Metheglin Lady: A Healer's Research in Apitherapy, Mead, Herbalism & Vendure

While looking for a completely unrelated video, I stumbled upon this one. His information on the mead is not too bad, and after watchign some of his other videos, he does understand herbalism, and the relationship between them. Not just herbs, but also mushrooms. I think the only quam I had about this video was during his clarification process. When I'm siphoning my meads, I quite prefer to prevent the splashing you can really hear in his video. The less bubbles and splashing, the better IMHO.

I never thought to record my own mead making for educational purposes, but I believe we may just see that in the future as well. Until then, my friends, here is the video of Walking Bear, another one who has enjoyed the medicinal benefits of mead making:

Apitherapy
(article Viked from www.apitherapy-works.com)

The term, "therapy" refers to the treatment of a dis-ease of sorts. Apitherapy, therefore, means medical use of the products generated by Honeybees, which includes honey, pollen, propolis, bee venom, royal jelly etc. Worldwide thousands of pharmaceutical companies and their laboratories process 12,000 to 15,000 tons of bee products as many a modern medicine preparation has one or more of bee products as the base.
Apitherapy is considered as old as Bee Keeping. Chinese were reported to have been using apitherapy for over 2000 years. The high priest of Allopathy and in whose name even an oath is taken by a new entrant, Hippocrates, had specially mentioned about apitherapy in his writings. Apitherapy started as a folk medicine and is still used today in the treatment of many a disease. It is also used to promote general health of many patients. In some regions of the world Apitherapy is recognized medically for treatment of a range of diseases.

Medical uses of Apitherapy:

• *GENERAL: Used extensively for treatment of warts, corns, ulcers, eczema, de-granulating wounds and even psoriasis.
• *ENDOCRINE: Menstrual cramp, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), irregular periods and decreased blood sugar.
• *PSYCHOLOGICAL: Mood swings and general depression
• *ORTHOPEDIC CONDITIONS: Acts as a stimulant for early bone healing.
• *VIRAL: Used in the treatment of Herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are 2 types in this. Type 1 - generally causes oral disease and lesions above the waist. Type 2 – most commonly associated with genital disease and lesions below the waist. (Recurrent episodes are common, as the virus remains latent in nerve ganglia after the initial infection. Shingles – a condition arising when the infecting agent (herpes zoster virus) attacks sensory nerves causing severe pain and the appearance of vesicles along the nerves distribution.
• *INFECTIONS: Fibrocystic disease (formerly known as Mastitis – nodular changes in the breast). Laryngitis (inflammation of the Larynx which is the voice organ situated below and in front of the Pharynx and the upper end of the trachea).
• *CARDIO-VASCULAR DISEASES: Hypertension, Arrhythmia (deviation from normal rhythmic heart beat), Atherosclerosis (co-existence of atheroma, a condition where deposition of hard yellow plaque of lipoid material in the intimal layer of arteries, and arteriosclerosis, a condition where de-generative arterial change associated with advanced age), peripheral vascular diseases and varicose veins (a condition marked by dilated veins, the valves of which become incompetent so that blood flow may be reversed)
• *SENSORY DISEASES: Vision problems like glaucoma, macular degeneration, iritis, diplopia (two objects seen when actually there exists only one) and hearing loss.
• *RHEUMATIC DISEASES: Rheumatoid arthritis, osteo-arthritis, spondylitis, tennis elbow, bursitis (inflammation of bursa which is a fibrous sac lined with synovial membrane and containing a small quantity of synovial fluid) psoriatic arthritis, etc.

All the products generated by Honeybees mentioned in the beginning have distinct medicinal properties, which we will discuss separately under each product.

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Sweet remedies: Honey said to work on allergies and cuts

By Geralda Miller
gmiller@rgj.com
from the Reno Gazette Journal

Honey. It's that golden syrup that is ground zero for sweet. In biblical times, it was a staple in the diet of the people of Israel. On the exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, God told Moses at the burning bush that he would deliver them "to the land of milk and honey," a place of ultimate sweetness. Today, this earthy, elemental liquid mostly is used as a sweetener in tea and coffee or the sugar substitute in many bowls of breakfast cereal. But honey also has medicinal properties as hygroscopic, which means it absorbs moisture from the air, antibacterial and an antioxidant. Dr. Michael Gerber, a homeopathic physician in Reno, said he learned early in his medical training about honey's features. He remembers taking care of a morbidly obese man after he had gall bladder surgery. "It was my job to honey the wound twice a day," he said. "Honey is a great antiseptic. Bacteria cannot live in honey." Leonard Joy, a local bee keeper and honey producer, said he appreciates honey's qualities. "Whenever I get a cut or an abrasion I put it (honey) on the Band-Aid," he said. "It keeps bacteria from growing and it stimulates healing." Because honey is a live product that contains many airborne spores of various bacterium, Joy said it should not be fed to babies under the age of 18 months.

Chris Foster is a bee farmer in Hidden Valley who says he's not sold on all that's being said about honey. "By day I'm a scientist," he said. "For me, anecdotal evidence only takes me so far. My science side says 'yeah, right.'" Foster, who works for a bio-tech firm, agreed that honey has nutritional benefits if used as a replacement for table sugar, but that was about as far as he would go. Meanwhile, in addition to honey, Gerber says the venom in bee stings, the glue the holds the bee hives together and the whole bee are medicinal. "The whole bee, the whole hive is wonderful," he said.

Here are some medicinal uses and remedies from Apitherapy:

Allergies: Using honey made within a 100-mile radius will help with allergies, Joy said. "Local honey with local pollens helps build the immunity," he said. "Now it only works on pollen that these bees collect." Foster said about 80 percent of the honey he sells at local farmers markets is to people who believe it will help their hay fever and allergies. "A lot of doctors send their patients with allergies to get local honey," Foster said. The whole bee, ground up and homeopathically diluted, also is good for allergies, Gerber said.

Burns: Because of its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, honey can promote healing burns. "It has been used in burn units for years," Joy said. Instead of using the aloe vera plant, treat a burn at home by running cool water over it, applying a little honey and covering with clean gauze.

Hemorrhoids: Honey works as an anti-inflammatory for hemorrhoids. Instead of using in the liquid form, Gerber suggests using beeswax. Beeswax is produced from the bee hive of honey bees.

Ulcers/gastritis: The resin bees create to build their hives, which is called propolis, is an anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory that is good for ulcers and gastritis, Gerber said. He said the "glue" also is good for colds and as an immune strengthener. This "glue" has a long history, according to Medline Plus, a Web site service for the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. "Propolis was used in Greece to treat abscesses. The Assyrians also used propolis to heal wounds and tumors, while the Egyptians used it for mummification," according to the Web site. Research is encouraging for dental caries and as a natural sealant and enamel hardener. Early studies also are showing propolis effective against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 and parasitic infections, according to the Web site.

Ok...So it's been a few months since I've started out here. I've since been elected as the "Events & Field Trips Coordinator" of a local Pagan organization, as well as getting into many, many new endeavors and projects. Additionally, I have recently co-formed a new Kindred (see haukafell). However, I am trying to get things straightened out now, and am beginning by focusing on those projects that have been neglected that I would like to continue. And getting rid of those which I do not want to continue. Luckily for us....I love this journal and want to continue! =P

That said, I will attempt to post something once a week, to get things rolling. Thanks for staying tuned with me!
Discover and learn!

The beginning.
By now you have probably read the profile for this blog...if you haven't, you probably should! ;)

I'm not really sure where things are going to start, so I'll probably start with the basics for any newcomers. Those who are more adept in the subject, you are welcome to (and I urge you!) to come on in and skrifa your own comments.

Here is also a good place to add any resourcing into the pot. So if you have any good books, articles, places, events, etc. that you can recommend to the blog here, then place a comment in this particular post for all to see (I say this particular post so we can all bookmark and save this post instead of referencing back to post after post in search of a book name, etc.). Thank you!

I ask generally that we stay on topic. Anything off-topic that you would like to say, you can visit my main blog at: ldyloreliranveg. It's a secure journal, so comment on that last post to join.
If you aren't sure as to whether or not your thoughts are on topic, take a peek at the profile's interests. Anything in there is easily relevant.
I hope you find this blog educational, adventurous and enlightening!

Frith & Welga...
The Metheglin Lady