Does honey help with a sore throat?
The ancient Greeks embalmed their dead in honey, Egyptians used honey as a wound ointment, and during the First World War, honey-soaked compresses were used to care for wounded soldiers. And you can put it in your tea—lovely and sweet. But how healthy is honey, really? And does it help with a sore throat?
Flemish scientist Eric de Maerteleire delves into the facts and fables surrounding food. Because do we actually know enough about what we eat? And why are so many people overweight or unhealthy? Eric is a bioengineer and holds a doctorate in Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences, and he dives deep into the science to answer questions about food. In his book Facts and Fables About Health and Nutrition he devotes a chapter to honey.
Antibacterial
What has been done with honey throughout history—the ancient Greeks, the Egyptians—has a scientific basis, Eric concludes. ‘Honey has an antibacterial effect,’ he writes. Honey contains the enzyme glucose oxidase, for example. ‘That enzyme converts the glucose in honey into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide has a disinfecting effect, (…).’ When a wound is treated with honey, oxygen is produced there. And that is interesting, the scientist writes, because oxygen stimulates wound healing and blood circulation.
Water
But honey does even more than that. Because it is packed with sugar, the osmotic pressure locally increases. No idea what that means, but Eric explains it: ‘As a result, water is drawn from the surroundings. Bacteria and other microorganisms also lose water and die, while water is drawn from the wound itself, meaning that bacteria can no longer develop there.’ Koot and de Bie once made a hilariously silly film about ‘sweet metabolism therapy’, in which Dr Jacobo and Dr Van Es cured people by ‘stipulating’ their sore knees with jam and flower honey, but they weren’t far off after all. Reality is always stranger than you could make up.
Sore throat
Does honey also work for a sore throat? A little, says Eric. ‘It depends on the type of infection and its severity. In the case of benign and not overly serious throat infections of a bacterial nature, honey may provide relief.’ Don’t put the honey in boiling tea or hot milk, he says, because those active substances will then be destroyed.
Use natural honey
It does matter which honey you use. Supermarket honey, which is actually mainly coloured sugar syrup, probably won’t do anything. ‘Always use natural honey, free from pesticides and antibiotics,’ the doctor advises. The downside of honey for your sore throat: it is incredibly sweet and full of sugar. So don’t take too much, and diabetics would do better just looking at it.
