RAW HONEY: Antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial...?

December 1, 2008

I broke down and bought some manuka honey last month, but haven't really taken

too

much of it -- maybe a half-teaspoon every few days -- as there's so much

confusing

information online, especially if one has a fungal or yeast infection.

But I found several studies -- the first one a review of studies:

....which states among other things:

" The numerous reports of the antimicrobial activities of honey have been

comprehensively

reviewed6. Honey has been found in some instances by some workers to possess

antibacterial activities where antibiotics were ineffective4,5. Pure honey has

been shown to

be bactericidal to many pathogenic microorganisms including Salmonella spp,

Shigella

spp; other enteropthogens like Escherichia coli,Vibrio cholerae and other Gram

negative

and Gram positive organisms6,7. "

BUT, then this part I found completely baffling:

" It is also important that honeys for use as an antimicrobial agent be stored at

low

temperature and not exposed to light, so that none of the glucose oxidase

activity is lost

although all honey will stop the growth of bacteria because of its high sugar

content. "

Isn't sugar a bad thing, or does it depend on the type or quality of the

'sugar'?

Has anyone used raw honey like manuka? What did you use it for, and how did it

help?

Finally, two more studies:

Would love to hear your feedback/thoughts/experiences!

Dan

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