While honey has been used for centuries for it’s medicinal properties, scientists have now identified the exact property which makes it a excellent from of medicine. Defensin-1 is the name of the ingredient, and it is the active germ-killing ingredient found in honey.
Honey has great health benefits such as being anti-viral and anti-fungal, so it is great when used against infections. However due to this new finding, honey’s status has been elevated to being an important factor in treating ailments.
It is known that when applied topically, honey can kill pathogens such as MRSA and flesh eating bacteria, but more amazingly, the bacteria could not build up an immunity to it, like in the case of other antibiotics.
Honey is unique in that it fights bacteria on different levels, making harder for the bacteria to fight back. Susan M. Meschwitz, Ph.D., explains that honey uses a combination of different methods such as an osmotic effect, this is due to the high sugar content found in honey. It works by drawing water from the bacteria cells, which leaves the pathogens to dehydrate and eventually die.
Biochemist Peter Molan is familiar with honey. He has studied natural antibiotics like honey for 25 years, and says that manuka honey is the most effective antibiotic, as it can kill bacteria even when diluted down by 10 times its normal potency. He says:
“There’s more evidence, clinical evidence, by far for honey in wound treatment than for any of the pharmaceutical products. ”
Honey is also rich in vitamin A, vitamin B2 or riboflavin B3 or nicotinic acid, B5 called pantothenic acid, vitamin C, biotin and rutine. And contains minerals such as: calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, iodine, and zinc.
Honey is such a powerful anti-viral substance that it should be used first on any bacterial infection.
When buying honey make sure you always buy organic, and if you can, choose a honey grown in an area near to where you live for added potency.