Honey Helps Treat Allergies, Promotes Oral Health

Why Honey's as Healthy as Spinach
By Althea Chang, Main Street, 6/5/2009

…The honey in your barbecue sauce is more than just delicious. It’s great for your health, with benefits including protection against allergies and better oral health. At least that’s what some clinical data (and beekeepers) suggest…

Increasing your regular dose of honey and cutting your daily dose of sugar, or switching to other types of honey, like raw or imported honey, can mean paying more, but it may pay off by boosting your health.

“The general rule is the darker the better” when it comes to health benefits, especially in terms of antioxidant levels, says Engeseth. Buckwheat honey, a dark, rich and heavy scented honey that’s great for barbecue sauce, is one of the healthiest types you can get, but you may have to go to Whole Foods (Stock Quote: WFMI) or a specialty foods store to find it.

Manuka honey from the manuka bush in New Zealand is another type of dark honey, and it’s shown to have strong healing properties. It costs about $19 for a 17.5 ounce jar.

When you're looking more locally, you'll likely find both your average processed honey, which has been heated and filtered, and raw honey, which is unfiltered and sometimes contains a little extra bee pollen...

Honey Health Benefit No. 1: Treating Colds and Allergies

When allergy season hits, locally-produced raw honey may be an effective treatment, says Dr. William G. Peterson, an allergist from Ada, Okla.

“It must be raw honey,” he says. “Because raw honey contains all the pollen, dust and molds that cause 90% of all allergies. What happens is that the patient builds up an immunity to the pollen, dust or mold that is causing his or her trouble in the first place.”

Local honey works best, according to Peterson, because it contains pollen from the same local grass and trees that are making you sneeze…

Honey Health Benefit No. 2: A Healthier Smile

Yes, honey packs a lot of sugar, but some scientists believe it can improve your oral health.

We’re not saying you should replace your tube of toothpaste with a honey bear bottle, but studies have shown that the anti-microbial properties of manuka honey, thanks to enzymes, can help clear bacteria from infected wounds and can be used to treat gum disease and gingivitis…

Honey Health Benefit No. 3: The Same Antioxidant Level as Spinach?

Honey contains the same level of antioxidants as spinach and strawberries, according to Engeseth's research.

The antioxidants in a gram of honey equal the antioxidants in a gram of fruit, Engeseth says. One person would never consume that much honey, but “if you’re going to use sugar, you might consider using honey instead,” Engeseth says…