Honey can help you with that thought. Yes, it is true. Many people all over the world especially people from village areas acknowledge this statement. But this isn't just a statement, if you would like to enjoy the healthy aspects from a honey, purity is very important. Contaminated honey can even create any type of danger to health.
How to Identify a high quality honey
Purity of honey is very important not only for direct consumption but to prepare other medicines as well. Impure or contaminated honey when combined with other medicines can also create harmful effects. Before you buy a honey there are few things you can do to test or experiment the purity of the honey.
Odor Test - This is the first test a person usually do for any food product. The same applies to Honey as well. A good honey usually gives a very good smell. Some contaminated honey when mixed with moisture or other impurities can give a bad smell. This stinky smell can help in identifying the quality of honey.
Color Test - Honey is usually glassy yellow transparent in color. The color of honey is usually dependent on the location from which the honey is extracted or the type of honey. There are some honey dark in color but still pure. Honey from certain mountain regions are even black in color.
Thumb Test - When honey is dropped in your thumb finger, the honey should not run away or spread. It should stay intact like a pearl. If you find it flowing out of your thumb, that honey can be contaminated. Honey is a liquid with high viscosity. So, it should also give you a sticky feeling in hand.
Tissue Paper Test - Honey when poured on a tissue paper, should not be absorbed by the issue paper. If it is immediately absorbed then it can be a contaminated honey.
Dog Test - Pure honey is not licked by dogs. Pour a drop of honey and give to dog. If dog licks the honey, it is not pure. If dog smells and walks away it is pure honey.
Water Test - Honey is not easily solvable in water. Take a glass of water and pour few drops of honey in the center. If honey gets settled at the bottom without dissolving, then it can be determined as a pure honey.
We have to be very careful when purchasing honey. There are some sellers who mix sugar water along with honey and sell it as pure honey just for profit. Such type of contaminated honey can create harmful effects when consumed. Such contaminated honey will look exactly like pure honey but it will fail the above tests.
Harmful effects of consuming contaminated honey
Ancient Indian scriptures describes about the harmful effects of consuming contaminated honey. The great scholars in these scriptures insists not to use both fresh as well as old honey. A honey after extraction, when kept for so many days without using can become a contaminated honey. It will give you a sour taste when consumed. Some of the harmful effects are as follows:
- Air energy in the body (Vaata) will be disturbed when contaminated honey is consumed.
- Growth of internal organs will be affected. This damage to internal organs may not be visible but on a long run we will be able to easily identify this problem surfacing.
- Contaminated honey consumption can also lead to chronic symptoms.
- Some honey which smell bad and taste bad when consumed can show immediate effects like vomiting and headache. It will even cause dehydration.
- Some old contaminated honey will have properties of alcohol and can sometimes take you high. Compared to alcohol getting high by these contaminated honey can be very dangerous. Continuous consumption of contaminated honey which can be a food toxin can also lead to thiamine deficiency in the body which usually happens in 80 percent of alcoholics.This will directly affect cerebellum region of the brain which is responsible for mobility and other functions of the body.
Contaminated honey is also not suitable in preparing other medicines by having it as one of the active ingredient. The medicinal properties will be disturbed and it can even provide negative results.
Composition of a good Honey
In Indian scriptures honey has been given a very high value. When used properly honey is capable of curing any type of disease or illness. Choosing a proper honey and prescribed quantity is important. The composition of honey can even vary from one honey type to another. The composition can only be estimated. We will not be able to identify the exact composition of honey as it varies. In an ideal scenario honey consists of the below composition
Honey consists of all the health components a person needs. The composition consists of carbohydrates being the major portion such as fructose, sucrose, maltose, glucose, kojibiose, isomaltose, turanose and maltulose. There are also other proteins and amino acids present in honey with different types of enzymes. The most abundant amino acid present in honey is proline. For people who have vitamin and mineral deficiency, honey can be a treat as it contains many major vitamins such as riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin C etc. There are also many minerals present in honey such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, chromium, potassium etc. Next to minerals and vitamins there are also antioxidants in honey. When honey is darker in color, it will usually be rich in antioxidants. Color and composition of the honey is determined by the type of honey. These composition are a natural formation thus making honey the most effective medicine of all.
References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3153292/
Disclaimer: This article details only a high level of information about honey and medicinal aspects of honey. Direct consumption of honey without knowing the quantity or effects is not recommended. Please consult a medical practitioner before you start using honey as a medicine.
In this series:
Honey as a Medicine #1 – Introduction to Honey and Types of Honey
Amazing information. @bala41288
Some studies have revealed that a certain type of honey, called "Manuka honey," may even be effective for the treatment of MRSA infections.
Thanks for sharing such informative article.
Keep sharing.
Thanks for the nice information.
I saw this honey in Costco - it was insanely costly.
The main picture of the honey is amazing .
Really like this post as i like honey!
Thank you very much for sharing!
Wonderful thing.
I heard something like honey will never get contaminated even after 3000years..Is that not reliable?
I don't think that is true. Ancient scriptures say we should not be using fresh as well as old honey. Both are not good for health.
Leave ancient scriptures aside..most of them are irrational and mere myths...results obtained from scientific experiments that matters!
After all one century's magic is another century's science. We cannot leave ancient scriptures aside. I don't think our ancients were idiots. Not everything can be ignored as irrational and mere myths. I agree that most of the facts mentioned in scriptures are still a puzzle to modern scientists. There are still lot of things in this world beyond science and things that science is unable to answer.
Taking your point into consideration coming to this context. Do you have a scientific proof to say that honey never gets contaminated even after 3000 years?
I read it and heard it..here is something that you can go through...Even lot of quora answers are there explaining this.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Honey/Archive_1
Wikipedia is not a good source to refer to. If you have pure reference material, please share. And all the information provided matters only when honey is preserved well. I don't believe honey can last longer when exposed to air and water. It may be true that honey can last longer than other food items but not without proper preservation.
I know...Im here not to argue with you.. The reference you made to ancient sculptures seemed irrational..Let's agree to dissent(Not with the spoiling of honey)
Thanks for the dissent and thanks for your un-vote. :) And by the way, I didn't make reference to any ancient sculpture. You keep your ideology with you and I will keep my ideology with me. Thanks for stopping by. :-)
@bala41288 - what @sathyasankar said is correct as sugar concentrate by virtue of being that is kind of immune to bacteria/enzymes which ultimately cause things to go bad. So Honey can virtually remain edible even after long period of time.
However - Just because something is edible does not necessarily mean that it is palatable by a human.
Also @sathyasankar- please find some link to reference stuff from our old scriptures -
http://healthywithhoney.com/honey-in-history-ancient-india/
Hope this puts the conversation to rest once and for all.
this one goes to @bala41288
@originalworks
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Q: Why did the bee get married? A: Because he found his honey :D
Nice and informative post big upvote
LOL, Kya yaar itna serious post ke end me comedy insert kar di. hahaha.
Comedy hone tho, it brings good smile in the faces of people who complete reading the big article. Thanks @mrpirated. :)
@Hi bala41288 ; This is the first post that I read of your and I find it very interesting. Especially, when I am looking for pure honey (You know that trick that honey with warm water helps you control your weight) I don't whether it works or not, I am going to try it. But here is my question in cities we can't get such honey. The jars of honey here are usually processed one. Would you recommend that?
Thanks for reading the post @inuke. Agreed that we usually get some processed honey. These processors are even better than the actual bees making it look exactly like honey. If you have friends in village areas or hill stations, you can ask them to get you honey. Khadi craft is a good place where you can get pure honey.
Thanks, Friend.
Calling friends in Trineulveli :>)