Honey Heals

Shaboom sends us her post from Paris, France:

Karen's post about treating her kid's cough with honey reminded me to tell you about the French and their honey obsession.

The French are very gourmet and super particular about things that we eat and drink. They believe that everything has to happen in a certain order and over a certain period of time, hence the fact that you'll never really see a true Frenchman eat on the run or standing up. True Frenchies eat appetizers first (l'entrée,) then the main course (le plat,) before slowly enjoying some cheese with maybe a little fruit, a dessert and then their coffee. The coffee has to be a tiny cup of espresso, no milk or sugar added. It has something to do with digestion and the fact that they say milk doesn't pair well with coffee in your belly and counteracts whatever it is that the coffee is supposed to do.

(You think I could do some research and give more solid, viable explanations backed up with facts, right? I know. I'm lazy. So sue me. Besides, I'm only trying to help you. If you research the information for yourselves you're much more likely to retain the knowledge. You're welcome.)

But I digress... HONEY. Right.

So, Frenchies love their honey. Organic honey is the best but only if it comes from France, natch. Because cross the border into Spain for example and the honey is unacceptable! I'm serious here, people. I see Frenchies looking at the label for the origin of the honey and turn on their heals and walk away in a huff with a disgusted look on their face if it comes from their neighbors or *gasp* from further abroad.

The honey business here is no joke. They have eleventeen billion different varieties of honey and each kind has its own set of properties. All honeys have antioxidants, antibacterial, and hygroscopic properties. The darker the color of the honey, the better it is for you (generally speaking.)

Lavender flower honey can be ingested to help the respiratory system and minimize acne or can be directly applied to superficial burns to act as a humectant and antimicrobial to aid in healing. Orange blossom honey is good to fight insomnia and migraines. The list goes on and on and on...

SexySultry has caught a bad case of the bubonic plague (at least that is what she sounds like when she's coughing) and she sent me to fetch a few different organic honeys to help her throat. (Gasp - they're from a French company but the bees are Spanish and Italian. Damn those pasta loving bees!) Luckily she stocked up because now I have her disease (although much milder) and am enjoying the healing properties of Propolis, Thyme and Lavender honey.