Honey

Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by bees and other insects from the nectar of flowers. "The definition of honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance. This includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners," according the United States National Honey Board 2003 and other nations' food regulations.

Precautions

Honey is not always healthful. Because it is gathered from flowers in the wild, there are situations in which it may be toxic. (See: Grayanotoxin.) Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurels and azaleas have nectar that is poisonous to humans though harmless to bees. The shape of the Azalea flower, however, makes access to nectar difficult for honeybees. And during the time at which Azaleas bloom, there are usually other flowers available which are more appealing to the honeybee. So lethal honey is rarely encountered.

Related Topics:
Grayanotoxin - Rhododendron - Mountain Laurel - Azalea

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Nonetheless, honey, corn syrup and other natural sweeteners are a potential and acute threat to infants. Harmless to adults because of a mature person's stomach acidity, botulinum spores are widely present in the environment and are among the few bacteria that can survive in honey. Since an infant's digestive juices are non-acidic, ingestion of honey creates an ideal medium for botulinum spores to grow and produce sufficient levels of toxins to cause infant botulism. For this reason, it is advised that neither honey, nor any other sweetener, be given to children under the age of 18 months. Once a child is eating solid food, the digestive juices are acidic enough to prevent the growth of the spores.

Related Topics:
Corn syrup - Sweetener - Infant - Botulinum - Spore - Botulism

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