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Comment by ythn | Hacker News Reader

With a touch of honey

There is a Russian beverage made by adding a ton of good quality honey to hot boiling water that is supposed to be an excellent cold remedy. No idea if it actually does anything, but it is delicious and soothing.

I think honey is supposed to have natural antibiotic properties.

But also be careful about using too much of a ton of honey. Apparently the body will naturally purge an excess of honey ingested at once.

> Apparently the body will naturally purge an excess of honey ingested at once.

That's a new one on me. Where did you hear that? What do you mean by purge? Vomit?

I don't remember where I heard that. Looks like I'm wrong and the worst it may do is cause stomach cramps and bloating.

Honey loses these effects when put into water over 44 degrees Celsius warm though.

That's why you should first make your tea, wait till it cools off, and only then add honey.

Citation needed, please.

As far as I know, honey has two material effects: it is tasty, and there are some studies suggesting it’s an effective cough suppressant. I’ve never heard of either one being temperature dependent.

I’ve heard people claim that local honey has anti-allergy properties. I would certainly believe that the active ingredients in pollen are destroyed at high temperatures. But AFAIK any purported benefits are entirely unsubstantiated, and the FDA notes that bee pollen can be actively dangerous to people who are allergic to the pollen.

P.S. I drink my tea above 44 C.

Honey is also pretty much the only thing that kids under 12 months old should not eat because it could cause botulism, which is fatal for them*

* https://www.babycenter.com/404_when-can-my-baby-eat-honey_13...

Honey contains glucose oxidase from bee guts, an enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide in the presence of glucose and oxygen[1]. The accumulation of small amounts of H2O2 is what makes honey shelf stable.[2]

It's probably also what causes honey to have antibacterial properties when you put it on a wound.

That's not to say that it would have any effect on bacteria in your body if you eat it.

The enzyme is deactivated or denatured somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 C. [3]

Honey itself has antibacterial properties but there's no evidence I can find to show those properties translating to your body after you eat it. It makes sense that honey is effective to help treat wounds because it's still honey, not mixed up in your stomach and beyond. I'd bet stomach acid would do a fine job denaturing that enzyme as well, heat be damned. So maybe don't boil your honey if you're going to put it on a scrape, but drink your tea as you like. I personally really dislike honey in tea.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey

2. https://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/77

3. http://www.jbc.org/content/278/27/24324.full "The midpoint for thermal inactivation of residual activity and the dissociation of FAD was 59 °C"

If you put honey on a wound its osmotic properties alone have some antibacterial effect.

It might work as a antimicrobial (ie, applied externally) because it contains hydrogen peroxide but as to whether it can do anything about a cold (which is after all a virus) is another question.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/

The enzymes react with moisture in your skin to create hydrogen peroxide - read that somewhere. It also cuts off air flow to any bacteria. I think the sugar also acts against the critters.

It's no longer antibiotic once it gets wet.

Eat too much anything and you will naturally purge.

Why is honey no konger antibiotic once it gets wet?

It's not just Russian. It's a common remedy. As you say, I don't think it does anything - a cold is a virus, and any antibacterial property of the honey would be useless on a virus. But since it is so tasty and relaxing, it might be able to help you divert more energy to your immune system or something. idk. I merely speculate. It's fun to drink though.

It's thought the honey is the body's way of getting sugar during a viral infection, in which glucose might be a key factor in fighting the virus off.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/09/glucose-...

Belarusian here. We use milk with honey. I don't think it kills virus, just helps with the soaring throat and "softens" the coughs. Another popular medicine: vodka with pepper

Never liked either

Some people recommend hot beer.

Toss a little tea in there and it's pretty good.

Skip the lemon and swap honey for sugar and you can make me one while you're at it. Twinings or PG Tips preferably...

A don't forget to add a tea bag and it'll be perfect. :)

And a shot of strong Irish Whiskey!

Indeed!

Hot water, a large measure of Powers Whiskey, honey and a chunk of lemon with cloves pushed into the skin. Leave to steep for 6-7 mins, give it a stir.

Top notch for the alleviation of colds and, well, anything really :)

And a little camellia sinensis.

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