There’s nothing better than a dash of honey for a candida cleanse.
Honey can easily kill microbes thanks to the bee-derived enzyme glucose oxidase that produces hydrogen peroxide from glucose and oxygen. This is why honey has been used as a medicine for thousands of years and has been found to be an effective antimicrobial agent in multiple studies (Reference 1). The honey type is important for a candida cleanse as different types of honey contain different additional phytochemical components that further enhance the antibacterial activity.
A good choice of honey comes from a certain species of Leptospermum flora which is native to Australia and New Zealand. This honey is enriched with natural compounds that are able to fight against microbes.
Did you know that different species of Candida such as Gubliniensis, Glabratam and Albicans, can be involved in different clinical conditions such as oropharyngeal candidiasis, bloodstream and vaginal infections (Reference 1).
How effective is honey against candida?
To answer this question let’s have a look at the findings of an in vitro study published in 2006 in the Medical Mycology journal. The researchers assessed the susceptibility of Candida species Gubliniensis, Glabratam and Albicans to different honey types Jarrah, Medihoney and Comvita, also known as Manuka. All the honey types assessed were actively disturbing the growth of the microbes, but Jarrah honey was significantly more active against the three Candida species when compared to the other two types of honey. Those results could be justified by the fact that Jarrah has higher hydrogen peroxide activity than the other honey examined (Reference 1).
You need to watch the temperature of your tea if you stir honey in as glucose oxidase will be inactivated at 60 degrees Celsius. So wait until the temperature goes down to add some good quality honey.
Bear in mind that this antimicrobial activity is only one of the beneficial properties, as honey is a rich source of minerals, vitamins, natural antibiotics, phenolic compounds and enzymes with strong health benefits like cytotoxicity against cancer cells.
For more information about the benefits of honey read our Fighting Cancer SERIES – What’s for tea, honey?
If you think you may have candida then please book in for a Food Intolerance Test which will test your Yeast Intolerance levels.