Honey is healthier compared to refined sugar since honey has traces of minerals and vitamins to its credit. Honey contains fewer calories and carbohydrates than sugar since it contains water.
Being used in India since old days as a decongestant, good anti septic, useful sedative & for managing constipation, obesity.

Vaibhav Satpute,
India

Vaibhav, Thane, India

Corn Syrup to kids before bedtime? When will the US stop pushing such a terrible additive on everyone? Corn Syrup and high fructose corn syrup (added to everything it seems in the US) is a major cause for obseity, ADD, behaviourial issues allergies, etc, etc particularly in children. Giving a child corn syrup before bed is quite possibly the last thing you would want to do. Honey is natural, full of remedic properties, has been used for centuruies as a natural cure. Why would you ever want to choose fake over real? We've always used honey and apple cider vinegar to allay coughs and sore throats in our house and always with excellent success. Two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar (such as Bragg's) to one teaspoon of honey mixed with half a glass of lukewarm water and drink before bedtime. For sore throats gargle with neat apple cider vinegar every couple of hours. It works!

Mélaine, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

My mother used to make a home made cough syrup from onions - raw, honey and a little hot water, she'd chop up the onions, put a lot of honey on top and a little boiling water and put a saucer on top of the bowl to cover it and leave it for hours. A juice used to develop and I'd be given teaspoons of it. This worked better than any cough medicine I've ever tried!

Penny, Eastbourne, UK

Thanks for the research. This has been revelaed to muslims 1400 years ago in the Quran that there is cure in Honey.

Aks, Dallas, USA

Corn syrup is a major factor in obesity; honey is not. Honey is health; corn syrup is just not. I have researched that.

CIndy, Mysore, INDIA

lentils, beans or chick peas are great for curing coughs. if you don't believe it, try it. never cook honey: add it to foods or hot drinks but cooked it loses its healing properties and becomes toxic inside your body.

katherine, hull,

Coincidentally, earlier today I was sharing information on natural remedies for bronchitis. A friend has it and reacted badly to the prescribed antibiotics.

One of the things I said was, "When I was congested & sick years ago a shamanka prescribed this: a tea of minced garlic, lemon juice, and honey. "Gross!" instantly came to mind, but I still use it."

Misha, Montreal, Canada

I think the corn syrup may be a better option, we should have them research on it and see how it compares with Honey.

Kishore Srirambhatla, San Diego, CA

It certainly doesn't sound like a double-blind experiment to me. I also question the objectivity and veracity of parental preceptions as a measure of efficacy. Then again, when was the last time a medical journal published worthwhile science? Until a decent science journal can explain the means by which the suppression occurs, I'd doubt the legitimacy of any medical claim - honey-loving or otherwise.

ts, Washington, DC, USA

I have asthma and when I was a toddler, I had an attack so bad that I had difficulty breathing. My aunt from Saudi Arabia gave me a spoonful of honey, and I kid you not, it was quite a relief (not a complete one, but a significant one). I've used it ever since whenever I feel my prescribed cough medicine isn't working.

Michael Mirasol, Muntinlupa, Philippines

Honey has been used for centuries as a medicine for its antibacterial and anticeptic properties. As a 16 yr old I hate having to take conventional medicine, as it tastes foul and is potentially chemically dangerous to us, while herbal remedies are a natural alternative, can also taste bad, so honey goes well with them sweetening it and supplying your body with energy needed during illness instead of e-numbers etc.
**In Roman times honey was used to treat wounds
**In Greece the honey was used for insect bites and rashes as well as the roman method.
**In Ireland "Grannies", who aways knew what was best, used honey for everythig from colds and flu, to pleurisy and consumption (tuberculosis) as long as a dairy product was involved. lol.
My point is that this "research" was wasted time and funding for something that has been known since, for want of, the dawn of time.
Listen to everything, agree or disagree, I dont care, as long as common sense is applied, for that is a great curall.

Dan S, dagenham, london

It is mentioned in the holy BOOK AL QUR'AN(Muslims) that
HONEY is a medicine to mankind...in chapter 16 :THE BEES verses 68-69 more than 14 00 years ago.!
The final prophet Muhammad has asked us to use these two prescritions: AL QUR'AN and Honey.
Obviously there are a lot of other medical uses of honey.

Dr A. Majid Katme/Islamic Medical Association, London, UK

Dextromethorphan can only be purchased from Pharmacies in the UK - it is a Pharmacy only Medicine or Prescription only Medicine (dependent on how much is in the product) so not able to purchase from Supermarkets unless they have a pharmacy.

A pharmacy will have trained staff who can advise on the safe and effective use of Medicines and a Pharmacist for further information.

Dextromethoprhan is indicated for dry coughs only i.e. those with no phlegm. If a child has a respiratory tract infection then it is likely that they will have phlegm on the chest and therefore should not be given a medicine for dry coughs, which will hold phlegm on the chest and induce the cough reflex.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the children given DM were worse than those given Honey, as DM is liable to hold phlegm on the chest and induce the cough reflex disturbing sleep.

Paul Williams, Chester, UK