Mad honey, also called deli bal, is a special variety of honey that is obtained from the nectar of certain wild flowers found in selected parts of the world. Mostly the Himalayan region where a variety of Rhododendron species blooms. Unlike ordinary honey, it contains a number of naturally occurring toxins known as grayanotoxins, substances which have psychoactive and possibly hazardous effects when ingested in larger quantities. As toxic as it may be, several traditional systems of healing have employed the use of mad honey to this date. Even homeopathy, which takes advantage of its principle of action in order to treat ailments by means of dosages with potency diluted according to the discipline. This article covers the homeopathic uses and benefits along with the precautions that come along with mad honey.
What is Mad Honey?
This rare variety owes its existence to bees collecting nectar from Rhododendron flowers. This honey is harvested from higher cliffs as the bees producing this honey prefers wilderness for its habitat. This honey contains grayanotoxins, a class of naturally occurring toxins, that causes a number of changes on the human body if ingested in concentrated amounts. For example, it produces such effects as dizziness, hallucinations, low blood pressure amongst many and the extreme being poisoning. Grayanotoxin occurs naturally in a variety of concentrations depending on the flower from which bees collect nectar and the location from where honey is harvested. Grayanotoxin would, upon ingestion, present some sort of psychoactive effects.
Though indeed poisonous in large amounts, on the contrary, controlled small doses of this intoxicating honey have also served in some regions as a very long-standing medicine. In homeopathic medicine, highly diluted versions of mad honey are prepared according to the basic idea of “like cures like,” where substances producing a symptom complex in a healthy person are used in diluted form to treat the symptoms in a sick one.
Mad Honey in Homeopathy: Uses and Benefits
Homeopathy is a different alternative medicine. It has very highly diluted substances to treat quite a wide range of conditions both physical and mental. The toxic effect becomes highly reduced when the preparation of mad honey is done in the homeopathic remedy to treat different ailments. Some of the key benefits that mad honey realizes in homeopathy are the way the honey has been designed to return balance to the body in cases of mental and emotional problems and some involving physical illness. Elements like
1. Mental and Emotional Health
The main usages of mad honey in homeopathy are for the probable treatment effects it gives on mental and emotional disorders. Because of its psychoactive properties in concentrated undiluted forms, mad honey is believed to stir up the mind, lift the mood and to some extent cure states of mental health conditions such as:
Depression: Mad honey is used in homeopathy to control depression, mainly when the mind is clouded, with a lack of clarity and low energy and is sorrowful. Its stimulating action may be used to uplift the mood when diluted and restore the mental vitality.
Anxiety and Stress: Anxiety and stress symptoms are treated using Mad honey in certain cases. In appropriate doses, the presence of psychoactive components proves to be soothing for the nervous system.
Cognitive Impairments: According to some homeopaths, mad honey applies in the treatment of states that involve a general decline in cognitive functions or a disturbance in memory when it has been characterized by confusion of thoughts, forgetfulness and sometimes an inability to focus concentration.
2. Circulatory and Cardiovascular Support
Traditional uses for mad honey in some cultures include treating conditions of the cardiovascular system. It is believed in homeopathy that it normalizes blood pressure and circulation. Due to its action on the autonomic nervous system, it may help with issues surrounding:
High Blood Pressure: Honey or mad honey finds its uses in a few homeopathic applications on patients who turn out to have high blood pressure levels. Its tranquilizing effects on the nervous system and possible benefits in ensuring circulation would further facilitate blood pressure management.
Low Blood Pressure: This honey, on the contrary, may be used to help in conditions where one is suffering from low blood pressure because it stimulates the flow of blood and generally improves cardiovascular health.
3. Digestive Health
Traditionally, mad honey has been used in the treatment of digestion problems, and it is believed that in homeopathic form it can be used to treat conditions such as:
Indigestion: Honey was considered useful for the digestive disturbances that manifested sluggish digestion with bloating or distention and discomfort during or after eating.
Nausea and Vomiting: It was used in the treatment of Nausea and Vomiting, especially if related to poor circulation or nausea in individuals in whom emotional stress gives rise to it.
4. Analgesic
Pain can be treated with homeopathic mad honey, especially that which is related to problems in nerve function. Headaches, migraines, muscular pain-all these might involve conditions of poor stimulation of circulation and slight analgesia both of which the substance in its action may provide.
Homeopathic Preparation of Mad Honey
In homeopathy, honey is potentized by performing successive dilutions and successions to minimize its toxic effects and enhance its therapeutic possibilities. In this way, grayanotoxins will be diluted to a degree that they will not pose any risk to the individual.
For a homeopathic remedy, mad honey is usually highly diluted to as high as 60 degree Celsius, at which virtually no original substance would remain in that form. That would leave the remedy quite harmless for use and treatment purposes.
Precautions and Risks
Despite its homeopathic, healing benefits, mad honey use comes with some certain precautionary measures and riskier aspects:
Toxicity in High Doses: Pure mad honey can be poisonous and a small amount of it is sufficient to produce toxic symptoms. Symptoms of poisoning by mad honey include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, hypotension and hallucinations. Therefore, highly diluted homeopathic preparations are highly safe and effective.
Professional Consultation: It is always recommended that before trying any homeopathic remedy, a professional homeopath or health professional should be consulted, especially if the patient suffers from a previous illness, is pregnant or lactating.
Allergic Reactions: This is a naturally derived product and one has to consider the possibility of an allergic reaction when being exposed to mad honey. A patch test may be conducted or at least the professional approached well in advance while considering it for application purposes.
Not for Children: Though potentially toxic when ingested in crude form, this variety of honey ought to stay very far from children’s reach or even more vulnerable people.
The Place of Mad Honey in Homeopathy and holistic health
Though powerful and dangerous in cases of raw consumption, a place of mad honey exists in homeopathy for a claimed treatment against a wide variety of physical and mental conditions. Kept along with the natural supplements and medicines like Shilajit, Ashwagandha,Triphala etc Prepared in highly diluted potencies, mad honey is considered to be safe and possibly of some help in enhancing a person’s mood, cognitive functioning, blood pressure control and digestive health. However, like all other homeopathic remedies, it is still sensible to consult a health care expert ahead of any plan to take mad honey preparation, especially if there’s a pre-existing condition or with any apprehension about its action. In any case, the use of mad honey in some sort of appropriate homeopathy may be the best way of capturing its therapeutic benefits with reduced toxicity.
