Can Honey Cure Chronic Inflammation?
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Inflammation is one of the main problems as we age because it is the precursor to most (some doctors say all) chronic diseases. Most anti-aging practices focus first on gut health and reducing inflammation so the body can begin its own innate healing process instead of constantly fighting constant inflammation and the diseases it can cause.
Chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis, and
neurodegenerative diseases possess a huge challenge for both sufferers and doctors and most treatments are very costly and extremely invasive.
Quoting from a recent NIH study under the title Honey and its Nutritional and Anti-
inflammatory Value, “With massively compelling evidence of the role played by nutritional modulation in preventing inflammation-related diseases, there is a growing interest into the search for natural functional foods with therapeutic and preventive actions. Honey, a nutritional healthy product, is produced mainly by two types of bees: honeybee and stingless bee. Since both types of honey possess distinctive phenolic and flavonoid compounds, there is recently an intensive interest in their biological and clinical actions against inflammation-mediated chronic diseases. This review sheds the light specifically on the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of honey polyphenols and highlight their roles in targeting inflammatory pathways in gastrointestinal tract disorders, edema, cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and gut microbiota.”
Honey contains both macro and micronutrients and there are over 200 compounds in honey such as protein, enzymes, minerals, vitamins, amino acid, and a wide range of polyphenols. The presence of polyphenols in honey is believed to be from the plant’s nectar while polyphenols quality and quantity depend on the geographical region, floral source, climatic conditions, bee type and production and packaging methods.
According to the study, “ polyphenol compounds have retained a great attention by scientific communities as preventive agents against degenerative and chronic inflammatory diseases, the main therapeutic activities of honey are attributed to its content of polyphenols because they are the most abundant phytochemicals. The phenolic content of honey has been correlated with antioxidant activities in many published researches.
What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is the natural innate response of the immunity system to pathogens where natural cellular and humoral immune has developed.
The onset of uncontrolled inflammatory process along with the presence of oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiological incidences of chronic disorders such as, psychiatric, cardiovascular, traumatic, metabolic, and autoimmune maladies.
Recently, there is growing scientific evidence indicating that honey could have inhibitory effect on chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and on their relative gene expression.
The study goes on to say “Synthetic drugs have been developed as agonists to ameliorate cancer, ageing process, and cardiovascular diseases. It has been suggested that honey compounds including polyphenols could act as agonists for NF-κB receptors and Toll-Like 4 receptor that are involved in the initiation of inflammation and oxidative stress.”
Health Benefits of Honey Against Inflammation
“Innate immunity relies strongly on inflammation which is defined generally as the natural response to cellular injury. The biological changes are:
1) increased blood flow and capillary distillation
2) leukocyte infiltration
3) releasing localized chemoattractants to recruiter immunity cells
The main objectives of these changes are to eliminate the pathogen agents and
repair the damage tissue. However, non-resolving inflammation as result of chronic bacterial infection (LPS infusion) or obesity or aging, paves the onset of low-grade chronic inflammation which subsequently develop various chronic diseases. In this context, supporting the consumption of natural products in favor of resolving inflammation and supporting hemostasis is the main reason for examining these products on numerous trials."
“Honey has been suggested as an immune-modulatory agent with dual role: (1) anti-
inflammatory activities through down-regulating the inflammatory transcription factors (NF-κB and MAPK) and/or suppressing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and (2) stimulate the production of inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2).”
“Various models of inflammation treated with honey have been studied to explain the honey bioactivities towards inflammation “
You may read the entire study HERE.
So it appears that once again, honey, that magical almost mythical substance that is health beneficial on so many levels, is also great for treating inflammation and chronic diseases at a very low cost and easy to use way. So save your health and save money!
