They claimed that if a woman fed a man honey, she would
possess his heart forever.We explore some of the better proven
benefits of the natural tonic.
Two thousand years before the Romans conquered Britain, the
beneficial influence of honey on peace of mind without undermining
sexual prowess had been acknowledged in Babylon. The custom was for
the bride’s father to supply the bridal pair with enough
mead, a drink made from honey, to last a month. This custom was the
origin of the word, honeymoon.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, and other Greek and Roman
medical authorities recommended honey for its medicinal as well as
its nutritional effect. Ancient Egyptians and Arab physicans and
those in the Far East used honey in their practices and even when I
started as a GP in Norfolk, a local surgeon spurned antibiotics and
used honey to dress wounds.
Royal jelly, like honey, has an antibacterial role but it also
has another quality that has intrigued people for generations. It
is the food that is given to the bee larvae that are destined to
become queens. Three days of royal jelly and a queen bee larva
multiplies its weight 250 times. The jelly ensures that the queen
bee not only matures more quickly, is twice as large and stronger
than worker but lives for up to six years whereas the worker bee
survives for only a month or two.
The mineral elements in honey include traces of zinc, magnesium,
manganese, calcium and copper. The vitamins include B6, thiamine,
riboflavin and pantothenic acid. Pantothenic acid, sometimes known
as vitamin B5, is found in many substances but its best sources are
royal jelly and cod’s roe. There are also several
antioxidants one of which is pinocembrin that has antibacterial
powers. Honey has an anti-microbal effect against organisms
including Staphylococcus aureus, the source of many of the
resistant hospital bugs.
Why royal jelly gives the queen bee a long and productive life
when compared with the worker bee, even though there is no genetic
difference between them, has long exercised the minds of those
interested in natural remedies.
Royal jelly is rich in proteins and vitamins but its status as
the best source of pantothenic acid has given this vitamin added
interest. As Dr William Rogers, a research biochemist at the
University of Texas, wrote when discussing pantothenic acid, there
is a difference between having enough of a nutrient not to be
clinically deficient in a substance and having enough to provide
maximal health. In animals, pantothenic deficiency causes a dull
coat and premature greying. Experimental pantothenic deprivation
gives rise to an increased susceptibility to infection, peripheral
neuropathy, depression, gastrointestinal complaints, vomiting and
abdominal pain, it upsets insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance
and it affects steroid production.
Advocates of pantothenic acid and therefore royal jelly swear
that it combats general exhaustion, staves off ageing, accelerates
healing, improves the skin and stimulates sexual desire and
activity. More research is needed to support this anecdotal
evidence with scientific data, but in the meanwhile, it is a
worthwhile addition to the diet.
Honey should never be given to babies as although it
destroys many bacteria, there is one form of botulism which lives
in honey and which babies are sensitive to.
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