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Easy, Homemade Mixture Helps Your Liver
It couldn’t be simpler. A sweet, natural concoction that you can make at home helps improve immune, digestive and liver health.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a mixture of two or three common cupboard ingredients could help you fend off illness, strengthen your digestion and improve your liver’s health? Based on an old Ayuverdic medicine recipe, such a mixture exists.
Known as “Golden Honey,” the combination of raw honey and turmeric is revered as a natural antibiotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer blend.
For those with liver concerns, “Golden Honey” is an ideal concoction to fend off colds and improve digestion while shielding the liver from toxicity.
About Turmeric
Exhibiting a warm and bitter taste, turmeric is the main spice in curry. Turmeric’s primary chemical compound is curcumin, a yellow substance with a long history of aiding liver health. Numerous studies have linked curcumin to reductions in liver cancer and liver fibrosis.
- According to a study in a 2012 edition of the Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, scientists found that the livers of diabetic rats were repaired and even regenerated with the help of turmeric.
- According to a 2009 study in the journal Liver International, curcumin showed an ability to inhibit several factors (like nuclear factor-kappaB) that helped reduce liver inflammation. In addition, the authors found that curcumin helped protect against liver injury from known liver cell toxins.
Note: Natural Wellness offers three supplements containing turmeric and curcumin. Learn more about Turmeric 95, Milk Thistle with Artichoke & Turmeric and Clinical LiverSupport.
About Honey
Besides sugars, vitamins and minerals, honey contains polyphenols that act as antioxidants – substances that neutralize harmful free radicals in the body. Raw honey is honey that is pure, unheated, unpasteurized and unprocessed. Because being in its natural state preserves its nutritional content, raw honey is preferred in the “Golden Honey” recipe.
Honey is associated with improved liver health and a reduced risk of liver disease for several reasons.
- Blood Sugar – Honey may help promote better blood sugar control, a benefit to people at risk for fatty liver disease. Honey’s ratio of fructose and glucose helps provide adequate glycogen storage in liver cells – which reduces the release of stress hormones and improves glucose metabolism. Improving the body’s glucose metabolism helps prevent insulin resistance and fatty liver disease.
- Good Bacteria – The digestive system hosts friendly bacteria, inhabitants that are crucial for healthy digestion. Raw honey is a great source of good bacteria, containing up to six species of lactobacilli and four species of bifidobacteria. Experts believe that liver injury may correlate with an imbalance of gut bacteria, and the liver is more resistant to damage when good bacteria levels are high.
- Antioxidants – Known to contain polyphenols, honey is a potent source of antioxidants. A study published in the 2013 issue of the Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journal found that honey protected the liver and kidneys of rats against toxicity and improved their cholesterol. The authors hypothesized that the antioxidant activity of the phenolic compounds in honey may be responsible for this liver-protecting effect.
“Golden Honey” Recipe
Considered to be the strongest Ayuverdic-certified antibiotic, “Golden Honey” can be used for bacterial and viral infections, as an anti-inflammatory that eases seasonal allergies, as a digestive aid, as a general immune booster and a liver detoxification supporter.
The two main ingredients are turmeric and honey. Most recipes state the proportions to be:
- 3.5 ounces of raw honey
- 1 tablespoon of turmeric
Another recipe states the recipe similarly, but adds an ingredient to enhance absorption:
- 3.5 ounces of raw honey
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- A pinch of black pepper – this optimizes turmeric absorption and bio-availability
Ideal Uses of “Golden Honey”
Mix the ingredients well and store in a glass jar for several days. This elixir is ideal for:
- Fending off or fighting a cold or flu.
- When you are feeling run-down.
- As a tonic for supporting digestive and liver health.
Ways to Ingest “Golden Honey”
There are many ways to ingest your Golden Honey; here are some suggestions:
- Mix a half of teaspoon in hot water or hot tea and drink it.
- Spread a half of teaspoon on whole grain toast.
- Swirl a half of teaspoon in plain, non-fat yogurt.
- Smear a half of teaspoon on apple slices or celery sticks.
Sometimes the best medicines emerge from our kitchens. As such, “Golden Honey” is gaining popularity because it is an effective mixture with several health benefits. Besides being a potent antibiotic and antiviral blend to fight colds and flus, “Golden Honey” is also a powerful liver health aid. Next time you take inventory of your kitchen staples, check to see if you have raw honey, turmeric and black pepper. Give this ancient Ayuverdic concoction a try for a sweet, natural tool capable of improving your immune, digestive and liver health.
*Editor’s Note – Raw honey and turmeric are not appropriate for everyone. If you have gallbladder disease, low blood sugar, a honey allergy, or are obese or a diabetic, consult your doctor or nutritionist before trying “Golden Honey.” In addition, honey is not advised for babies less than one year of age.
http://naturalsociety.com/turmeric-repairs-damaged-liver-tissues-promotes-liver-health/, Turmeric Repairs Damaged Liver Tissues, Promotes Overall Liver Health, Elizabeth Renter, Retrieved October 11, 2015, Natural Society, 2015.
http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/golden-honey-mixture-strongest-natural-antibiotic/, Golden Honey Mixture – The Strongest Natural Antibiotic, Retrieved October 11, 2015, Healthy and Natural World, 2015.
http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/this-golden-honey-mixture-is-the-strongest-known-natural-antibiotic/, This “Golden Honey” Mixture is The Strongest Known Natural Antibiotic, Retrieved October 11, 2015, Healthy Food House, 2015.
http://www.jmatonline.com/index.php/jmat/article/view/2062, Study of Curcumin on Microvasculature Characteristic in Diabetic Rat’s Liver as Revealed by Vascular Corrosion Cast/Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Technique, Wipapan Khimmaktong, et al, Retrieved October 11, 2015, Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, May 2012.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/478981-is-honey-good-for-your-liver/, Is Honey Good for Your Liver?, Janet Renee, Retrieved October 11, 2015, Demand Media, Inc., 2015.
http://www.liversupport.com/honey-a-sweetener-your-liver-can-appreciate/, Honey – A Sweetener Your Liver Can Appreciate, Nicole Cutler, Retrieved October 11, 2015, Natural Wellness, 2015.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19811613, Pharmacological actions of curcumin in liver diseases or damage, Rivera-Espinoza Y, et al, Retrieved October 11, 2015, Liver International, November 2009.
About the Author
Nicole Cutler, L.Ac., MTCM is a long time advocate of integrating perspectives on health. With a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester and a Master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches Institute, Nicole has been a licensed acupuncturist since 2000. She has gathered acupuncture licenses in the states of California and New York, is a certified specialist with the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, has earned diplomat status with the National Commission of Chinese and Oriental Medicine in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology and is a member of the Society for Integrative Oncology. In addition to her acupuncture practice that focuses on stress and pain relief, digestion, immunity and oncology, Nicole contributes to the integration of healthcare by writing articles for professional massage therapists and people living with liver disease.
