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Friday, October 14, 2011

Honey and Vinegar, Folk Medicine Wisdom




Emily Thacker has a series of awesome, informative books on home remedies utilizing basics such as honey and vinegar. In fact each subject is the title of its own little book. The Honey Book and The Vinegar Book.

The first words in her vinegar book are
"Since the beginning of time mankind has sought the magic elixir which bubbles from the fabled 'Fountain of Youth'. Apple cider vinegar may be as close as we'll ever come to such a remedy. A time honored prescription for whatever ails you and for those who want to retain vitality and good health well into old age."

It is best to use raw vinegar such as Bragg vinegar. Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is unfiltered, unheated, unpasteurized and 5% acidity. It contains the amazing Mother of Vinegar which occurs naturally as strand-like enzymes of connected protein molecules.

A few words by Emily from her honey book are
"Down through the ages honey has been regarded with awe and wonder. In some Mediterranean communities honey was even used, in place of gold or silver, as money. Honey has not only been considered a sacred food, fit for feeding deities, it has been part of the folk medicine of nearly every culture on the planet."


In Egypt the bee was the hieroglyphic which stood for king. In both pagan and Christian cultures bees were believed to be gifted, sacred creatures. Egypt and Canaan were both referred to as the lands of great abundance, lands which flow with milk and honey. In most cultures honey is even considered the elixir of love, and in Greek culture it was considered the elixir of perpetual youth.
So what exactly is the difference between raw honey and the perfectly golden, liquid honey that you see often bottled in a squeezable hive?

Raw honey has not been heated excessively through pasteurization. The only way to get that perfectly clear look of most commercial honeys is to heat it and then filter it excessively.The problem with heat is that many nutrients are very sensitive to it and die. You may get strange looks when you tell people your raw honey is 'alive', but you're absolutely correct to a certain extent.It's the beneficial enzymes found in raw honey that make it so digestible to humans. Raw honey is filtered, but very minimally and in a manor not to destroy the health promoting enzymes and other nutrients.

If you are interested in more honey facts there is a great biography on honey called "Robbing The Bees" by Holley Bishop. A book that reads like a novel, it is a good education to understand the little honeybee.

Vanishing of the Bees is a facebook page focused on spreading awareness about the plight of the honeybee. The DVD Vanishing of the Bees by Ellen Page is a documentary that follows the plight of the honeybee in the struggle for survival. We are told the bees are sending us a message, but are we listening?


The time-honored recipe for dealing with arthritis, insomnia and a troubled stomach is 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, mixed into a glass of water and taken morning and evening.The key to good health is not to wait till there is a breakdown within your system to start paying attention. If such a simple little concoction can do such wonders it is certainly worth looking into what the old-timers and folklore have to say.



Check out these sites for ways to utilize the wonders of honey and vinegar for your skin and hair care needs!
www.meadowmuffingardens.com
www.meadowmuffin2010.etsy.com

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