Healing Foods: Raw Honey

Honey is mentioned many times in the scriptures, including John the baptist living off honey while living in the wilderness and Christ partaking of it after his Resurrection.  For those familiar with the Book of Mormon, God guided two different civilizations across the ocean to the promised land (North America), bringing with them honey bees to provide nourishment and healing.  All of this leads me to believe raw honey is a pretty important nutrient and healer that we should all have and partake of, not to mention how good it tastes!

First let me be clear that all of the healing benefits I will be sharing with you today do not apply to the honey bear you probably have in your kitchen cupboard or that you purchase on the grocery store shelf.  That stuff has been highly heated with additives like water or corn syrup mixed in making it anything but healing.   So what you are looking for is raw, unheated honey.  I purchase my years supply from Bryant Honey as part of a group order every year.  Local is best when trying to treat allergies, but my local raw honey costs $20 more a gallon than purchasing from Bryant Honey with the group order, so that is what I get and use and have been very happy with.  Health food stores and Farmers Markets also carry raw honey as well as Amazon and The Bulk Herb Store.

The Healing Benefits of Raw Honey

• Fights colds, flu and respiratory infections of all kinds.
• Sore throat, soothes inflamed, raw tissue.
• Boosts the immune system.
• Use as an antiseptic.
• Drawing agent for poisons from insect bites and stings or infected wounds.
• Antimicrobial and antibiotic which is effective against bacteria and fungi.
• Pink Eye/Conjunctivitis; dissolve honey in an equal amount of warm water, cool and apply as an eye wash.
• Heals cuts, wounds, abrasions, infections, ulcerations and impetigo.
• Apply freely over burns; it cools, removes pain and aids fast healing without scarring.
• Removes pus, scabs and dead tissue from wounds and stimulates new tissue growth.
• Helps allergies and hay fever (when using local raw honey).
• Increases calcium absorption which helps prevent and aid osteoporosis (take 1 tsp./day).
• Effective internally against bacteria and parasites.
• Acne, pimples, and skin eruptions.
• Helps arthritic joints, when combined with apple cider vinegar.
• Headache; dissolve 1 tsp. of honey in half a glass of warm water, sip at onset of attack and repeat if needed every 20 minutes.
• Provides an array of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.
• One or two teaspoons last thing at night can help with insomnia and bed wetting in children.
• Boosts gastrointestinal ulcer healing.
• Works as a natural and gentle laxative, aiding constipation.
• Supplies instant energy without the insulin surge caused by white sugar.
• Great as a deep cleanser and moisturizer for skin:  Apply a fingerful of honey to dry skin, gently massage, pat and rub in, rinse with warm water.
• Feeds the hair and scalp. Mix honey with an equal quantity of olive oil, cover head with a warm towel for half an hour then shampoo off.

printable for herbal

Herbal Honey

Herbal honey is one of my favorite things to make and use as a home remedy.  Now that you see all the healing benefits of honey you can see why I add herbs to it for a powerhouse of healing properties.  These are the herbal honeys I have posted so far, but feel free to add what herbs you would like to create your own herbal honey.  The Herbal Kitchen has a section dedicated to herbal honeys that has some great combinations and ideas.

Onion Syrup
Cinnamon Honey and Cinnamon Ginger Honey*
Ginger Honey 
Thyme Honey
10 Herbal Honey Blends for Winter

*These are some extra healing benefits when combining cinnamon with your honey
Heart disease
Bladder infection
Cholesterol
Skin Infections
Weight loss
Hearing loss

Want to Learn More

Benefits of Raw Honey by Dr. Axe
​Natural News
The Organic Prepper
The World's Healthiest Foods
Raw Honey Heals Diabetic Sores