Honey
Honey is one of the highest ingredients of Ayurveda. It is described in Ayurveda as "food of the Gods". Taking it regularly is supposed to promote health and longevity.

It is used both as food and medicine. Nearly all herbs are prescribed with it. It is supposed to facilitate the entry of the medicinal elements of the herbs into the cells. In fact, honey is thoroughly respected in all cultures of the world.

Gift of the plants: Honey is probably the greatest gift of the plant world to us. One typical tablespoon of raw honey (20g) could provide 61 calories, 0.1g of protein, 16.5g of carbohydrates, slightly over the 1mg calcium, phosphorous and sodium, along with 10mg of potassium, 0.6mg magnesium, as well a trace amounts of iron, zinc, copper, vitamin C, vitamin B-2, vitamin B-3, vitamin B-6, panthothenic acid, folic acid and a slew of anzymes - quite a wallop!

Modern research seems to show that honey has antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties, indirectly arising from the high content of natural sugars that pull water out of micro-organisms and killing them.

We know that only plants can digest minerals. It is interesting to note that the minerals in honey are in a colloidal state - the state in which minerals are absorbed, transported and stored in the body.

Thus, the absorption can be up to be up to 98%. This compares very well with chelated minerals (30 to 40% absorption) and metallic minerals (3 to 8&). The B group of vitamins are those involved in metabolism and give you that energy boost.

Little do we realise that the leaf in the most sophisticated factory in the world. In the presence of sunlight, it performs a miracle. It is somehow able to trap the energy of the sun and create food, spice, medicinal herbs, aromatics flavours, pigments, gums, resins and colloidal minerals.

Perhaps the richest creation is kept in the best part of the plant, in the flower, as nectar. This nectar is a rich collection of the plant produce. It is meant to feed the seed which is intended for propagation of species.

Process: The foraging worker bees suck this nectar and store it in their honey sacs. Back in the hive, these foraging bees regurgitate nectar into six sided cells. Then, the worker bees take over. They ingest and regurgitate this nectar, turning the nectar into honey by concentrating the sugars and elminating water. It also adds a slew of enzymes that make the honey both rich and unique.

The buzz of bees wings in the hive, creates motion that further evaporates and concentrates the honey. Wax-making bees in the hive then seal each hive until the honey is needed to feed the bees.

Some medical benefits: Honey can be used in variety conditions to aid healing:

Gastric problems: There is a wonderfully simple yet effective remedy for gastric problems that involves potato juice.

Blend about half a kilo of potatoes. Extract the juice. Mix this with one teaspoon of honey. This should be taken for six consecutive nights just before retiring.

Stomach upsets: Crush a piece of ginger about the size of your thumb. Pour boiling water. Allow it to stand for 15 minutes. Add a teaspoon of honey. Sip slowly. This remedy settles an upset stomach and releases gas. It also aid digestion by stroking the digestive fire which is called agni in Ayurveda.

Heart burn: Add two teaspoon of ghee and one teaspoon of honey to a glass of warm milk. Take this an hour before bedtime. Repeat for three consecutive nights.

Cough: Honey and garlic make an excellent cough mixture that has no side effects. Crush a handful of garlic. Put it into a container. Pour in about 400g of honey. Seal in the container. Allow this to stand by a sunlit window until the mixture has turned somewhat opague (this could take three weeks). By this time, all the garlic flavour would be transferred to the honey. This makes an ideal cough syrup for kids and adults.

Take a teaspoon every few hours or whenever necessary. Keep in mind that the mixture is very concentrated - one teaspoon can pack the powderful wallop of several cloves of garlic. Honey garlic also soothes a sore throat.

Common cold: Regular sips of lime juice sweetened by honey can be very helpful especially in warding off a common cold.

Sore throat: Here is a great remedy for a sore throat. Combine four or five leaves of selasih or basil (ocimum sanctum) that has been pounded in two cups of boiling water. Cool the mixture. Add a teaspoon of pure lime juice. Add one tablespoon of honey. Sip a teaspoon every 30 minutes.

Another excellent remedy for sore throats is using the rind of citrus fruits, for example an orange or lemon. Cut the rind into small pieces. Dry in the sun. Soak this in honey. When you feel a sore throat coming on, just slowly suck on this honey dipped dried rinds of the fruit.

Burns: Pure honey should applied as quickly as possible to burns. This speeds healing and prevents infection. There has been some amazing work done by Chinese physicians in this area that has won grudging recognition from the American Burns Association.

Obesity: Taking one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar with one teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm water every morning has been documented to help weigh loss.

Purity: The key thing about honey is purity. Heating will destroy all enzymes. Processing will leach the nutrients. Mixing with water make the honey a potent ground for bacterial growth.

Mixing with sugar (as it is often done) renders honey almost useless, medicinally. Mixed honey does not store well.

Here are some tests of purity:

Cooking of the yolk: Take the yolk of an egg. You must remove the egg white. Add one tablespoon of honey (more will be needed if the yolk is big). Swirl the honey slowly. The yolk will be cooked. Yes! You have to see it to believe it!

It is probably caused by the rich slew of enzymes. As a result of the process, the honey will ge a custardlike consistency. The yolk will assume a more yellow colour. The smell of the yolk will be reduced. This happens within three minutes. The degree of cooking increases with time. This may be consumed directly and is powerful nutrition.

Inversion test: Invert the bottle. Pure honey will fall forming unbroken and swirling thread because of the high specific gravity. Adding water or sugar will foil this natural process.

Honey Types: There are two types of honey - cultivated and pure. Cultivated honey is very common. The bees are hurdled in stacked-up hives. There are limited flowers within confined areas. Sometimes to increase honey output, they are even fed with sugar!

Wild honey grows in a wild setting. The bees are free to go out there and seek honey like they have done for millions of years. They seek out nectar from a rich spectrum of flowers. It is, by this very nature, "organic honey."

The honey has a richer colour, flavour and aroma. Simple analysis would reveal it to be nutritionally superior.

Wild honey is rich in acids and enzymes as is corrosive. It should never be stored in plastic (a tip when buying honey), aluminium and copper containers.

Honey Facts: