HealthLinks Charleston March/April 2023

www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com | 85 “Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the ‘Father of Medicine,’ recognized the healing virtues of bee venom for treating arthritis and other joint problems,” according to Apitherapy.com, a worldwide community of physicians and other professionals who are passionate about using bees and the other products of the beehive to prevent and treat illnesses of human beings, animals and even plants. “My children and I always use honey for coughs, burns and scrapes,” said Charleston resident Tami Enright, the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit The Bee Cause Project. “When folks come to visit, they know honey is the sweetener here, not sugar,” she added. “We appreciate the living enzymes in honey. There are literally bits of nutrition in it, and it is easier on your body.” Squeezing the liquid elixir from a Mr. Honey bear container will not yield honey’s medicinal qualities. The primary healing sources come from three of six natural products that bees produce: royal jelly, the first meal of a newly hatched bee that is secreted from the head glands of “nurse” bees; propolis, a waxy substance that bees create by mixing beeswax with tree resin; and pollen; according to Ted Dennard, the owner of Savannah Bee Company and, with Enright, the co-founder of The Bee Cause Project and a board member. “Propolis is the bees' own protective medicine,” Dennard explained. “It keeps intruders out of the hive and defends against “Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.” – A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

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