Lately, it has been very cold outside due to the winter season and unfortunately I became sick. Normally back home my dad would always tell me to drink some lime juice and honey which is an ultime Jamaican remedy that has been passed down from generation to generation. My father is absolutely anti-hospital and always referred to natural ways to battling any kind of sickness including my colds. While I was sick I would drink my fathers lime juice and honey mixture and shortly after would be completely normal again after just a few days. I would always wonder, what is it in that mixture that makes me heal from my sick so fast. As I do some research of my own, I began to see that honey is in fact, "The World's Sweetest Antibiotic."
In one of my articles I found a combination of five different components that honey is made from that assist in killing bacteria.
- Hydrogen peroxide (Bleach): The honey enzyme called glucose oxidase makes hydrogen peroxide when honey is diluted with water. An example would be toilet cleaners that we clean toilets with and they're pretty good at killing bacteria.
- Sugar: Honey has alot of sugar, making it hard for water to be present and as a result, prevents bacteria to grow.
- Methylglyoxal (Antibacterial Compound): It’s also found in medical grade honey which is made in controlled greenhouses.
- Bee defensin 1(Protein): This has been identified in honey, and it works as an antibiotic.
- Acid: Diluted honey has a pH of around 3.5 so the acidic environment slows down bacterial growth.
In the second article I found the breakdown results of two different types of honeys that worked significantly better than an antibiotic against MSSA and MRSA.
Results
- Sidr honey was 63% effective in killing MSSA.
- Sidr honey was 73% effective in killing MRSA.
- Sidr honey was 91% effective in killing PA.
- Manuka honey was 63% effective in killing MRSA.
- Manuka honey was 91% effective in killing PA.
 |
| The latest study, by Dr Sarah Maddocks, has found manuka honey is effective against the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes, which can make wounds hard to treat |
Sources:
