EQUINE DENTISTRY AND YOUR RIGHTS AS A HORSE OWNER ARE UNDER THREAT ....
After four years of frustrating negotiations the AgriFood Skills Australia, the Diploma project is in danger of being terminated. ( http://agrifoodskills.site-ym.com/?page=EquineDiploma)
Feedback from state regulators and veterinary practitioner boards support a monopoly by veterinarians on the delivery of Diploma level services and AgriFood is advising there may be no way to move the project forward as a result.
We have evidence that state regulators and Veterinary Practitioner Boards have been influenced and encouraged by representatives of veterinary associations to prevent completion of the Diploma project....
The issue of equine dentistry has been an obsession for some months, involving contacts with the Vet Pract Bd, universities, EVA and, most recently, Minister Steve Whan(I&I). I requested member support in responding to AgriFood Skills about lay dentistry training - thanks to all those who made the effort to respond on behalf of veterinary science. It seems strange that, at a time when ever more exacting standards are being expected, demanded of us as vets, there can be a carve-off or our special place in the treatment of animals, and the bit carved off is cast to some technician who never would have made it into vet school, likely not even matriculated.- President AVA NSW January 2011 newsletter
and this....
On behalf of the NSW AVA Committee I would like to make you aware of a meeting that was conducted between the NSW AVA and the Department of I&I, 16th December 2010.... It is our aim to continue consultation with Ms deleted on these matters and we can only hope that Minister Whan will make some recommendation that the NSW Government does not agree with the Agriskills course. We felt it was important that you were all aware that the NSW Committee is pursuing the matter and what tact we are taking.... - Advocacy report - NSW Committee member AVA NSW 2011 newsletter
and this...
Well, I think that our SIG, although small in numbers, has punched well above its weight, if I can use this boxing metaphor. Our committee has performed superbly, with a number of dental initiatives presented to the AVA............, our submissions to veterinary practitioner boards throughout Australia re the threat from “lay dentists”..... Australian Veterinary Dental Society Presidents Report 2009-2010
The NSW Department of Primary Industry ( I&I) advised AgriFood in Jan 2012 that...
" the proposed Diploma level training in equine dentistry would only be appropriate for qualified veterinary practitioners" Job Role Statement Response Analysis from AgriFood March 2012
For years the NRG Equine Dental industry representatives have been frustrated by project delays and stalling tactics employed by veterinary representatives.. Although we have provided over 2000 public support signatures in this time, the needs and wants of the horse owning public appears to be falling on deaf ears.... we have requested that the veterinarians on the NRG be removed as they do not represent primary stakeholders in this process ( horse owners and the equine dental industry) and we have evidence to suggest that all veterinary representatives on the NRG have a conflict of interest..... Is it any wonder the Diploma is not progressing when all of the veterinarians on the NRG belong to veterinary associations named in the quote below and three are publicly named as members of this working committee...
Many veterinarians are unaware of this push to produce a national training standard for equine dentistry, and that the AVA now has three members on the AgriFood Skills Australia 'national reference group'......Both the AVA and the Dental Chapter of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists ( ACVSc) agree on the serious animal welfare concerns and consumer protection implications of these and will be working along side each other to influence the outcome.... To action this, the chapter has formed an equine dental working committee to gather rapid and effective opposition to this course proposal... even if your practice does not perform equine dentistry it is imperative that we speak with one voice to stop these courses proceeding.. we will keep members informed about the progress of the packages, and let you know how and when you can take concrete action to oppose their ratification... The Australian Dental Chapter Equine Dentistry Working Committee Australian veterinary Journal Volume 88, No11 November 2010
Diploma level skills are being delivered in the field by non veterinarians around the world and we have provided copious evidence of this.. the Diploma job role has been established in the field and to protect the horse formal qualifications must be implemented. This will enable legislation to reflect the procedures within the qualification and regulation of the industry can follow..... This will protect the horse and enable horse owners freedom to choose their service provider...
AgriFood is suggesting that a "compromise" needs to be found. Yet we are being forced to negotiate with an organisation whose policy on Equine Dentistry states " All dental procedures on horses and related species should only be performed by registered veterinarians and be supported by evidence-based medicine" AVA Equine dental policy 2012
It is clear that the Diploma competencies are supported by evidence-based medicine because short 5 day vet courses are comprised of Diploma content...Diploma content has been drafted based on existing equine dentistry curriculum from around the world... non veterinary curriculum which is not delivered in a veterinary degree ..The veterinary degree fails to deliver appropriate training in equine dentistry as Professor Gary Wilson confessed in a 2007 vet course advertising flyer... “Veterinarians have traditionally been poorly trained in equine dentistry. As an undergraduate, your exposure to equine matters was usually to observe some very good medical work ups followed most often by some form of advanced surgical procedure. Unfortunately the everyday procedures that will be required of a new graduate are not generally covered. Dentistry receives little, if any time.”
Where is the compromise? Who do they expect to compromise on what issues? We will keep you informed after the next NRG meeting to be held in Canberra tomorrow but in the mean time we need dentists and horse owners to speak up .....
If you are an equine dentist who wants to obtain a nationally recognised Diploma qualification, or
If you are a horse owner who wants to maintain your right to employ a Diploma-qualified non veterinarian equine dentist
Then
PLEASE EMAIL YOUR OBJECTIONS TO...
Senator the Hon Jo Ludwig
Federal Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry
joe.ludwig@maff.gov.au
Relevant Minister for Primary Industry in your state
NSW- The Hon Kristina Hodgkinson.. office@hodgkinson.minister.nsw.gov.au
VICT - The Hon. Peter Walsh, MP... peter.walsh@parliament.vic.gov.au
QLD- The Hon John McVeigh.... agriculture@ministerial.qld.gov.au
WA- The Hon. Terry Redman.... Minister.Redman@dpc.wa.gov.au
NT- The Hon Konstantine Vatskalis.. minister.vatskalis@nt.gov.au
ACT- The Hon Katy Gallager.... gallagher@act.gov.au
TAS- The Hon. Brian Green....... Bryan.green@parliament.tas.gov.au
SA - The Hon.paul Caica.. colton@parliament.sa.gov.au
Thank you
AAEDInc Executive
17th April 2012
HORSE 360 BLOG WITH GARY WELLS & VICTORIA FERGUSON
MAKING THE MOST OF MUSCLE THERAPY
On a day to day basis, I get to work on all types of horses, involved in all kinds of activities – often there is an injury which results in ongoing pain and discomfort to the horse. There are a whole range of things I can do as a muscle therapist I can do to alleviate this pain, but there are a whole range of associated issues you need to take into account.
To assist in the recovery of any such injury, you only have to put yourself in the horse’s place and it will be clear there are a number of other circumstances to take into account. Obviously pain management and dealing with inflammation are two obvious issues. I personally hate taking pain killers and worry about the side effects in particular what it does to my “gut culture”.
Both human and equine athletes are subject to leg muscle injuries. The hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus) are most commonly affected, but the adductor or groin muscles (adductor, gracilis, sartorius, medial aspect of the semimembranosus) are also frequently damaged. These injuries can vary from mild and quickly repairable to severe and potentially career-ending.
Let’s say for instance I have just performed an absolutely super high quality therapy session on a competition horse in its stable, but there is ongoing residual pain and swelling coming from a groin sprain when the horse slipped and effectively did the “splits” with its hind legs. The horse is well handled and trained and I had been able to get my hands up into the groin area and release the abductor tendon connective area to a very, very sore tendon. The muscle supporting the inner thigh is still inflamed, but has responded well – “what would Victoria tell my client?” Let’s ask…………………
Firstly I would highly recommend to Gary that he carry around with him some little bottles of homeopathic Arnica 6X or 6C liquid, so that he can leave one with every horse as an immediate and follow up treatment from his muscle therapy.
Whilst Arnica is the number one anti-bruising remedy, empirical observation strongly suggests homeopathic arnica is useful in rehabilitating muscle memory pathways, and therefore has an important role as an adjunct to body therapies . Arnica is also anti-shock, analgesic and anti-inflammatory.
It is widely used in the eventing, polo and polocrosse fraternities, both as a prophylactic and a treatment. However my advice is to keep it on hand at all times, as part of a herbal tool kit, and use it as soon as required. The sooner it is used, the quicker it will work, there is no time to waste when dealing with any kind of positive or negative adjustment to the body.
But to get back to our horse with very sore tendons and muscles. There are other herbal anti-inflammatories and analgesics which are indicated in this scenario. Reducing pain and inflammation significantly is one tool to hasten healing but, if you are looking for optimum healing and what performance horse owners isn’t?, then it must be used in association with specific healing herbs.
Most people have heard of Devil’s Claw, also known as the herbal bute. The advantages of Devil’s Claw is that it does not irritate the g-i tract like bute does, it is very effective and can be used safely in most cases in the medium to long term if needs be. Trials in Europe have shown the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects to be comparable with cortisone and phenylbutazone, without the attendant side effects.
In musculo-skeletal injuries there is a great range of herbs to use in association with the pain relieving and anti-inflammatory herbs. For example Comfrey and Liquorice can be used together to heal ligaments and tendons and Yarrow for all injuries as it a wonderful restorative, toner and vulnerary.
Our very sore horse would also benefit from nervine herbs such as Chamomile or Valerian, which are both anti-spasmodic or Vervain, which has a major effect on the peripheral nervous system, or Mugwort which strengthens nerve signals.
When a muscle is in spasm, fewer nutrients are getting in to the tissue and fewer waste products of metabolism are getting out so circulatory herbs to help normal circulation remain established after muscle release, such as Nettles or Rosemary, are also very helpful.
Ideally consult a trained herbalist who is experienced in treating horses to prescribe and dispense a holistic mixture for the horse in question, but firstly use the homeopathic Arnica and the Devil’s Claw. These are readily available from various online equine outlets these days.
To get the most out of any muscle therapy and/or herbal treatment, the horse desperately needs top quality basic & preventive nutrition which should also be expanded to include therapeutic nutrition. Rosehips should always form part of the diet, for its high nutrient profile including anti-oxidants and high Vitamin C, and major benefits to the capillary circulation.
We now know that the explosion in degenerative diseases in western “civilisation” are caused by essential nutrient deficiencies on a grand scale. Unfortunately our animals, horses included, are now increasingly suffering from these modern diseases caused by the depletion of minerals from soils and a reliance on processed feeds, which our bodies are not genetically designed to tolerate, along with toxicity from pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals and other poisons.
The same information applies to any “body” – equine, canine, human, etc.. The same herbal treatments can be used for all bodies, you don’t need different herbs for different species, in most cases, so they are very useful indeed. After all it was the animals that led humans to heal themselves with herbs in the first place.
N.B. Check the muscles named above on the Horse 360 App !!!!
14/11/2011
VF’S BLOG – SPRING 2011
I have been invited to contribute a blog to Horse 360, so you can read mine and all the others from the Horse 360 Champions on their web site www.horse360.com.au including the Aussie horseman, Clinton Anderson, who is taking America by storm with his Downunder Horsemanship. Horse 360 has developed an amazing app for iphones and ipads which helps you to learn about equine anatomy & physiology in a really innovative way, with 20 levels of learning.
FEEDING FADS
26 September 2011
With a veritable smorgasboard of feeds and supplements on offer, it can be very confusing for horse owners. Some just stick to what they have always done, others make a valiant effort to research their way through the maze, some get professional advice, some stick to one company’s regime, and many others are carried away with every feeding fad that hits the market.
Changing feeds often or quickly poses a significant health risk to horses. It is unwise to change feeds quickly, because of the risk of colic, laminitis even tying up or acidosis. New feeds should be introduced slowly a little at a time, and one at a time. That way it is easy to pinpoint anything that may not agree with the horse in question. At the same time you will be removing other feeds from the diet very slowly. It might take weeks to make the full change over, I always recommend this when horses are changing from a completely processed diet to a completely natural diet.
Getting the balance right is a key factor when designing diets – which means providing roughage, protein, essential nutrients (minerals, vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids, electrolytes) and carbohydrates in the right quantities for that individual. Many horses do not need carbs at all.
When confronted with the latest feeding fad, ask yourself do your horse/s really need it? If it ain’t broke why fix it?
The latest feeding fad is Chia seeds. I have been asked about these from the time they came onto the market, and I would not give an opinion at the time, as I did not know enough about them. However my “gut” feeling was that because they were so tiny (even smaller than poppy seeds) they could easily irritate the mucous membranes of the gastro-intestinal tract, especially horses with any degree of sensitivity or prior compromise. I have been proven correct, as I have received detailed information of six cases of extremely adverse reactions including recurrent colic, loss of appetite, general debility and one case of colitis, within weeks of introducing them to the diet. Not all these horses had a history of colic or other digestive problems, and one mare that had no history, was almost at the point of being put down. Fortunately she is now fighting fit, as a result of ongoing balanced natural feeding, herbal treatment and management.
Chia seeds are promoted for their nutrient profile, in particular being very high in omega 3 essential fatty acids which are needed to balance the omega 6 essential fatty acids which are more commonly available in diets, especially from sunflower seeds. Chia are being promoted as an alternative for linseed (aka flaxseed) also very high in omega 3, and it is a pity that some misleading information about linseed has come with it.
Just because Chia is a herb (Saliva hispanica) a member of the Sage family, it does not necessarily follow that it has no cautions or contra-indications! Flax is a herb too (Linum usitatissimum) and the cautions associated with it are that it can be quite laxative to some horses. It is only necessary to feed in small quantities, ONLY as a cold pressed oil or the seeds must be boiled to evaporate the highly volatile cyanogenic glycosides which have always been considered toxic to horses. This is why it is not recommended to feed linseed meal or crushed linseeds at all.
Wheat germ is a good alternative source of omega 3 fatty acids as well as having a wonderful overall nutrient profile.
Feeding fad products are usually comparatively expensive, so that is another important reason to look closely before you plunge into the latest craze.
© Victoria Ferguson
HUMAN HEALTH
CREDIBILITY & BIAS – THE UNTOLD STORY OF NATURAL BENEFITS By Assoc Prof Kerry Bone BSc (Hons), Dip Phyto
Cardiologists worldwide are becoming excited about a new drug developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Pronova Bipharma called Lovaza. A recent clinical trial in Italy found that it lowered risk of death by 9% and hospitalisation by 8% in almost 7,000 patients with congestive heart failure who were followed over 4 years.
A New Wonder Drug?
Worldwide sales of Lovaza exceeded $US1 billion inn 2010 and side effects for such a potent drug are remarkably low. Does this herald a new era in modern drug development? But what exactly is Lovaza? In fact, it is nothing more than a high dose fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) supplement. Its sales in the US in 2010 were expected to exceed those of all other fish oil products combined. Why have the other natural healthcare fish oil products been so eclipsed in the US by Lovaza? The essential reason is credibility: once a natural treatment achieves drug status it receives instant credibility and the sales skyrocket.
The Bias in the System
This lack of credibility is fed by a general bias in the system against natural remedies, no doubt generated by vested interests. It exists all the way from the government level to the experience of the individual patient. Safety problems are exaggerated and efficacy is downplayed, whereas for drugs it is the opposite. The medical profession is still generally ignorant about the field, yet many doctors always seem to be able to offer a negative opinion, both publicly and during a private consultation.
If the side effects of drugs received the same media coverage as those for herbs there would be nothing else in the news. You do not have to search very hard to find articles. For example, a survey of Australian doctors published in the Medical Journal of Australia in 2006 found that 10% of their patients had an adverse drug event in the past 6 months and 72% of these were recognised side effects for the drug involved, with 10% being severe events. A recent US survey found more than half a million children a year are treated for drug side effects in clinics and emergency rooms. Another publication from the FDA offices fou8nd that the drugs used to treat ADHD caused an unacceptably high incidence of hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms.
In contrast, most safety scares about herbs or vitamins are no more than misinformed extrapolations of meaningless test tube research.
Herbs are often criticised as lacking evidence for their benefits, and this perception is a key part of the credibility barrier. However, the emperor has no clothes! Conventional drug-based medicine prides itself on being evidence-based, but a new website set up by the prestigious British Medical Journal to examine evidence-based medical practice concluded that a huge 49% of current drug treatments have unknown effectiveness and only a small12% have well established benefit (another 8% were unlikely to work or could be harmful).
Drug companies have even been caught out tampering with the evidence. Newly unveiled court documents in the US showed that ghost-writers paid by a major pharmacaeutical company played a key role in producing 26 scientific papers backing the use of HRT in women.
There is now in fact a large amount of evidence many herbal treatments. Take for example Gingko boloba, which has been in hundreds of positive clinical trials across a wide variety of uses. The public and the media have not caught up with this groundswell of evidence, in fact, a recent example shows just how biased media reports about Gingko can be.
The article published in the Integria Journal September 2010 goes on to outline some details of Gingko trials.
Vf’s BLOG APRIL 2011
Welcome to my Blog where I will share information and news which I trust will empower you to care for your animals and yourselves naturally.
In This Blog ...
- The History of Herbal Medicine (this is edited from Chapter One of my new book The Complete Horse Herbal) and as you will see applies to all of us – animals and humans alike.
- Recommended Reading – Ray Moynihan’s new book “Sex, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals”. Moynihan is an award winning journalist, documentary maker and academic researcher based in Australia with a global reputation. Since his first book “Selling Sickness” he continues to reveal the truth about the manipulation of western medicine by the global pharmaceutical companies. Go to www.raymoynihan.com to find out more.
- The Healing Power of Honey
THE HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE
In the last two decades the ancient wisdom of herbal medicine has undergone a huge renaissance. It is now firmly entrenched as a healing modality for humans and animals. It will continue to grow in popularity in the future as more people seek safe, sustainable and cost effective ways of keeping themselves and their animals healthy.
Despite the alternative label given to herbalists in this century, the medicine they practise has continued without a break for over twenty five centuries and more properly should be known as traditional medicine.
The history of herbal medicine IS the history of medicine.
The cast of characters, some famous, many unknown, in this universal cultural history is awe inspiring.
But it all began with animals.
Imagine a scene some 10,000 years ago - a lonely shepherd tends his flock. He starts to notice how some of his animals eat certain plants at particular times and very gradually a pattern forms in his mind. It dawns on him that his animals select plants to medicate themselves! Their instincts lead them to eat certain plants for medicine. This enlightenment becomes the idea that as those herbs heal his animals then they ought to be able to heal humans as well.
So traditional medicine began with animals teaching man that plants could be used for medicine as well as for food.
In cultures all over the world, certain tribe members specialised in the practice of using herbs for medicine and became known as healers. By trial and error these pioneers found out which plants had beneficial properties and those which were poisonous. In this quest for knowledge people lost their lives or became ill to find out which plants not to use. These practices were entangled with ritual and magic, some of which exist today in many tribal cultures.
This knowledge was passed down through families in all cultures, originally by word of mouth, later by hieroglyphics inscribed on stone and eventually by the written word on medical papyri.
Herbals detailing the medicinal properties and uses of herbs became established. Famous herbalists of their day contributed to these collections, and some authored their own herbals.
The Egyptian’s knowledge of herbal healing was taken to Greece where classical herbal medicine developed in the 3rd and 4th centuries BC, particularly through the influence of Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine.
Classical herbal medicine is a holistic approach to healing disease, treating the whole body to bring it into balance and harmony.
Dioscorides, the Greek physician to the Roman armies about the time of Nero, wrote the first Materia Medica in the 1st century AD which was to remain the major reference for the next 1500 years. It is likely he learnt some of his medicine in Arabic and Indian countries during his travels.
Classically trained herbalists today still refer to Dioscorides’ factual, simple, practical applications of plants to illness conditions. Juliana Anicia gleaned and collated his teachings into a Codex form, about 512 AD.
As the Roman empire flourished so did more famous physicians, foremost among them being Galen who formalised herbal medicine into a rational system.
From the time the Galenists opposed the introduction of chemical methods of treatment, medicine took two divergent paths.
Paracelsus fortified plant extracts with the use of homeopathic doses of elements such as zinc and recognised the essential importance of minerals in health.
After the fall of the Roman empire the world descended into the medieval dark ages, but the knowledge of herbal medicine survived despite the torture and killings of heretics, some of them herbalists.
The Pharmacopoeias of yesterday comprised plants used medicinally for tens of centuries and it was not until the1949 revision of the British Pharmacopoeia that many of these were removed to be replaced by synthetic formulations.
The manipulation of western medicine by the global pharmaceutical drug industry had arrived.
It is a different story however in the Chinese and Ayurvedic Indian Herbal Pharmacopoeia which have been in continual use for thousands of years. Today they co-exist side by side with allopathic medicine.
Today’s older generations will remember the 1950’s and 60’s when the family doctor’s personalised prescription was made up by the chemist using the same plant extracts that herbalists use today. They will also remember receiving folk medicine from their grandmothers to patch up childhood injuries or set all manner of everyday ailments on the path to healing.
Sadly now all allopathic medicines are chemical man made drugs, some of which are patented plant compounds. The only plants which have retained their place in allopathic pharmacopoeias are the poisonous ones, none of which are used by herbalists today, such as Aconite, Digitalis, Belladonna, Henbane and the Opium Poppy.
Today modern medicine denies the fact that pharmacy and herbal medicine used to be almost the same discipline. Somewhere along the line the word science was hijacked by the pharmaceutical industry. Their version supposes that unless a substance gives predictable and controllable results in double blind placebo trials, it cannot have validity. When the results of many of these trials are released into the public domain many years afterwards, it is often found that the results have been manipulated to suit the marketing purposes of the companies. This shows that they don’t even give credence to their own methods!
The word science simply means “to know” from the Latin scire. Empirical knowledge, the foundation of medicine, is scoffed at by today’s “scientists”.
The findings of pharmacognosy so far only serve to substantiate the claims made for the use of these herbs down the centuries, that using them in the time honoured empirical way will produce the results claimed. It seems nature has had a win here – quite obviously a part of a plant cannot have the same chemistry or effectiveness as the whole plant.
Side effects so common in drug therapy can largely be avoided by using extracts of whole plants. Consider also the fact that many plants contain constituents as yet unidentified.
Nevertheless many drug companies are working to identify the so called “active ingredients” of plants so they can be extracted and patented in order to create new drugs and earn exclusive rights to market them. The ethics of allowing patents over substances occurring in nature, including genes, is so questionable it beggars belief..
“..the vested interests in modern medicine are stupendous” (1)
“Its difficult to patent a natural phytochemical, because Mother Nature already holds the patent on it. And you can’t make much of a profit unless you hold the patent. By modifying, for better or worse, a natural compound, you can obtain a patent much more easily. The industry’s driving force, in other words, it not so much human health and well being as it is corporate patentability and profitability.” (2)
This situation is mirrored in veterinary medicine, as many of the global giants manufacture drugs for both.
The history of veterinary medicine is as inextricably entwined with that of human medicine, as is the historical relationship between man and beast.
In 1952 the first veterinary herbal was published, “The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable” written by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, (1912 -2009) which was to inspire animal owners and herbalists the world over and make herbal medicine for horses and other domestic animals universally popular in this age.
In her introduction Juliette wrote “It was necessary to write this book in order to help keep alive the ancient and valuable art of the herbalist in veterinary medicine.” Like Paracelsus, she forsook university and lived with gypsy and peasant herbalists all over the world. “Grateful I am to my herbal teachers, they taught me far more than I ever learnt during nearly four years of scientific study at two universities.” (1)
It is impractical to put all Juliette’s raw plant methods of treatment into practice, and modern herbalists have developed the use of herbal extracts and dried herb mixes to provide medicine and preventive nutrition for people and animals today.
© Victoria Ferguson 2011
(1) Juliette de Bairacli Levey (2) Dr James Duke PhD
All rights reserved. The content of this book is protected under international intellectual property law. No part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form and/or by any means whatsoever without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Unauthorised reproduction and/or publication and/or distribution including but not limited to print, audio and electronic/digital reproduction and distribution is illegal and may result in prosecution or other legal action. The Author and the Publisher have asserted their oral rights in this work.
THE HEALING POWER OF HONEY
It is now widely accepted by the medical and veterinary professions that honey is a very effective healer. Honey has been used for centuries by many diverse cultures as a healer and a nutritious food, so it is wonderful to see that modern science is finally catching up with ancient wisdom.
The most important thing to remember if you are considering using honey to heal wounds, then you MUST USE a raw, unpasteurised honey. If you just buy any old honey off the supermarket shelf, this will not have anti-bacterial activity because it has been pasteurised, which means that it has been sterilised by heating to a high temperature. The best way to buy honey is from your health food store or local bee keeper. If buying in the supermarket go to the health food section and select an Active or Medi Honey which will invariably contain Manuka honey.
Manuka (New Zealand) along with White Heather (Scotland) and Jelly Bush (Australia) are considered to have the highest anti-bacterial activity of all honeys.
Peter Molan PhD head of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, and a recognized authority on Manuka honey, states that it is a well established fact that honey has anti-bacterial activity but this can vary widely in potency, the difference being more than 100 fold.
He has developed the UMF (“unique manuka factor”) rating for Manuka honey which is registered as a trademark so that the antibacterial activity of manuka honey cannot be misrepresented. He recommends the use of manuka honey with a rating of 10 or higher which is the level of activity for honey used by medical professionals in New Zealand.
Honey is effective against Staphylococcus aureus the most common cause of infected wounds, while active manuka honey is twice as effective as other honeys. Manuka honey is more than eight times as effective as other honeys against Helicobacter pylori, a cause of gastric ulcers.
Manuka honey contains an additional antibacterial component that is unique to honey produced from the Manuka bush (Leptosperum scoparium) which grows uncultivated throughout New Zealand.
Manuka honey is not affected by the catalase enzyme that is present in the tissues and serum of the body. This breaks down hydrogen peroxide, the major antibacterial factor in other types of honey.
Hydrogen peroxide in honey is produced by an enzyme in the honey which is destroyed by the exposure to heat and light which is why pasteurised honey, which is the honey commonly found on supermarket shelves, has no anti-bacterial activity. So if your good honey is not already packaged in a light resistant jar, you should ensure it is kept out of sunlight in a cool place.
There are numerous reports in medical journals of the effectiveness of honey as a wound dressing and also for effective treatment of ulcers, eye infections, burns and diarrohea.
Honey is referred to extensively in Juliette de Bairaclai Levy’s classic The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable.
She says “Honey is a great basic medicine as well as a food, for all living creatures from man to every species of bird. The Arabian horsemen feed honey to their fabulous horses to give strength and stamina – and fertility.”
Honey is a soothing, restorative tonic which will give energy and soothe internal inflammations of throat and stomach and reduce coughing. It also preserves calcium metabolism in the body and is a famed heart tonic.
So keep real honey on hand to dress wounds after disinfecting (preferably with a wash made from Calendula petals), you can use it on open wounds and also under bandages.