Honey, medicine or poison?

Honey is a true medicine in Ayurveda. It is the carrier for many herbs, so that we can better absorb the herbal medicines in our body. Honey is anti-kapha dosha and strengthens the ojas (life energy). Adding honey more often to your diet helps to produce enzymes and unblocks blood vessels. It helps with slow digestion, breathing problems and sore throat. Honey is a medicine, and with good honey you really clean your body. Yet it often strikes me how little people know about honey, and especially about how to use it.

In the spring it is wise to use honey, but how do you do this in a way that can actually support your health? Knowing how to use medicines like honey is necessary to reap the benefits. But it’s also good to know what not to do.

What not to do?

“But.. I’ve always given this to my kids!” I hear a lady say it during a one day retreat.

Do not add honey to water warmer than 37 degrees. If honey is heated, it will become toxic. The molecules in honey change and clump together, so that when the clotted honey is ingested, the blood vessels also begin to close. This is how ama (waste) is created. In cold honey, the toxic molecules remain in the honey, which is released when it is heated. Yet in restaurants we always see a stick of honey with ginger and peppermint tea. Fortunately (in this case) there is more sugar water than actual honey on the market. In addition, your body can deal with toxins that enter for a very long time.

How do you choose a good honey?

How to choose the best honey is a bit of work. A lot of honey is available on the market from bees that drink sugar water and can thus produce the honey. Beekeepers are having a hard time, the bee population is becoming scarce. Choosing a real honey is therefore not so easy anymore. Pure honey tastes more astringent than sweet. The aftertaste is also different. A test to test good honey is done by floating a drop of honey on warm water, because a good and pure honey really floats and a sugar water honey will sink to the bottom.

Contribute to the bee population

To support the bees, it is a good idea to plant flowers on your balcony or in your own garden. The bees will be very grateful to you and we preserve nature better that way. Our bees are extremely important to nature!

About I love Ayurveda

This article is written by Jolinde Lampe, Ayurvedic therapist and Pilates and Yoga teacher. Jolinde is one of the Ayurveda experts of I love Ayurveda. I love Ayurveda is the Ayurveda Platform and the Ayurveda Community of the Netherlands and Belgium. This is the place where you learn to transform your life for more balance. When you become a member of the I love Ayurveda Community you will receive the I love Ayurveda Online Magazine in your mailbox every month with content in the field of Ayurveda that will help you transform your life. Read more about I love Ayurveda and the possibility to join the Community here or follow us on Instagram @iloveayurvedanl.