Health from the Hive
What did the bee say to the flowers and trees? Hello honey and… propolis! Yes, honey isn’t the only thing bees can make. Collected from the buds of certain trees, bees also produce a resinous material called ‘propolis’. Not only are these naturally nutritive substances useful for bees, they are also exceptionally beneficial for the health of humans.
Wealthy Health’s Propolis with Olive Leaf and Manuka Honey Liquid Spray
Imagine if a passenger airplane crashed in Australia every Wednesday, this is how many people (approx. 290 people) die from smoking every week (1). Ranging from gum disease through to cancer, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia (2).
Whilst quitting smoking remains the first line of choice for reducing the risk of disease (3), with this easy to use product and its magical ingredients, you may reduce your risk of developing certain cancers (4), as well as other benefits such as getting rid of bad breath (5)(6), particularly after a garlic containing meal!
‘Honey, I’m home!’
Aside from honey being a staple in Cleopatra’s beauty potion (7), honey has so many properties beneficial to human health, you won’t believe it! Just to give you a rough idea, the ancient Egyptians used honey as an ingredient in 500 of their medical treatments (7). So it really is one of the oldest traditional medicines used for the treatment of a variety of human health conditions (8).
Wealthy Health’s Propolis with Olive Leaf and Manuka Honey Liquid Spray contains specially chosen Manuka honey, which has shown to demonstrate antimicrobial activity against disease-causing bacteria making this honey a functional food with the potential for treating wounds or stomach ulcers 9.
Increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have made simple wounds become chronic and non-healing (10). Unlike certain medications, microbial resistance to honey has never been reported11, making honey an excellent alternative as a treatment options (10)
Cancer
Agents that have strong antioxidant properties may have the potential to prevent the development of cancer, as free radicals and oxidative stress play a significant role in inducing the formation of cancers (12). Honey contains these various kinds of phytochemicals (with high phenolic and flavonoid content), contributing to its high antioxidant activity (13)(14).
Wound/Burn Healing
Research has repeatedly demonstrated the ability of honey to support infected wound healing, burns, skin ulcers and inflammation (15)(16). Even during the ancient times, because of honey’s antibacterial properties, it was used in order to speed up the wound healing process (17)(18).
Weight Loss
This is one you probably haven’t heard before! A study has shown that the consumption of honey may cause mild reductions in body weight and fat (19).
Propolis
The word ‘propolis’ comes from the ancient Greeks, meaning an outer wall of a city (pro: before, polis: city), relating to its protective characteristics (20). Bees tend to use it to seal the openings of their hives, maintain and keep them free of harmful bacteria. Used in Russia as toothpaste, this health delicacy is well known to have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (21). Since propolis on its own has a bitter taste, we’ve combined the sweetness of Manuka honey for its sweet and long list of benefits.
Haliotosis (bad breath)
When micro-organisms in the mouth are degraded, the result is haliotosis22.
Studies have shown that oral application of propolis reduces haliotosis5, 6 leaving you feeling fresh and smelling good!
Cold/Flu
Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious disease of the respiratory tract caused by the influenza virus23 Studies have shown that propolis may play a significant role in restraining the infectious activity of the influenza virus24.
Olive Leaf Extract
Olive leaves themselves have been used as a remedy against various diseases (25)(26).
Research conducted at Australia's Southern Cross University (SCU) has identified the olive leaf as the most powerful, free radical-scavenging antioxidant of 55 medicinal herbs (27) with the major constituent of the olive leaves, oleuropein, shown to be a highly potent antioxidant (28)(29).
Olive leaves contain many bioactive compounds that may have:
Antimicrobial (killing microorganisms or suppressing their multiplication or growth
Antihypertensive (ability to reduce blood pressure)
Antiviral (destroying or inhibiting the growth and reproduction of viruses)
Anti-inflammatory (counteracting or suppressing inflammation)
Hypoglycemic (oral hypoglycemic drugs are generally used by type 2 diabetes patients)
Anticancer properties (28-36).
At Wealthy Health, we have combined these three natural and essential ingredients to enhance the protective effects of each, in an easy to use, pleasant tasting and aromatic spray. You may also be interested in our Particulate Matter (PM) Lung Support product which also contains anti-oxidants and plant sourced natural ingredients that protect the body from the damaging effects of free radicals, keeping you safeguarded inside and out!
OxyGen. (2014). Smoking in Australia. Available: http://www.oxygen.org.au/hardfacts/smokinginaustralia. Last accessed 15th Jan 2015 .
Quit Victoria. (2014). Deaths and Disease from Smoking. Available: http://www.quit.org.au/resource-centre/facts-evidence/fact-sheets/deaths-and-disease-from-smoking. Last accessed 15th Jan 2015.
Cancer Council Australia . (2014). Smoking and Tobacco Control. Available: http://www.cancer.org.au/policy-and-advocacy/position-statements/smoking-and-tobacco-control/#jump_2. Last accessed 15th Jan 2015.
Othman NH. Does Honey Have the Characteristics of Natural Cancer Vaccine? Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine 2012;2(4):276-283.
N. Sterer and Y. Rubinstein, “Effect of various natural medicinal on salivary protein putrefaction and malodor production,”Quintessence International, vol. 37, no. 8, pp. 653–658, 2006.
S. Barak and J. Katz, “The effect of Breezy candy on halitosis: a double-blind controlled and randomized study,” Quintessence International, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 313–317, 2012.
Wellman, T. (2008). Bee Pollen, Honey, Propolis and Royal Jelly . Available: http://www.totalhealthmagazine.com/articles/vitamins-and-supplements/bee-pollen-honey-propolis-and-royal-jelly.html . Last accessed 15th Jan 2015.
Mandal, MD . (2011). Honey: Its Medicinal Property and Antibacterial Activity. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. 1 (2), 154-160.
French VM, Cooper RA, Molan PC. The antibacterial activity of honey against coagulase-negative Staphylococci. J Antimicrob Chemother 2005; 56: 228-231.
Sharp A. Beneficial effects of honey dressings in wound management. Nurs Stand. 2009;24:66–68.
Dixon B. Bacteria can't resist honey. Lancet Infect Dis. 2003;3:116.
Valko M, Leibfritz D, Moncol J, Cronin M.T.D, Mazur M, Telser J. Free radicals and antioxidants in normal physiological functions and human disease. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology. 2007;39:44–84.
Iurlina M.O, Saiz A.I, Fritz R, Manrique G.D. Major flavonoids of Argentinean honeys. Optimisation of the extraction method and analysis of their content in relationship to the geographical source of honeys. Food Chemistry. 2009;115:1141–1149.
Pyrzynska K, Biesaga M. Analysis of phenolic acids and flavonoids in honey. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 2009;28:893–902.
Molan PC. The evidence supporting the use of honey as a wound dressing. Int J Low Extrem Wounds. 2006;5:40–54
Simon A, Traynor K, Santos K, Blaser G, Bode U, Molan P. Medical honey for wound care - still the ‘Latest Resort’ Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2008 doi: 10.1093/ecam/nem175
Lusby PE, Coombes AL, Wilkinson JM. Bactericidal activity of different honeys against pathogenic bacteria. Arch Med Res. 2005;36:464–467.
18. Al-Waili NS, Akmal M, Al-Waili FS, Saloom KY, Ali A. The antimicrobial potential of honey from United Arab Emirates on some microbial isolates. Med Sci Monitor. 2005;11:433–438.
Yaghoobi N, Al-Waili N, Ghayour-Mobarhan M, Parizadeh S.M, Abasalti Z, Yaghoobi Z, Yaghoobi F, Esmaeili H, Kazemi-Bajestani S.M, Aghasizadeh R, Saloom K.Y, Ferns G.A. Natural honey and cardiovascular risk factors; effects on blood glucose, cholesterol, triacylglycerole, CRP and body weight compared with sucrose. Scientific World Journal. 2008;8:463–469.
Włodzimierz Więckiewicz, Marta Miernik, Mieszko Więckiewicz, and Tadeusz Morawiec, “Does Propolis Help to Maintain Oral Health?,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2013, Article ID 351062, 8 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/351062
Shruthi. E, B. S. Suma. (2012). Health from the Hive: Potential Uses of Propolis in General Health. International Journal of Clinical Medicine. 1 (3), 159-162.
W. J. Loesche, “The effects of antimicrobial mouthrinses on oral malodor and their status relative to US Food and Drug Administration regulations,” Quintessence International, vol.30, no. 5, pp. 311–318, 1999.
Australian Government: Department of Health. (2010). What is Influenza?. Available: http://www.flupandemic.gov.au/internet/panflu/publishing.nsf/Content/whatis-1. Last accessed 19th Jan 2015.
J. Serkedjieva, “Anti-Influenza Virus Effect of Some Pro- polis Constituents and Their Analogues (Esters of Sub- stituted Cinnamic Acids),” Journal of Nat Products, Vol. 55, No. 3, 1992, pp. 294-302.
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L. Seddik, T. M. Bah, A. Aoues, M. Slimani, andM. Benderdour, “Elucidation ofmechanisms underlying the protective effects of olive leaf extract against lead-induced neurotoxicity in Wistar rats,” Journal of Toxicological Sciences, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 797– 809, 2011.
Z. Bouallagui, J. Han, H. Isoda, and S. Sayadi, “Hydroxytyrosol rich extract from olive leaves modulates cell cycle progression in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells,” Food and Chemical Toxicology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 179–184, 2011.
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