WRITING a health column can have strange side-effects. Since I have also worked on a television series on the same subject, these side-effects are hugely magnified. For instance, something as innocuous as being affectionately addressed as ‘‘honey’’ not only makes me feel special but also like someone imbued with health-giving properties. Come to think of it, that’s not such a bad deal at all. Ancient Egyptian folklore indicates that honey was to the ancient Egyptian what aspirin is to modern medicine: the most popular among drugs. In ancient Egyptian medical texts dating back to 2600-2200 BC, the nectar is mentioned 500 times in 900 recipes. The ancient Greeks used it as an antiseptic, so did the Romans, the Chinese and the Germans. Hippocrates advised mixing honey and water along with other substances to treat fever. In fact, honey has also been recommended for coughs, sinus, and even insomnia.So much for folklore. Numerous scientists have described honey as a potent killer of bacteria, an antiseptic and a disinfectant. Many modern scientists have watched bacteria disintegrate when touched by honey. Surgeon and medical historian Guido Manjo has gone on to record his discovery of honey’s ability to destroy pathogenic bacteria. Dr P J Arnon, a physician in South Africa, has highlighted how physicians in developing countries routinely use honey as a disinfectant. Honey not only hastens healing and keeps the wound sterile but occasionally eliminates the need for conventional antibiotics. Of course, nobody is advocating that you dump antiseptics and opt for honey, but in an emergency, you can’t go wrong by following the ancient Egyptians.At least as relevant is the efficacy of honey in curing diarrhoea. Dr I E Hafeejee and Dr Moosa at the Department of Pediatrics in Durban treated one group of youngsters suffering from acute gastroenteritis with water mixed with sugar and another group with fluids mixed with honey. They found conclusively that honey’s anti-bacterial activity in the intestinal tract helped cure diarrhoea.Is there truth in the folk remedy that honey soothes a sore throat? Dr Robert I Henkin, Georgetown University Medical Centre, Washington, says yes. Dr R K Anand, one of India’s leading pediatricians, is quite categorical in prescribing the honey-ginger-lemon cure for coughs and colds.Finally, honey also calms one down and promotes sleep. It is metabolised like table sugar and it is a well-established fact that sugar leads to the production, in the brain, of more serotonin, a chemical that calms down brain activity, induces sleep. Experiments at MIT have confirmed this.So, remember that ancient texts and modern medicine approve, the next time you’re in the mood to huskily whisper hunne-ee.
