Honey is one of the healthiest animal products available today. It is a sweet fluid produced by honey bees that live in beehives. There is a tedious manufacturing process involved behind the production of this sweet appetizing fluid honey. Honey is an ancient household product that has been used in a number of food recipes, desserts, mock tails etc. It is a great natural sweetener that is highly nutritious and is considered better for use as compared to other sweeteners; natural as well as synthetic.
Organic Honey
Due to the widespread contamination of farmlands and harmful methods of farming in order to maximise production at cheaper rates, most countries have set up standards for producing high quality organic food products that have been grown under strict government rules. Guidelines for organic farming vary from country to country and are mainly aimed at ensuring best quality of food production which is free of contamination by any pollutant or pesticide. Regular testing of food and close monitoring of the whole process is done right from cultivation until it reaches market supply. The products that go through this stringent process are then labeled organic.
Organic honey is one such product formulated under stringent guidelines and is observed to have superior taste and nutrition quotient as compared to the ordinary varieties. Raw honey is said to contain a substantial amount of the pollens of the plant from which it is obtained. As a result, it becomes extremely harmful for people who have a weak immune system and are thus prone to allergies. Therefore, organic honey should be the preferred choice as it is free from any such allergens that are naturally present in raw honey.
How honey can be beneficial for people with allergies?
Before discussing the awesomeness of organic honey, let us first get into the depth of how honey can be beneficial for people with allergies. Honey is a natural sweetener that has a soothing effect on the body. It has great anti-inflammatory properties that make it extremely beneficial in cases of wound healing, burns, cuts and other inflammatory conditions affecting the human body. It counter balances the inflammation producing substances in the body which are secreted at the time of an allergic reaction e.g. Prostaglandins, histamines etc.
Honey is a tremendous anti-microbial, anti–inflammatory and tissue healing agent. Be it any kind of allergic reaction; seasonal, dust or pollen grain allergy, honey directly acts on the histamines produced by the body in response to an allergic reaction and neutralizes them helping the person to achieve better control over the symptoms. Realizing the importance of honey in the field of health and medicine, a proper therapeutic branch called as APITHERAPY has been formed that deals with the usage of honey as a nutritional substitute and as a therapeutic natural remedy.
Ayurveda texts have immense matter that explains why pure Honey (Organic honey available nowadays) or Madhu has a wide therapeutic spectrum in the natural treatment of many diseases. There are eight types of honey mentioned in Ayurveda namely; Bhramara, Makshika, Pauthik, Kshaudra, Chathram, Ardhyam, Oudalakam and Daalam. These are used in the treatment of various disorders according to their individual therapeutic properties. Other than this, it is also said that the properties of honey greatly vary depending upon the place of origin, the source of beehives and the flowers from which the bees collect their nectar for producing Honey. According to Ayurveda, the cause of developing an allergy is an accumulation of “Ama” or toxins in the body and a vitiated Kapha dosha. Honey has its activity against the kapha (Water body humor) dosha and also has a detoxifying action on the body. It not only expels out all the harmful toxins but also strengthens the immunity to catch any such infection.
Thus, we can say that regular use of pure honey can be a boon to the people suffering from serious allergic conditions or are simply prone to developing one. Since, purity of raw honey is questionable, it is advisable to use organically prepared honey for external as well as internal use.
Author: Dr. Vikram Chauhan MD, an expert Ayurveda consultant from Chandigarh practicing in Mohali, India.