Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Joanne Latimer on 26/07/2008 15:12:25

Title: Can honey really do all of these claims?
Post by: Joanne Latimer on 26/07/2008 15:12:25
Joanne Latimer  asked the Naked Scientists:

Hi Chris and the team  

We all know honey is good for you but some of these claims such
as the one about restoring hearing seem a bit unlikely.  Are they real?

Thanks for the brilliant podcast (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/)

Jo Latimer

Facts on honey and cinnamon [from an email doing the rounds...]

It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures
most Diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world.
Scientists of today also accept honey as a "Ram Ban" (very effective)
medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side Effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients.

Weekly World News, a Magazine in Canada , on its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:

HEART DISEASES:
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also,
those who have already had an attack, if they do this Process daily they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada , various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, One cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, They found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients
were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS:
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

TOOTHACHE:
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL:
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient were found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol. By the way, if you're taking cholesterol medicine, STOP! They all contain STATIN which weaken your muscles...including YOUR HEART and none has been shown to stop heart attacks or strokes!!!!

COLDS:
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take
one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

UPSET STOMACH:
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears
stomach ulcers from the root.

GAS:
According to the studies done in India and Japan , it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM:
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the
immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks.
Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large
amounts. Constant Use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacterial and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient which kills the influenza germs and Saves the patient from flu.

LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon
of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTION:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts, cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder
boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

CANCER:
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the
body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week

BAD BREATH:
People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so
their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS:
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore hearing.
What do you think?
Title: Can honey really do all of these claims?
Post by: Bored chemist on 26/07/2008 18:10:17
Much as I like honey (and cinnamon) I'm afraid that these claims are total rubbish.
Honey has a very high sugar content and so itr will kill some bacteria (by simpy removing the water from them). That's about as good as it gets for honey as a medicine.
Title: Can honey really do all of these claims?
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 26/07/2008 18:39:15
: J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Mar 26;56(6):1907-11. Epub 2008 Feb 20. Links
Cinnamon bark proanthocyanidins as reactive carbonyl scavengers to prevent the formation of advanced glycation endproducts.Peng X, Cheng KW, Ma J, Chen B, Ho CT, Lo C, Chen F, Wang M.
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.

Cinnamon bark has been reported to be effective in the alleviation of diabetes through its antioxidant and insulin-potentiating activities. In this study, the inhibitory effect of cinnamon bark on the formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) was investigated in a bovine serum albumin (BSA)-glucose model. Several phenolic compounds, such as catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B2, and phenol polymers were identified from the subfractions of aqueous cinnamon extract. These compounds showed significant inhibitory effects on the formation of AGEs. Their antiglycation activities were not only brought about by their antioxidant activities but also related to their trapping abilities of reactive carbonyl species such as methylglyoxal (MGO), an intermediate reactive carbonyl of AGE formation. Preliminary study on the reaction between MGO and procyanidin B2 revealed that MGO-procyanidin B2 adducts are primary products which are supposed to be stereoisomers. This is the first report that proanthocyanidins can effectively scavenge reactive carbonyl species and thus inhibit the formation of AGEs. As proanthocyanidins behave in a similar fashion as aminoguanidine (AG), the first AGE inhibitor explored in clinical trials, they show great potential to be developed as agents to alleviate diabetic complications.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18284204?ordinalpos=38&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum