Honey is usually praised for a variety of health advantages, from soothing a sore throat and helping you sleep to healing and reducing risk aspects for diabetes and heart disease.
of honey Acidity It has the flexibility to inhibit bacterial growth, while its density and viscosity create an osmotic pressure (just like quicksand) that inhibits bacteria.
Other compounds in honey contribute to anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
But are the claims about honey for specific health problems and injuries based on science? Let’s see what the evidence says.
First, what’s in honey?
Honey accommodates as much as 20% water. The remaining 80% is made up of easy sugars: monosaccharides Which we digest quickly. Fructose (32-28%) and glucose (26-31%) are vital, followed by small amounts of sucrose and Others.
It can raise blood sugar levels to various degrees. gave Glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly blood sugar rises after eating or drinking. GI of various Australian honeys range from 35 (low) to 72 (high), although most food labels don’t contain GI information.
Honey also accommodates vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, C), minerals (potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc), amino acids (protein) and traces of enzymes from plant, bee and bug secretions.
Nutrients different It relies on where the bees collected the pollen, the time the honey was harvested and the way long it has been stored.
Can honey heal wounds?
A 2015 Cochrane review update evaluated the results of honey within the treatment of acute burns, wounds and chronic wounds in comparison with topical treatments or other dressings.
There is high-quality evidence that honey dressings heal second-degree burns 4-5 days faster than conventional dressings. There was moderate evidence that infected wounds heal faster with honey after surgery.
Oh 2020 review evaluated the antimicrobial activity of Manuka and medical-grade honey against multidrug-resistant bacterial species. It found that each one honeys were effective against most species and could possibly be considered to be used in antibiotic-resistant infections.
Only sterile Medical grade honey One that has been processed to remove contaminants, and meets safety and antibacterial standards, needs to be used under your doctor’s guidance.
Does honey help adults sleep?
Research on the results of Honey on gold is proscribed.
one Comparison of sleep quality Of the 68 hospitalized adults. Half got a combination of milk (150 ml) and honey (30 g) twice a day, and half weren’t.
Those within the honey-mixed group said they slept higher after the third day. But these results could also be biased, as participants knew they were getting honey milk and drinking it might be related to feelings of leisure.
Can it soothe sore throats and coughs, or help babies sleep?
Five studies in children How does the honey mixture compare to over-the-counter cough medicines or no medicine in any respect? Every study links honey to raised sleep and fewer severe coughing in children.
But before you head out to refill on honey, there are major limitations to using honey. The amount and variety of honey varies across studies, with no certainty as to which ingredients are present. Therefore the outcomes have to be interpreted with caution.
Chemicals Analysis of some types of honey Traces of the “feel-good” brain chemical serotonin and the hormone melatonin, which affect sleep and circadian rhythms, were found. But the researchers concluded that the small amounts detected were more prone to affect bee activity than human behavior.
What about diabetes, heart disease and cancer care?
For Diabetes, 2023 A review of 48 clinical trials Honey was found to have some positive effects on a variety of risk aspects, including glucose tolerance and wound healing. However, the dosage and variety of honey weren’t standardized, so the researchers concluded that honey could possibly be used along with, but not as an alternative of, regular medicine.
For heart disease, 2022 analysis The results of the trials were combined to look at the results of honey on blood lipids. It found no effect on several heart disease risk aspects: total cholesterol, triglycerides (one other variety of blood fat), low-density lipoprotein (LDL or bad) cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good) cholesterol.
However, a 2025 A meta-analysis of propolis (bee glue) found significant reductions in triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, insulin and systolic blood pressure (the highest number on the reading). But most propolis complement trials have lasted only a couple of months and since the supplements are expensive, the cash is prone to be spent on healthier foods.
For cancer patients, a 2023 review Honey reduced blisters and inflammation within the mouth after chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and reduced some. Toxic effects of chemotherapy.
Can it affect your brain?
Some honey has psychoactive, or mind-altering, effects. Comes from “crazy honey”. Nectar of plants of Rhododendron species and naturally accommodates grayanotoxin, which has pharmacological and toxic effects.
These include nausea, dizziness, low blood pressure, severe Bradycardia (an abnormally slow heartbeat), neurological complications and even life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).
It is prohibited to import or sell “mad honey” in Australia, but Nepal and Turkey have historically used it for its medicinal and psychoactive properties.
Who mustn’t drink honey?
Although business honey is pasteurized, this process doesn’t kill the bacteria spores. This is why children under one 12 months of age and immunocompromised people Shouldn’t be honey