Traditionally, people have relied on herbal remedies as their primary source of healthcare. There are no strings attached and it’s safe, effective, and free. Plant remedies were utilized by our ancestors and are currently used by our neighbors all over the globe for healing and health maintenance. It’s a cinch. A degree or other specific training isn’t required to get started.

When you first start using maccun plus herbal medication, you may have flashbacks from your past. Those memories and your inner herbalist are meant to be nourished and activated by these teachings.

By concentrating on the plants’ flavor, we learned to “listen” to them. In the second class, we looked at herbal treatments that might be made with only water. In the third session, we learned how to distinguish between beneficial plants (nourishing and tonifying) and those that are harmful (stimulating and sedating). We learned how to brew a tincture and put together our Herbal Medicine Chest in our fourth class on poisons. Herbal vinegar and oils were the focus of our fifth and sixth lessons, respectively.

In our last class together, we explored our perspectives on healing; we looked at the Scientific objective of restoring the damaged machine, the Heroic ambition to cleanse the poisons from our dirty bodies, and the Wise Woman’s desire to nurture the unique person.

During this week’s eighth class, we’ll be making maccun plus 240 jars of honey, syrups, and cough drops in the herbal pharmacy.

Next, we’ll take a look at the Seven Medicines as we wrap off this series of lessons, which will be our ninth and last one.

HONEY

Since the dawn of time, honey has been revered as a potent medicinal agent. In ancient Greece, healers depended mostly on honey water, vinegar water, and honey/vinegar water to treat ailments. According to Egyptian medical literature that dates back to 2600 BC, honey is mentioned 500 times in 900 cures in ancient Egyptian medicine. Is there anything remarkable about honey?

First, honey has antimicrobial properties. Skin, intestinal, respiratory, and overall body infections are all combated by this product.

It’s also called “water-loving” or “hygroscopic” honey. Honey acts like a sponge, absorbing moisture from the air and retaining it in the region where it is applied. A honey facial leaves the skin feeling soft and hydrated. Honey’s anti-infective and hygroscopic properties make it an excellent healer of wounds of all types, including burns, bruises, and decubitus (skin ulcers), an excellent soother for sore throats, a strong ally against bacterial diarrhea, and a counter to asthma.

Third, honey has a significant percentage of protein (up to 35%). An energy boost is provided by the easily accessible carbohydrate (sweetener) as well as a mood-lifting effect. Some sources believe that honey is as good as, or better than, ginseng in terms of reviving a person’s energy levels. Both inside and topically, honey’s proteins help heal.

Honey also contains vitamins B, C, D, and E, as well as a few minerals. Anti-cancer properties are a result of its ability to boost the immune system.

If you’re looking to get the most out of your honey, you may want to get it from a variety of flowers. Because of its high content of levulose, Tupelo honey is a good choice for diabetics because it delays digestion. New Zealand’s Manuka honey has been certified antibacterial. Bees collect nectar from goldenrod, buckwheat and chicory, and other wildflowers in the fall to generate my “house honey.”

In addition to pollen and propolis, bee, and floral compounds with unique medicinal properties, raw honey also includes nectar.

With a rich supply of protein and vitamins, bee pollen is also a strong source of minerals and hormone precursors and fatty acids. Pollen from bees is well known for its ability to alleviate symptoms of allergies and asthma if used consistently. Bee pollen, or any honey containing pollen, should be beneficial to those with allergies since the pollen that causes allergic responses comes from wind-pollinated plants. Allergy symptoms were reduced by 84% among those taking honey three times weekly in the winter, according to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Propolis is a potent antibacterial material generated by bees from resinous tree saps. To treat illnesses including bronchitis, sinusitis, colds, flu, gum disease, and tooth decay, propolis may be tinctured in pure grain alcohol (resins don’t dissolve well in 100 percent vodka, my first choice for tinctures).

WARNING: Botulinus spores are present in all honey, but particularly raw honey. Botulism, a lethal toxin, may develop from these spores in infants under the age of one year because they lack stomach acid.

MINERAL HONEY

Honey is poured over fresh herbs and allowed to mingle for a period of a few days to many months to create herbal honey. Honey, which loves water, absorbs the herb’s water-soluble components as well as its volatile oils, many of which have anti-infective properties. Medicinal and delectable, herbal honey offers the best of both worlds. When I take a look at my collection of herbal honey, I feel like the luckiest person on the planet.