Honey is a miracle.

honey really a miracle cure for coughs and colds? By Stephanie Pappas - Live Science Contributor 2 hours ago A jar of honey. Is honey a better treatment for coughs and colds than over-the-counter medications and antibiotics? A new review of research says yes — though with the caveat that over-the-counter medications don't actually offer much relief for sore throats, hacking coughs and sniffling noses. In other words, the bar for success isn't very high. (And antibiotics do absolutely nothing for viral infections such as colds.) Treating colds with honey may sound a little hippie-dippy, but it's been a standard recommendation from doctors for children for at least a decade. The research on adults and honey is a bit murkier: Only five out of the 14 studies in the new research review, which was published Aug. 18 in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, included adult patients, and several of those studies included combination treatments like honey in coffee, or honey-and-herbal syrups. (Some of the underlying research was also funded by a honey company.) Related: Myth or truth? 7 ancient health ideas explained Researchers aren't sure why honey might help treat cold symptoms, but it could have to do with its antioxidants or the fact that it's viscous and thus coats an irritated throat. Nevertheless, treating respiratory symptoms with honey is a low-risk endeavor. Honey is also cheap and readily available, said study author Hibatullah Abuelgasim, a fifth-year medical student at the University of Oxford in England. "First, do no harm," said Ian Paul, a professor of pediatrics at the Penn State College of Medicine, who was not involved in the review but has done research on honey and coughing in children. Cough and cold medications have side effects, Paul told Live Science, and they don't work well. The bottom line? Don't expect honey to work miracles, but don't dismiss it, either. It may make the experience of getting over a nasty cold just a little less miserable. Honey's history Honey has long been a home remedy for soothing sore throats and calming coughs — both of which can be grouped as infections of the upper respiratory tract. It's particularly well-known as a respiratory infection treatment in Ayurveda, the healing tradition of India's ancient Vedic culture. And honey mixed with hot water and lemon is up there with chicken soup in the pantheon of cold cures that grandma would make. In 2004, Paul and his colleagues published a study in the journal Pediatrics finding that the two commonly used over-the-counter cough medicines used in children, dextromethorphan and diphenhydramine, did not work better than a placebo at helping kids with coughs to feel better and sleep at night. And the two drugs had side effects, including drowsiness for some kids and difficulty sleeping for others. "Parents at that time asked me, 'Well, where can I get that placebo?'" Paul said. "They wanted to give something." Related: 11 surprising facts about your respiratory system So in 2007, Paul and his team followed up with another study, also published in Pediatrics, comparing dextromethorphan, honey and no treatment in nighttime cough in 130 kids. They found that honey consistently scored best for reducing cough frequency and severity and improving nighttime sleep over both dextromethorphan and no treatment, according to parents' ratings. That study was partially supported by the industry-funded National Honey Board, but the grant was unrestricted, meaning the money was given by the board with no input as to what kind of research it would be used on. Other research in kids has shown similar results, including a double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized study published in Pediatrics in 2012. Double-blind means that neither the children, their parents nor the researchers knew if the kids were getting honey or a flavored placebo, in this case silan date extract. On night one, the children got no treatment, and on night two they got either one of three honey products or a placebo. All the groups, including the placebo group, felt better on night 2, the researchers reported, but those who got a honey-containing product reported the most improvement. (This study was also partially funded by a honey industry group, which again did not have any say in the design or process of the research.)