Honey is a sweet substance that tastes great on top of Greek yogurt or when it’s baked into cookies, but did you know that it also has many applications in the medical world?
The history of medicinal honey can be traced back some 8,000 years, and we’re still using it today to help fight bacteria and help patients heal from different injuries.
Ancient Greeks wouldn’t just put it on their yogurt, they’d use honey to treat topical wounds and burns, and the Persians documented the health benefits of topical honey for treating skin conditions like eczema. Honey has become even more beneficial in recent years in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Studies have found the honey can disrupt biofilms that are formed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and even penetrate these biofilms to effectively eliminate the embedded bacteria. In fact, a study published in 2020 by the America Society for Microbiology found no documented cases of bacteria developing resistance to honey.
Studies have found that honey can help kill off the disruptive Heliobacter pylori bacteria that can lead to digestive issues and infections. So why is honey so effective in the fight against bacteria? Honey has a very high sugar content, making is very viscous, syrupy and able to absorb moisture. Bacteria that come in contact with honey ultimately become dehydrated and die off. Honey is also acidic, making it near impossible for bacteria to survive in honey. But that’s not all. An enzyme in honey that is derived from bees leads to the oxidation of glucose, which leads to the production of hydrogen peroxide, an effective anti-bacterial agent.
Researchers have found that certain types of honey are even more antibacterial than others, which led to a better understanding of what’s known as Manuka honey. Honey bees gather nectar from the flowers of the manuka trees, and these trees have a natural substance in them that leads to the formation of methylglyoxal, a component that is incredibly antibacterial. It’s this methylglyoxal honey (or MGO honey) that is oftentimes used in medical settings today.
Dr. Silverman Shares His Experience With Honey
A patient with diabetes had come in with a deep foot infection and I warned him and his wife that I was not sure we were going to be able to save the foot. They were immigrants from Russia, and his wife told me that they had an old remedy for infection and used honey from a health food store. To my amazement, his wound healed up rapidly. I owe these people a debt of gratitude to bringing honey to my attention. After this experience, I began looking up articles and reading the history of different types of wound care. I was fascinated with how honey was used throughout the ages in a medical setting.
We oftentimes encourage patients to use medical grade honey on their postoperative wounds. We’ve seen firsthand just how difficult it can be to effectively treat wounds on the area of your body furthest from your heart where circulation may be poor, but the added boost of medical grade honey can make a huge difference. Medical grade honey has made a great impact in my practice and in my patient’s lives.