Friday, August 21, 2009

Buzzzzz Buzzz Buzz went the honey bee!!!

Did you know that Honey Bees filter out environmental toxins? They die if they come into contact with toxins so they don't bring any into the hive. No toxins in the hive means pure, toxin free HONEY for us. What could be better!! Raw Honey has been a long used remedy for it's healing properties...so long that I can't just call it a Southern remedy (although I did find all this information out from a sweet Southern lady that use to keep honey bee hives...so there ya go)
Honey got its name from an ancient Hebrew meaning "enchant". It has been used for centuries as a sweetener and for it's healing powers. Treatment with honey is referred to as apitherapy and includes replenishing energy, enhancing stamina and strengthening those weakened by illness or stress. Did you know that honey can help calm the mind and promote rejuvenating sleep? It can also be used as a skin healer.....apply a thin coat to the skin to disinfect and heal minor skin irritations and chapped lips. According to my Beekeeper friend the best pure honey to buy is from keepers that you know don't feed their bees refined sugars or use harmful pesticides. If you don't know any beekeepers check your local health food store or check out Honey bee swarm removal throughout the United States, beekeepers around the Un Also, if you suffer from hay fever, honey that has been harvested locally (that's in your area) has the grains of pollen that over time may have a desensitizing effect. Now that's something all us Southerners know....you should hear all the sneezing and Bless yous and someone saying "Honey, ya better go buy some HONEY".
A note of caution when it comes to buying unpasteurized honey (unpasteurized is honey that has not been cooked...like you get from a beekeeper or the health food stores) it is recommended that children under the age of one year should not eat or be given raw honey due to the bacteria that is in it....good bacteria for older children and us adults, or bigger kids as some of us might be called.
Something my Great Grandmother Nina use to say " Raw honey is medicine and cooked honey is nothing but a sweet treat" Cooked honey is what we find in stores...granted it is good and sweet but since it has been pasteurized (cooked) it has lost all it's nutritional substances, such as antioxidants, vitamins B & C, minerals and enzymes, ones that give our old pancreas a much needed reprise.

Are you stressed? Do you need to find a way to relax? Well, pull out the honey, honey!!! Honey in hot tea is a wonderful stress reliever....just remember this one simple rule..don't add the honey until it's safe for that tea to pass those lips and go into the tummy. If the tea is to hot and you put the honey in then you just COOKED all the good benefits out. Need a bit more relaxing cause your stress is a bit more elevated, well, try a relaxing honey bath. Put 2oz of honey in a glass with 5 drops of lavender oil. If the honey is to thick, heat it by placing the glass in warm water (not HOT...just warm) Add 1 to 2 tbsp of the honey lavender mixture to your bathwater to help you relax. This will also help you sleep better....it's a great way to combat insomnia!!!!

SO the next time you get ready to swat at that tiny lil bee buzzing around, maybe you should just walk around. He might be doing his job in collecting pollen to make an old time remedy just for you.

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