Honey

[Arch]

I don't know, but the thing about honey for pregnant women, may be something to do with pasturisation or something? I know you're not supposed (well, not in this godforsaken country) for give honey to infants under 1, because of some disease in it (the things you shouldn't give to babies are often restricted for pregnant women). So maybe that honey is pasturised or something? Although I always understood that honey is antiseptic anyway, and I'm sure people have been feeding honey to infants for millennia....

 

[djmc]

Until about the 15 Century honey was the only sweetener. It was used by the Greeks as an antiseptic and apparently is very effective as such. There was something in New Scientist recently to the effect that it is as good as anything else for treating common respiratory complaints such as coughs. As to variety, bees will use nectar from almost any flowers. Bee keepers moan about rape seed. Bees love the stuff but it solidifies very rapidly and it is difficult to extract. I have tried it. It tastes quite spicy which is to be expected since there is not much difference between rape seed and mustard seed.

 

[domtyler]

I don't know, but the thing about honey for pregnant women, may be something to do with pasturisation or something? I know you're not supposed (well, not in this godforsaken country) for give honey to infants under 1, because of some disease in it (the things you shouldn't give to babies are often restricted for pregnant women). So maybe that honey is pasturised or something? Although I always understood that honey is antiseptic anyway, and I'm sure people have been feeding honey to infants for millennia....

There is a small risk of botulism:

Infants younger than 12 months are at risk of infant botulism from eating honey. Infant botulism is a rare but serious form of food poisoning.

Honey is a known source of bacterial spores that produce Clostridium botulinum bacteria. These bacteria are typically harmless to older children and adults. But when ingested by an infant, these bacteria make a toxin that can cause infant botulism. It's unclear why this occurs in infants and not in older children or adults.

Infant botulism affects a baby's nervous system and can result in death. Signs and symptoms of infant botulism include:

* Persistent constipation
* Floppy arms, legs and neck
* Weak cry due to muscle weakness
* Weak sucking and poor feeding
* Tired all the time (lethargy)

Botulism spores may also be found in undercooked food, corn syrup and even maple syrup. For this reason, feeding an infant any of these foods is risky as well.

 

[ColinJ]

Apparently, eating honey from local producers might help overcome certain allergies... The theory being that the bees feed on the pollen that you might be allergic to and you get used to it over time. Something like that anyway.

Google for information

If you are going to try this, make sure you read the warnings on some of those websites!