Honey better than antibiotics for treating coughs and colds: study

Sometimes the best remedy is also the simplest.

Honey has long been known as a home treatment to help alleviate coughs and colds, but new research has found that the sweet medicine is possibly better than the stronger stuff.

In a bold new study published in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Oxford scientists found that honey is an effective alternative to prescriptions including antibiotics, as well as over-the-counter treatments when it comes to mild respiratory afflictions.

In a review and analysis of 14 studies including the experiences of 1,761 participants, researchers found that honey was consistently more successful and quicker at improving symptoms including cough frequency and severity than other treatments.

“Honey was superior to usual care for the improvement of symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections,” the study authors concluded.

Not only is honey a more efficient cure, but researchers also emphasized that it has practically no side effects. The overprescription of antibiotics, meanwhile, has caused an epidemic of drug-resistant “superbugs” and infections that are immune to treatment, killing 35,000 Americans a year.

“Honey could help efforts to slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance,” wrote the scientists. “It provides a widely available and cheap alternative to antibiotics.”

Honey is both affordable and accessible — further reason why study authors advise doctors to prescribe it to sick patients instead of drugs.

The scientists do acknowledge, though, that honey has many variations and combinations — including coffee, milk, cough suppressant syrups and herb extracts in the studies they analyzed — and further research is necessary.

Still, they formally recommend docs begin prescribing patients honey over antibiotics when appropriate.

“Honey is a frequently used lay remedy that is well known to patients. It is also cheap, easy to access, and has limited harms. When clinicians wish to prescribe for URTI [upper respiratory tract infections], we would recommend honey as an alternative to antibiotics,” they wrote.

Major Health Benefits Of Honey

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database, one tablespoon of raw honey which is approximately 21 grams, contains 64 calories, 17.3 grams of carbohydrate (sugar, no fiber), 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of protein and cholesterol. There are several types of honey and their benefits differ based on several factors depending on which flower the nectar was gotten from.

Antioxidants

Raw honey contains antioxidants such as polyphenols (flavonoids, phenolic acids, catechins, and cinnamic acid derivative), vitamins C and E, enzymes like catalase, peroxidase and glucose oxidase; carotenoids, organic acids, amino acids and proteins and in pasteurized honeys, products of the Maillard reaction. These compounds work to protect your body by halting free radicals – unstable compounds that can damage healthy cells, compromise their function and lead to potentially dangerous disease processes in the body. By consuming antioxidant rich foods, we ensure our body is protected. Some types of honey, have as many antioxidants as fruits and vegetables. Dark colored honey typically contains more anti-oxidants than do lighter varieties. Other factors that influence anti-oxidant content, particularly within a species, are climate, soil, processing, handling and storage. Honey is definitely a pleasant way to supplement your diet with anti-oxidants.

Antimicrobial

For thousands of years before the discovery of bacteria as a cause of infection, honey has been used to treat infected wounds. The broad-spectrum antimicrobial (antiseptic, antibiotic, antibacterial, antifungal) properties of honey may be attributed to the acidity, osmotic effect, high sugar concentration, presence of antibiotic factors (hydrogen peroxide, antioxidants, lysozyme, polyphenols, flavonoids, reactive methylglyoxal, and bee peptides), and increase in cytokine release, and to immune modulating and anti-inflammatory properties of honey. It has been reported to have an inhibitory effect on around 60 species of bacteria, including aerobes and anaerobes, gram-positives and gram-negatives. This antimicrobial activity of most honey stems primarily from the generation of hydrogen peroxide-an antiseptic from glucose oxidation by activated glucose oxidase, a bee-derived enzyme.

Consequently, Honey has been proven beneficial for the following purposes:

For infected wounds, burns, ulcers and abrasions – a study issued in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reports "Applied topically every 2 to 3 days under a dry dressing, honey promotes healing of ulcers and burns better than any other local application”. Another research carried out showed that honey provided significantly better treatment results than antiviral drugs for herpes sores.

For fresh, well-nourished skin – Use raw honey straight from the jar! Apply as nightly skin care regime and see the facial blemishes and acne caused by cosmetics or allergy clear up.

For Gastroenteritis and Diarrhea - Take 1-2 teaspoons in the morning on an empty stomach to soothe pain and help with the healing process. In treating diarrhea, honey promotes the rehydration and speeds up recovery. It can also be taken with ginger tea or lemon for added flavor.

For cold, cough and sorethroat - Try a spoonful of honey in lukewarm water. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists honey as a demulcent. You can add it to hot tea with lemon.

For Energy – Take honey with cinnamon tea regularly for that quick boost of energy, physical strength and mental alertness. This has now been verified with modern studies, showing that it is superior in maintaining glycogen levels and improving recovery time naturally than other sweeteners.

Honey in the Battle Against Cough: How Does it Help?

Coughing is the body's defensive reflex mechanism that removes foreign substances and mucus from your lungs and upper airways of the respiratory tract. Productive coughs are often useful, and you should not try to eliminate them. Sometimes, though, coughs are severe enough to impair breathing or prevent rest. Home treatment such as with honey can help you feel more comfortable when you have a cough.

Acute coughs although most commonly associated with common cold can also be caused by sinus infections, acute bronchitis, pneumonia, and whooping cough; other noninfectious causes include flare-ups of chronic conditions such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, and environmental allergies. According to the American Academy of Family physicians, the first step in the treatment is to determine if the cause of the cough is a an acute upper respiratory infection (i.e., common cold), lower respiratory tract infection, or an aggravation of a preexisting condition like asthma, bronchiectasis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

Honey has been used for centuries to help alleviate some of the symptoms associated with a common cold. A US study done on children 2 years and older with upper respiratory tract infections did find honey was better at reducing nighttime cough’s severity, frequency and inconvenience thus improving sleep quality for the child and parent when compared to either honey-flavored dextromethorphan or no treatment.

Try a spoonful of honey to soothe and coat your throat. In between, keep up your liquids with a steaming cup of tea sweetened with honey. Try mixing in orange, grapefruit or lemon juice.

Still wondering the mechanism behind honeys action on cough? Read on

It's not clear exactly how honey eases a cough. A possible scientific explanation could be deduced from the fact that honey contains more than 181 different natural substances and suggested its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties may explain why it helped to relieve the children's coughs and without the serious complications that may be experienced using OTC medications.

Cough is triggered by the stimulation of a complex reflex arc; there's an interaction between the sensory nerves locally which respond to irritant stimulation and those in the central nervous system involved in the regulation of the mechanism of cough via afferent fibers in the vagus nerve. Thus, in addition to honey coating the throat and triggering the swallowing mechanism, the sweet taste of honey could stimulate these sensory pathways, changing the sensitivity and readily causing salivation and promote airway mucus secretion.

The World Health Organization (WHO) lists honey as a demulcent; which is a substance that relieves irritation that results in coughing by forming a soothing, protective film when administered onto a mucous membrane surface and has recommended it for use in developing countries where there's limited access to medication. So, in case of dry unproductive cough, demulcent effect may lubricate pharynx and larynx and help to reduce coughing. For children older than one year with a viral URI, it has been recommended 1.5 teaspoons honey to be given prior to bedtime as a cough remedy.

Warnings

Always check with your doctor if you have a fever, prolonged, worsening cough, wheezing or if symptoms continue for more than a few days.

Do not give honey to children under 1 year old; honey contains botulism spores an infant's digestive system cannot handle.

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