A new major medical study left absolutely no doubt about the incredible healing power of honey.
Published in Laryngoscope on June 11, 2018, researchers found that using honey literally protected the gut lining against corrosive damage from swallowing a battery — how’s that for protection?
Honey helped:
- slowed the amount of acid discharged from the battery
- neutralized the tissue pH at the battery contact site to optimal levels for clinical protection
- prevented deep tissue injury
- and completely prevented all esophageal perforations (which was a 50% rate in controls, meaning one out of every two ingestions resulted in perforation without the honey)
The results from using honey were actually better than the Rx ulcer medication Carafate, with absolutely zero risk of the side effects that this prescription medication brings (side effects of Carafate include: constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, gas, dry mouth, rash, insomnia, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, back pain, shortness of breath, lip swelling, and hives).
These results were far superior to other substances tested, included pure maple syrup, saline, juices, and electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade.
If honey protects agains the damaging effects of battery ingestion (a common foreign body ingestion, especially in children due to the increasingly common use of button batteries in toys) imagine what adding honey to your gut healing protocol can do.
Remember, don’t feed infants under 1 year of age honey, so for those 12 months old and younger, I would suggest Carafate treatment, but in everyone else… honey is the way to go. In this study, 2 teaspoons of honey was given every 10 minutes, a reasonable course of action in suspected battery ingestions until you can get to a health care treatment facility.
Honey is so powerful!
But my readers already knew that… as I have previously blogged for you about using honey for it’s powerful wound healing, including for burns!
Published on April 12, 2012 in the International Wound Journal, this medical study showed that when honey was used on all types of wounds, it:
- promoted healing
- minimized necrosis
- minimized the amount of skin that sloughed off the wound
- reduced wound size
- decreased affected area around wound
It sped wound healing in the vast majority of wounds… over 84% of wounds!!!!
We are talking:
- post operative wounds
- general skin wounds
- infections
- burns
- ulcers
- pressure sores and more!
Honey has well-known antimicrobial benefits, doesn’t spoil, is easy to have on hand and is portable (no refrigeration required!) so it really makes perfect sense to use as a secondary wound dressing in children older than 12 months old.
- First be sure to flush out any wound with lots of water… for a long period of time (I recommend holding the wound under clean running water for 2 minutes straight.)
- Then, depending on wound type you may consider a topical antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, or antibacterial dressing, and then honey.
- Of course have deeper or larger wounds evaluated by a physician.
Because honey is so safe and so effective for so many different types of wounds… and because it speeds healing and decreases the amount of skin that is affected by the wound, I am confident that honey would reduce the appearance of scarring as well.
1. Probiotics
Studies suggest that the gut microbes in depressed and anxious individuals, celiac patients, autistic patients, and most autoimmune conditions are decreased in both amount and in variety.
Probiotics lift your mood, help digestion, alleviate constipation, balance gut flora issues such as SBIO, boost the immune system, control yeast and fungal overgrowth, promote healthy skin, and even lower blood pressure! Fecal transplant is even being used to help fix chronic gut infections like C. Diff infections that even Rx antibiotics are not able to fix!
2. Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Shown to improve symptoms in ADHD and decrease postpartum blues, omega fatty acids are a must have to soothe and support your entire body inside and out, from skin to gut to brain. Newer studies also show that Omega 3 fatty acids help support the gut biome, which is crucial in healing almost all major bowel disorders.
3. L-Glutamine
Helpful in restoring an intact gut barrier in leaky gut conditions and auto-immune conditions, L-glutamine supplements are one staple that you will find in any gut healing protocol. Proven to help with difficult to treat chronic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohns, Ulcerative Colitis, diverticulitis and more… even helping to resolve multiple food sensitivities!
4. Vit D
A new medical study released June 2018 showed that Vit D decreased colon cancer risk — talk about major gut protection from a supplement! This is a case of a supplement being able to actually prevent cancer in the gut!
There are others too… digestive enzymes with Betaine HCl, aloe vera… lots you can do to promote gut healing an impact your whole body’s health.
You can find all of these supplements in the absolutely highest quality, pharmacy grade, strictest purity standards right here in my online pharmacy. I even have a digestive support category in my shop where you can find every single one of these supplements hand selected by me, for you.
These are the supplements I take, the ones I feel good about giving to my children, and the ones I prescribe to my patients as well. Waiting for you right here.
What else can you do to promote gut healing on a deeper level?
Deal with gut issues where they are actually starting… with our deeply rooted emotions.
Our gut health is connected to our emotional health.
You know this. You can feel this.
You know that sudden feeling when you are scared and you become instantly nauseous?
As a mom I got that feeling all the time when my kids were younger and I lost sight of them for a moment in a public place.
It’s a horrendous feeling… it doesn’t matter how hungry you were or how long since your last meal… in life-or-death situations, secondary needs like hunger immediately evaporate and the rest of your senses are heightened (heart pounding and ears and eyes on maximum alert) and you scan the crowd looking for your precious child.
Or… have you ever had nervous diarrhea before a big test, a blind date, a job interview?
Or… what about a dry mouth as you stand up to give an important speech to your peers, act in a play, sing your solo at a choir concert?
Your dry mouth isn’t a true reflection of your hydration status… matter of fact you just drank two cups of water before stepping out on that stage… it’s your body’s immediate response to emotional stimulus.
While we all *know* on some level that our digestive state and our bowels are connected to our mind and mind frame, you may not know that your gut actually plays a role in your mental health.
What if it’s not just that our mind signals our gut to develop physical symptoms, but the other way around too?
Is it possible that disease in our gut can cause a signal to our brain to develop physical symptoms, such as anxiety and depression?
Published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics on July 22, 2016) this study helps to figure some of this connection out.
The Study:
- Researchers looked at over 1,900 individuals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
- Using a validated survey evaluating for Rome III IBS and functional dyspepsia (FD) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, researchers set out to test if there is a specific gut-to-brain connection and what the signalling order is. In other words, can gut health affect brain health?
The Results:
- Researchers found that participants with higher levels of emotional distress (anxiety and depression) were significantly more likely to develop IBS and FD, and those with IBS and FD at the start of the study were more likely to report new onset of anxiety and depression in the year following enrollment in the study.
- 1/3 of participants had the mood disorder first, and then the gastrointestinal disorder.
- 2/3 of the participants had the gatrointenstinal disorder (IBS or FD) first, and then the mood disorder.
Researchers now believe there are two different types of functional gastrointesntinal disease pathways — not just one. One subset of patients experience gut symptoms (pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, etc..) first prior to anxiety or depression developing.
This suggests that gut disease may signal the onset of a gut-to-brain disease pathway.
Another subset of patients may have anxiety or depression signal to the gut and subsequently give rise to gastrointestinal distress… brain-to-gut signaling.
The bottom line:
The more common pathway appears to be gut-to-brain signaling, being twice as common as brain-to-gut signaling!
Want more holistic healing support that addresses the energy dynamic that is behind your biggest health issues?
Join my Chakra Healing Class — it starts in two weeks and sign ups close this Friday!!!
I will personally guide you in working with an entirely new platform of healing potential.
This is a 7 week long class filled with uplifting daily articles, activities and support, directly from me…
…alongside weekly live Q&A phone calls where I personally answer every single health question you have ever had.
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To your resilient and ever evolving, ever improving health!
xoxox, Laura