Uses for Honey: In Survival, Medicine, And Beauty

As well as a sweetener in food, there are several other uses for honey, which not only make it a popular food worldwide, but also have made its introduction in the survival, medicine, and beauty industry. Honey has always been known as a miracle food because of its antioxidant and nutritional value properties; however, were you aware that it also has a special place amongst your survival kit?

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We all know honey is used in food and cooking preparations, but it has also been used to heal and cleanse wounds, treat burns, and fight infections. This has been happening for centuries and still continues to do so today. Due to the long shelf life, versatility, and reasonable cost of honey, there’s no reason why you cannot make it part of your survival kit and/or grab and go bag.

There are various types of honeys: liquid honey, comb honey, cut comb, raw honey, naturally crystallized honey, whipped or creamed honey, and honey mead.

Honey and survival

There are many different ways honey has made its way into ones survival kit as it has proven to provide a perfect cure for a wide range of illnesses and conditions. Medicinal uses of honey have and continue to remain in the medicine industry with a wide range on individuals, including professionals using the food as a cure. Below we discuss many survival uses of honey and how the food can help cure everyday incidents and even long terms problems.

Honey and wounds

A wound can be the result of a cut, graze, fall, and injury. Applying raw honey to a wound instantly decreases pain and inflammation. This also speeds up the healing process and minimizes the occurrence of any scarring. One can easily apply a honey dressing, as they are extremely easy to both apply and remove – leaving no sticky residue behind.

Once the bandage is removed, any impurities also go with this. When using honey and a pad for applying honey to a wound, it is best to use a pad that is non-absorbent. This is to ensure the honey stays as near to the skin as possible.

Honey is perfect for healing wounds as it both kills and fights bacteria and infections. The brilliant absorbing capabilities of honey make it super beneficial even when applying it to a wound that is infected. Honey works on wounds by absorbing all the water from the wound. This means bacteria are no longer able to grow, as there is no water, which means the wound is purified sterile. This is what makes honey a brilliant alterative for use in medicine. For more information to see if a cut is infected, check out our popular article on this important topic.

Additional uses in survival and medicine

If you think all you can do with honey is sweetening your food, you are majorly mistaken. You are surely in for a big surprise, especially when you discover the short list below of the many survival uses of honey.

You can use honey as a cough syrup and watch how quickly it helps you recover from that nasty cough. Instead of using commercial cough syrups that are filled with unwanted chemicals and sugar, you should use honey as a cough suppressant. The brilliant thing is, it is completely natural. See more natural remedies for coughs by reading our previous article on this.

In order to either relive or decrease acid reflux, you can always consume one tablespoon of honey a day in order to do this. For more tips and trick on how to treat stomach virus naturally, see our article on this important topic.

Honey is also the perfect antiseptic for scrapes and cuts. The hydrogen peroxide the food releases makes it perfect for this and because of its viscous consistency, it also stops scabs and wounds from sticking to the bandage or dressing.

Honey is also known to fight sickness and boost immunity. Raw honey consists of phytonutrients that have both antiviral and antibacterial properties, which help do both these things.

If you have problems sleeping, honey can also help with this as it can help the action of tryptophan, which helps one feel sleepy. Consuming honey on a daily basis reduces any allergies that one may have against plant pollens. Honey is also known as a fantastic energy booster. By mixing water with honey and drinking the solution, fatigue is reduced in one as the honey’s glucose content is absorbed by the brain and into the bloodstream. To get more insight, check out our article on natural ways to treat allergies, it’s a must-read for everyone.

As honey is rich in glucose, it can also enhance blood flow through the defence of the formation of blood. Glucose gives energy to the bloodstream, which is then distributed throughout the entire body. The blood that is produced flows smoothly and has a proper consistency. As glucose enhances the blood flow, this is also believed to stop capillary damage.

Applying a honey dressing to burns is another use of honey in the survival industry. The hydrogen peroxide the honey releases cleans the wound and soother the inflammation. This also results in burn marks healing quickly and with less pain. Due to the acidic pH balance and honey combined with its viscose base, germs and bacteria are no longer able to survive once they are covered in honey. All microorganisms will be stuck beneath the sticky acidic base that is too harsh for their exteriors, eventually killing them off.

Honey is also known to promote relaxation and calm anxiety. This is a huge plus for the survival mode where you need to be both calm and clear headed. The nutrients present in honey create a calming effect, especially if honey is consumed in significant amounts.

Honey, hair and skin

Honey has also found many uses for skin, hair, and digestion, all of which have made it as popular as it is today. Using honey as a hair conditioner is lovely and super beneficial. You can easily mix in a teaspoon of honey to your usual shampoo or conditioner and/or combine it with olive oil for conditioning that is deeper. You need to allow this to soak for twenty minutes before you begin to shampoo as usual.

Using honey as a skin moisturizer not only gives you softer and healthier looking skin, but also makes it beautiful and glow. Applying honey to the skin and leaving this for fifteen minutes before rinsing off is recommended. After washing, you skin will be left beautifully soft and gorgeously moisturized.

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If you suffer from acne and have tried many treatments and creams, it’s time to give honey a go. Apply a small amount of honey directly to the acne is what you need to do. A cotton swab or your finger can be used for this. This should be left on for five minutes and then rinsed of using warm water.

Honey and its contents for survival

As well as finding much use in the survival and medicine industry, honey has also been used as a beauty treatment mainly because of its nourishing properties. The multiple contents honey contains include:

• Wide range of amino acids
• An array of vitamins
• Phytonutrients
• Sugars
• Nutrients
• Enzyme and antioxidants

These contents are easy for the body to both absorb and use. All the content listed above joined with its capacity to prevent infections makes it an effective healer as well as a master when it comes to beauty. Its high medicinal and nutritional value is said to be very useful for various things, such as:

• Eyesight
• Decreasing effects of poisoning
• Treating urinary tract disorders
• Stopping hiccups
• Nausea
• Worm infestations
• Cleansing
• Vomiting
• Healing wounds

The main contents of honey include:

• Vitamins
• Water
• Carbohydrates
• Minerals
• Riboflavin
• Niacin
• Calcium
• Copper
• Pantothenic acid
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Zinc
• Potassium
• Iron
• Manganese

Honey is rich in antioxidants, enzymes, and many more phytonutrients.

It consists of phenolic acids and flavonoids, both of which act as scavenging, antioxidants, and eliminating-free radicals. The antioxidants content found in honey are responsible for honey and its wound-healing assets. Due to such properties, honey is widely used as an antibacterial healing agent for treating several injuries, such as:

• Ulcers
• Burns
• Wounds

Beauty benefits of honey

The amino acids, minerals, and vitamins that are in honey make it a fantastic aid in beauty. Honey provides brilliant nutritional worth to both the hair and skin, with results that can be seen once the food is used for some era of time. Taking honey for longer periods of time helps the skin glow more brilliantly and helps decrease wrinkles. As a result, this makes one appear younger and fresher.

Honey is a fantastic natural cleanser and moisturizing agent, which explains why it is commonly used in wide skin cleansing creations. Honey increases renewal and exfoliation of skin cells that make the skin appear both younger and softer. Many products that include honey are propolis and royal jelly.

Such products have been and still continue to be used in beauty salons as facial masks, which result in presenting one with more healthy-looking skin. Due to the convenience of carbohydrates in honey, the food provides one with rapid energy sources, especially when it is taken before exercise. This also improves performance.

Taking honey after an exercising program also helps in the rapid recovery of muscles. Honey is also able to increase the activity and growth of the good bacteria that are present in the gut.

Honey as a health supplement

You can take honey as a health supplement and you can either take it by mixing it with water or in one teaspoon without water. This is best during the morning, but any other time is also best. Taking honey with Propolis or royal jelly in the morning before food and drink provides one with energy for the entire day. The royal jelly is brilliant for beauty and the Propolis works as a perfect antioxidant. After some time, one’s complexion also improves. Honey is made up of several elements, such as:

• Glucose
• Fructose
• Minerals
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Phosphate
• Calcium
• Sodium
• Potassium
• Chlorine

Here is a typical honey profile:

Fructose	38.2%
Maltose	7.1%
Water	17.2%
Ash	0.2%
Glucose	31.3%
Sucrose	1.3%
Higher sugars	1.5%
Other/undetermined	3.2%

Honey has many uses in the beauty industry and is one of the most effective and oldest beauty aids. Honey consists of sugars, waxes, and bits of minerals. It is a natural moisturizer and an anti-irritant, both of which make it suitable to be used on sensitive skin types. Many beauty products in a variety of drug stores or beauty supply stores contain honey.

These products tend to be expensive, but they can also be made at home. There are many beauty tips, which involve honey and when doing this one needs to ensure they are not allergic to honey. If one is, then honey should not be used.

Honey can be used as a honey mask and should be applied to the face to set until it is dry. This should take fifteen minutes and once it is dry, the face should be rinsed with warm water. Honey can also be used as a body glow bath. This is to moisturize and smooth the body as well as make it glow.

Honey should be applied to the skin and patted dry using both of the hands. Whilst you are patting your skin, the honey will begin to get sticky and smoothly pulls up the skin. Once you have finished, the honey should be rinsed away and this will leave you with brilliant circulation as well as gorgeous glowing skin. For soft and sweet smelling skin, one can also add ¼ to ½ cup of honey to bath water.

Mixing honey with almond flour can create a honey scrub for the face. This should be rinsed off with warm water. One can also use honey as a daily facial cleanser. Milk powder must be mixed with a teaspoon of honey and applied on the face to clean away makeup and dirt. This should be rinsed of using warm water.

Honey can also add shine to the hair. In order to do this, one must mix one teaspoon of honey with warm water and the juice of a fresh lemon. The hair should be shampooed as usual and the honey mixture should be poured onto the hair. You need to let your hair dry as normal and the honey mixture does not need to be rinsed out. For a healthy scalp and healthy hair, two tablespoons of honey need to be combined with half a cup of honey.

The hair needs to be saturated with the honey mixture and this should remain on the hair for thirty minutes. After thirty minutes are over, once needs to shampoo and rinse the hair as normal. In order to smooth, firm, and moisturize the skin, one may also use honey as a skin toner.

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Honey can be combined with one cored and peeled apple using a blender. This should be applied to the face and should be left to dry for fifteen minutes. The face can then be rinsed with warm water.

With all the beauty tips and beauty uses of honey above, you can always create those affordable spa-like products in the comfort of your very own home. Honey is a lovely beauty product as it contains naturally occurring vitamins, enzymes, and minerals. When creating your very own beauty products using honey, it is important the honey you are using is one hundred percent natural and pure.

Honey and other foods

When used, combined, and mixed with other foods, honey has several health and survival benefits. As well as its medicinal uses, honey brings wonderful health and survival benefits when it is combined with other foods such as:

• Cinnamon
• Bee pollen
• Cider vinegar
• Ginger

Combining equal parts of honey, water, and vinegar is effective in removing parasites. Making this mixture and then drinking this solution is an effective and perfect parasite killer. Honey is also effective in treating a sore and scratchy throat.

In order to do this, one must mix lemon juice with honey, which will create a throat-relieving serum. This should be repeated as often as needed until the symptoms are decreased, if not finished. If you are feeling under the weather, you can try to combine two teaspoons of lemon juice with one tablespoon of honey in half a cup of hot, but not boiling water.  Mixing equal proportions of apple cider vinegar with honey, then diluting with water is a natural drink that aids digestion.

For all those recipes you use sugar for, it is ideal to replace this with cups of honey. Honey is also known as a food preservative and replaces refined sugars and chemical additives in a range of commercial products. When honey is used in breads and baking goods as a substitute to sugar, the result will be a moister product that stays fresh for longer and is unlikely to mould.

Honey is also known to increase the activity and growth of the good bacteria that is present in the gut.  Consuming honey with dairy products, such as yoghurt is said to enhance the viability and growth of bifid bacteria.

The bottom line

In conclusion, honey has many benefits on health, beauty, survival, and holistically. Whether it is consumed, applied, massaged, or even patted into the skin, honey always works its benefits and gives one the chance to make the most of its various benefits. If there is a jar in the cupboard or in your backpack, make sure you make use of it in every way possible, as you certainly do want to enhance your survival, your health, and skin and hair.