Honey in Ayurveda
“The fruit of bees is desired by all, and is equally sweet to kings and beggars and it is not only pleasing but profitable and healthful; it sweetens their mouths, cures their wounds, and conveys remedies to inward ulcers.“
Saint Ambrose
Honey has a very important place in Ayurvedic treatment. It is known as “madhu” in Ayurvedic scriptures. Honey which is one of the most important medicines for Ayurveda is used for both internal and external applications. It is a natural preservative and sweetener.
Honey is used for eye diseases, cough, thirst, phlegm, hiccups, blood in vomit, leprosy, diabetes, obesity, worm infestation, vomiting, asthma, diarrhea and healing wounds.
According to Ayurveda, there are 8 different types of honey:
- Makshikam: For the treatment of eye diseases, hepatitis, piles, asthma, cough and tuberculosis
- Bhraamaram: For the treatment of vomiting blood
- Kshoudram: For the treatment of diabetes
- Pauthikam: For the treatment of diabetes and urinary infection
- Chathram: For the treatment of worm infestation, vomiting blood and diabetes
- Aardhyam: For the treatment of eye diseases, cough and anemia
- Ouddalakam: For the treatment of leprosy and poisoning cases
- Daalam: For the treatment of cough, vomiting, diabetes and digestion problems.
“Raw honey reigns supreme as a medicinal sweet in Ayurveda. Traditionally, the quality of sweetness is associated with loving kindness, compassion, and contentment. Foods that carry the sweet taste are said to build ojas—our vital immunity, ability to ward off disease, and capacity to feel genuine satisfaction.” ¹
Honey alleviates the increased “Kapha Dosha”, that is, it balances it. Especially if your Kapha energy is dominant, you can add some honey to a cup of tea after your meal. This will both meet your sweet needs and support your digestion. Honey should be consumed cold. Heating honey can cause toxic effects. For therapeutic honey consumption, you shouldn’t eat more than 1 dessert spoon per day. Also, you should not feed honey to babies younger than one year old.
“Its sweet taste (rasa), warming action on the digestive tract (virya), and sweet post-digestive effect (vipaka), make honey calming internally for Kapha and Vata. It can aggravate Pitta in excess, especially when used in hot weather. Yet “young” raw honey (six months old or less) is reputed to balance Pitta. Because honey is drying, Vata dosha should consume honey in moderation and choose more liquid forms.” ²
In conclusion, Ayurveda shows how important an integrative health system is. Because the body, mind, soul and environment are whole. And even if we are not aware of it, they will all continue to exist together. Therefore, discovering different aspects of our lives, seeing how these aspects affect us and being able to establish a balance between them will enable us to protect our most sacred power, namely, our health.
“Through insight, understanding and experience Ayurveda presents a vast wealth of information on the relationships between causes and their effects, both immediate and subtle, for each unique individual.” ³
¹https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/blog-the-banyan-insight/details/honey-in-ayurveda/
²https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/blog-the-banyan-insight/details/honey-in-ayurveda/
³ https://www.ayurveda.com/ayurveda-a-brief-introduction-and-guide/
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