Some natural substances have long been known for their therapeutic properties and ginger and honey are of them. Both of them have a history of medicinal use dating back to ancient times and have been played important roles in the folk medicine of many different cultures all around the world.
However, it is not until recently that people realized that ginger and honey, while great on their own, are even better in combination with one another. Modern research is only just beginning to realize what many traditional healing practices long have known, that ginger and honey, when used together, can fight against many different illnesses and infections – naturally. A breakdown of the new research is given below.
The New Study
Recent research coming out of the College of Medicine at the University of Gondar in Ethiopia has uncovered exciting facts about the honey-ginger combination. In this recent study, it was found that the combination of powdered honey and ginger extracts can inhibit the growth of certain strains of bacteria. This includes even serious strains like MRSA (a very resistant form of staphylococcus) and Escherichia coli (e. coli), both of which are serious human pathogens.
This study tested inhibition ranges, a technique which measures mean inhibition after culturing the bacteria in a broth solution, then using agar as a medium for measurement. The broths were then treated with the antibiotics for up to 24 hours in order to measure how effectively they treated the bacteria. The test used ginger and Ethiopian honey separately as well as ginger and honey in combination with one another. These were tested against three common antibiotics, amoxicillin, penicillin and methicillin to demonstrate their effectiveness.
The Results and Implications
The results of this study showed that both honey and ginger on their own were more effective than amoxicillin, penicillin or methicillin, although the amoxicillin came closest of the three in terms of efficacy. However, when the ginger and the honey extracts were used in combination with one another, they were shown to have the most potent effect of all on each strain of bacteria in the study.
The implications of this study are potentially enormous. Due to the overuse of antibiotics both in medicine and in the meat and dairy industry, multiple resistant strains of antibiotics have emerged that have the medical profession greatly concerned, as it will make infections in the future much more difficult to treat.
Ginger and honey have a long history of medical use – and with good reason. Medical science is uncovering what older traditions long have known, that these natural substances have potent antibiotic properties than could prove to be effective even against resistant forms of bacteria.
Sources: readynutrition.com, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, organicfacts.net
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