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Ramakrishna
13 October 2011, 06:51 AM
Namaste all,

Over the past several months I have been consuming honey daily. I usually just take a spoonful with a little bit of cinnamon, although sometimes I have it in my tea and also on pancakes. I also use honey during Lingam abhishekam.

It is highly beneficial to the human body. Honey is well-known to help alleviate sore throats, but it should be taken even when one is not ill. It has antibacterial agents and helps detoxify the body and improve the immune system. Its importance is also recognized in Ayurveda to promote good health.

I highly recommend this practice to everybody, except for infants since it is not suitable for their digestive systems :)

http://easyayurveda.com/2010/03/25/health-benefits-of-honey-what-original-ayurvedic-text-book-says/
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/Ayurveda.html
http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/07/01/honey-the-cure-for-just-about-anything/
http://www.yogsandesh.org/articles/131/1/Benefits-of-Honey-in-Ayurveda/Page1.html


http://api.ning.com/files/Ud5pfPdZ-Lioa5DKcW9czLm6D4T8uMO32W6oWTJakxkU0dD0vd7wS5ne2luQZ4vB-0Obzm6KgXqdg2AnRBkO4etFTKFXcYnj/honey1.jpg

AmIHindu
13 October 2011, 09:27 AM
Namaste Ramkrishna ji,

Honey is very good for sleep, if we take one cup of milk with one spoon of honey, we get good sleep. Honey is good pacifier.

laurahill
02 January 2012, 10:02 PM
Drinking milk added with honey is good for health.
Honey has antioxidants,antibacterial and antimicrobial agents.
Honey helps to prevent hair loss,weight loss acne.

Kismet
03 January 2012, 09:05 PM
I heard a rumor that much honey is not real. Or its been so evaporated that many of the good agents present in it are no longer there. Has anyone heard of this?

I eat a lot of store-bought honey myself, though I'm sure some brands are much better than others.

Adhvagat
03 January 2012, 09:12 PM
I usually hate to take honey when I have a flu. Seriously, my throat just gets more clogged up with this slimey thing. :)

It wouldn't surprise me if industrial honey is actually complete garbage just as any other type of processed food.

satay
03 January 2012, 09:25 PM
namaste,
Although I don't use it myself we do have honey in the house. It is bought from a farm. You have to buy the honey at a farm which is whitish in colour (unpausturised?).


I heard a rumor that much honey is not real. Or its been so evaporated that many of the good agents present in it are no longer there. Has anyone heard of this?

I eat a lot of store-bought honey myself, though I'm sure some brands are much better than others.

Friend from the West
03 January 2012, 10:12 PM
Hari OM

Namaste,

Thank you Ramakrisna. I take natural/raw honey as Satay describes, before bedtime and is perfect. Today, I take honey before and after exercise and feel great. Back in day when I fought, I consumed natural honey and felt more energetic, without quick spike and than crash of sugars. From people I know who have consumed store bought or processed, they do feel the quick uplift and then crash like eating candy. After switching, they also report positive effects.

Do not study such things and do not know if there is a least bit of nexus, but learned this from maternal grandparents and they both were here at 94 and 92.



Om Shanti.

FFTW

Eastern Mind
04 January 2012, 08:01 AM
Vannakkam: We used to buy it in 40 pound buckets directly from a producer. Its a lot cheaper that way as well. If you ask the producer what flowers (I like clover, or alfalfa) the bees worked with, it will help determing taste and quality.

Definitely something 'magical' about the stuff.

Aum Namasivaya

tao_of_drew
04 January 2012, 05:19 PM
As I understand it, most honey has little or nothing added to it as it keeps for long periods of time and doesn't need any preservatives added to it.
The anti-bacterial properties of the honey keep it from going bad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Preservation

Ramakrishna
06 January 2012, 09:35 PM
Namaste,

It's true that most store-bought honey contains very little actual honey. A lot of it is watered down and filtered through and has a variety of substances added to it. Recently I've been buying "organic" honey from Whole Foods, which is supposed to be more pure. Although it costs a bit more, it is worth it. It would be great to buy honey directly from the producer, I'll look into that.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-schiffman/most-store-bought-honey-i_b_1118564.html

Jai Sri Ram

Ramakrishna
06 January 2012, 09:40 PM
Namaste,


Namaste Ramkrishna ji,

Honey is very good for sleep, if we take one cup of milk with one spoon of honey, we get good sleep. Honey is good pacifier.


Drinking milk added with honey is good for health.
Honey has antioxidants,antibacterial and antimicrobial agents.
Honey helps to prevent hair loss,weight loss acne.

Indeed, I've been making a drink of one cup milk slightly heated with some cardamom and cinnamon and then a teaspoon of honey added at the end. Very soothing as well as healthy.

Jai Sri Ram

Arjunesh
07 January 2013, 07:17 PM
Namaste Ramkrishna ji,

Honey is very good for sleep, if we take one cup of milk with one spoon of honey, we get good sleep. Honey is good pacifier.

NAMASTE AmIHindu

Is it better for sleep to drink the milk with honey cold or heated?

kind regards
Arjunesh

ShivaFan
07 January 2013, 10:08 PM
Namaste

I am very happy this thread was “revived”, since it was started before I became a member of HDF and had never read it – I am a HUGE fan of honey! Have you ever eaten a honey comb? My goodness, wonderful! And now I learn from this thread that honey is good for you, which makes it all the better.

Not far from where I live, locals have a “Farmers Market” where they bring their own vegies, nuts, fruits and yes HONEY which they raised themselves and sell the items to the public from small stands. There are actually locals here who have boxes in which bees live and they local people gather the honey which ranges from a light yellow to a dark brown in colour.

Saraswati Maa likes honey, and accepts it as a puja offering. Of course, Murti can be bathed in milk and honey. Perhaps that is where the term “land of milk and honey” comes from? (who knows – the land of India?).
I would think if you have a Lord Balaram Murti, you could offer Him honey and He will take it.

Om Namah Sivaya

Arjuni
07 January 2013, 10:59 PM
Namasté,

Awwww, I saw the word "Honey" as a topic and thought that someone was looking for me! :D

I love honey too. Most of the stores here carry local raw honey, and each year there is a "honey show" that brings together local beekeepers. They sell honey and related products directly to the public, and educate everyone about what the bees and their keepers are up to. I look forward to it every year!

ShivaFan, besides the deities you mentioned, I was also told that one could donate honey, with prayers to the Aśvins, to invoke their healing energy (as well as give a wonderful gift, of course).

From what I remember of Ayurveda teaching, one should not cook honey directly (and especially not boil it), as heating will destroy some of the beneficial elements in the honey and make it more productive of toxins (ama). It's best to add it to hot liquids or foods.

Thank you for reviving this thread. My favourite healing drink uses honey, and it would be so warming and soothing right now. I'm going to go make some. You can too (http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/kashayam/), if you like. ;)

Believer
15 March 2013, 10:47 AM
Namaste,

Awwww, I saw the word "Honey" as a topic and thought that someone was looking for me! :D
:)


Have you ever eaten a honey comb?
Isn't it all wax from bee secretions?

I got curious about the fact that bees might be making the honey entirely for their own consumption during the lean winter months when there are no flowers in bloom for fresh nectar, (and us harming them by stealing their food). However my fears were allayed by the information at the following link,

http://www.beeman.ca/id18.html

Pranam.

PS, A factoid from the above link: 12 honeybees spend their lifetimes collecting/making a mere total of one teaspoon of honey - stolen fruits of 12 lifetimes of effort of little insects goes into one cup of warm milk for human consumption! That is making me feel so guilty. :)
-

ShivaFan
17 March 2013, 01:24 PM
Namaste Believer

This is an interesting web link, thanks for sharing it. Bees here in California were on the decline due to some disease, but I see they are making a come back. This is the Honey Bee. I know Balaram loves bees. There are some farms here that make some sort of honey drink that is like beer, but I don't drink that!

Om Namah Sivaya

yajvan
17 March 2013, 08:00 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Honey (madhu¹ - sweet , delicious , pleasant , charming , delightful ) from an āyurvedic¹ POV is not to be heated , so goes the instruction from the vadiya ( āyurvedic doctor). Also, milk is to be heated to just a boil then turned off; it is then it holds all of its benefical properties, again so says the vadiya.

iti śivaṁ

words

āyurved - contains eight departments:

śalya or (removal of) any substance which has entered the body
śālākya or cure of diseases of the eye or ear by śalākās or sharp instruments ;
kāya-cikitsā or cure of diseases affecting the whole body ;
bhūtavidyā or treatment of mental diseases supposed to be produced by demoniacal influence ;
kaumāra-bhṛtya or treatment of children ; 6. agada-tantra or doctrine of antidotes ;
rāsāyana-tantra or doctrine of elixirs ;
vājīkaraṇa tantra or doctrine of aphrodisiacs We know there are 6 tastes:

madhura or sweet
amla or sour
lavaṇa or salty
kaṭuka or pungent
tikta ,or bitter
kaṣāya or astringent

Sonia84
19 March 2013, 04:58 AM
Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants which help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease.