It could help treat wounds.
Honey has quite a long reputation as a healer. Its first written reference dates back to 2100-2000 BC on a Sumerian tablet that mentions the use of honey as a drug and ointment, according to the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. There's a medical-grade solution called Medihoney that is is derived from manuka honey, which comes from New Zealand bees that pollinate the native manuka bush. "The patches of Medihoney work fantastic on patients that come in with cuts and wounds," says Robin Miller, M.D., a board-certified internist and co-author of The Smart Woman's Guide to Midlife and Beyond. "They're antibacterial and soothing."
Any type of honey might be helpful. In a study in the British Journal of Surgery, Nigerian researchers used honey to treat 59 patients with hard-to-heal ulcers. All but one of the cases improved, and infected wounds and ulcers became sterile within one week of applying the honey.