Āyurveda: Medicinal & Healing Qualities of Honey!!

Transcript

welcome to healthy ayurveda.com i'm dr mike dallywall vedic sage today we'll talk about the medicinal qualities of honey from an ayurvedic perspective honey has an interesting history dating back thousands of years as being one of the first reliable sweeteners for example an 8 000 year old k painting was discovered in valencia spain that depicts a person collecting honey similarly ayurveda has described the medicinal properties of honey for thousands of years so as we know honeybees collect nectar from flowers and return to the hive the honeybee then passes this collection of nectar to other worker bees who chew and pass it from b to b until this product gradually turns into honey this honey is then stored in the honeycomb and is fanned by the bees to help it dry which then becomes more sticky ayurveda explains honey as being patia or that which is pleasing wholesome and something which is conducive to good health therefore honey is something which we may consider to be taken regularly however that being said there are certain precautionary measures of honey which we'll soon discuss jedica explains honey to be the best yogavahi as it carries the properties of other medicinal herbs along with it similarly susruta also explains the same that when honey is administered with other various preparations it cures many diseases this is because honey acts as a catalyst and helps to carry other medicinal herbs to deeper targeted tissue shruta goes on to explain that honey is sweet with an astringent aftertaste honey has light and dry qualities honey is an appetizer and helps to improve digestion honey helps to improve one's complexion adding softness to the skin and honey helps to improve the quality of one's voice having laken action which is a scraping effect honey helps to reduce fat and cholesterol for example one may consider a teaspoon of honey with water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach as this helps to reduce kapha dosha and mithidatu helping to reduce fatty adipose tissue honey is thought to be beneficial in strengthening the heart is an aphrodisiac helps to heal wounds and is good for the eyes as mentioned earlier honey is considered a yogavahi which acts as a catalyst having the ability to carry the qualities of other substances to deeper tissues of the body and honey being sukshima which is subtle honey has the ability to enter into small channels of the body thereby bringing such qualities of other substances to deeper tissues the body with regards to managing doshas generally speaking honey helps to alleviate or reduce all three doshas however that being said it's old and mature honey which helps to eliminate all three doshas whereas fresh honey is nourishing fresh honey does not eliminate kapha dosha as effectively also due to its dry quality honey tends to increase vata dosha therefore honey seems most effective in reducing kapha dosha and it's mostly because of the dry quality shusuruta goes on to explain various conditions which honey is useful such as conditions of obesity honey helps to balance kapha dosha which is a good reason to consider honey during spring or vasantha when kapha is aggravated and causes digestive and various other health conditions honey is beneficial in conditions of cough cold chronic respiratory conditions for example honey has been a time honored remedy for cough and sore throat also many herbal formulas such as talisadi sitopaladi or even javan prash contain honey for its catalytic and medicinal properties chataka mentions four types of honey and sushruta mentions eight types of these various types of honey both jedica and susruta mention maxita honey as the best as it is drying and often indicated in conditions such as asthma some precautionary measures for consuming honey jettica mentions that there is nothing so troublesome as amma caused by the improper intake of honey this is because ama which is often formed as a byproduct of poor digestion is typically managed by using heat or hot therapeutic substances which helps to neutralize or digest amma however ama caused by the improper intake of honey worsens if heat or heating substances are used for its management as this form of amma quickly becomes toxic which can even become fatal according to the ayurvedic school of thought therefore honey should not be heated nor should honey be consumed by those suffering from excess heat within the body honey should be avoided during hot seasons or a hot climate and honey should not be added to hot food it's also advised not to consume both honey and ghee together in equal quantities and interestingly radish tends to enhance the toxic effects of honey okay guys this covers some of the basic principles of honey both medicinal properties of honey as well as the precautionary measures when consuming honey hope you guys have enjoyed and until next time be well