An article over at CNN gives us yet another reason to be concerned about the decimation of honeybees: honey can be a powerful medicine, even against antibiotic-resistant infections — so-called “superbugs.”
One of the investigators of the project that made this discovery, Associate Professor Dee Carter, of Sydney University’s School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, admits they don’t know quite how honey helps in fighting infectious bacteria. I say: whatever works.
At one time, it may have been that mothers mixed medicines with honey to help their kids choke them down, but now these same honeys may become the medicines (and antibiotic creams) that need to be choked down in the first place.
I read somewhere that honey doesn’t go bad because it’s too dense. Despite the fact that bacteria would love to grow all over it, there’s not enough room between the honey molecules for bacteria to live and breathe. It’s kind of like quicksand for them.
I love honey!!
Trivia bit: Honey is the only food that won’t spoil. Apparently, honey was found in some pharoah’s tomb and it was still edible.
Ironically, honey can contain wee botulism spores.