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Honey and health

Honey is a food with a long history as a remedy. This guide separates what clinical evidence supports from tradition, lab findings and outright risk.

Sources last checked 1 November 2026

In short

Three things to remember

  • Honey is mostly sugar and water, and the WHO counts it as a free sugar.
  • The best evidence is for soothing cough in children over 12 months and for honey dressings on burns, applied in clinical care.
  • Never give honey to a baby under 12 months, and take care with wild “mad honey”.

In the sources reviewed for this guide, we found no reliable evidence that honey prevents or treats chronic diseases such as diabetes or cancer. Treat claims that it does with caution. This is general information, not medical advice.

What the evidence says

  • Some clinical evidence

    Cough in children aged 12 months and over

    A Cochrane review of six small trials, with 899 children aged 12 months to 18 years, found that honey probably relieves cough symptoms more than no treatment, diphenhydramine or placebo. It may make little or no difference compared with dextromethorphan.

    • Most of the children were given honey for one night only, so longer-term effects are not known.
    • There was no difference in side effects between honey and the comparison treatments.

    Never give honey to a child under 12 months.

    Source: Cochrane review (cough)

  • Evidence for medical products

    Wound and burn dressings made with honey

    A Cochrane review of 26 trials, with 3,011 people, could not draw overall conclusions about honey for wounds, and most of the evidence was low or very low quality. There were two exceptions: high-quality evidence that honey dressings heal partial-thickness burns about 4 to 5 days faster than conventional dressings, and moderate-quality evidence that honey works better than antiseptic and gauze for wounds infected after surgery.

    These trials tested honey dressings used in clinical care. For a burn or wound, get medical advice rather than applying food honey.

    Source: Cochrane review (wounds)

  • Public-health guidance

    Honey counts as sugar

    WHO recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of total energy intake, and below 5% (about 25 g, or 6 teaspoons, a day) for added benefit, which is a conditional recommendation. Free sugars include those naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices.

    • One tablespoon of honey (21 g) holds about 17 g of sugars, roughly two-thirds of that 25 g figure. This is calculated from USDA data.
    • If you have diabetes, ask your doctor how honey fits into your plan.

    Sources: WHO sugars guideline; USDA FoodData Central

  • Documented harm

    Babies under 12 months

    Do not give honey to infants under 12 months. Honey can carry Clostridium botulinum spores, which can grow in an infant’s immature gut and cause infant botulism, which needs urgent medical care.

    • The CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Honey Board all give this advice, as summarised by University of Florida Extension. The Cochrane cough review repeats it.
    • It applies to honey in any form, including honey stirred into food and drink.

    Sources: UF/IFAS, infant botulism and honey; Cochrane review (cough)

  • Documented harm

    “Mad honey” from rhododendron nectar

    Honey made from rhododendron nectar can contain grayanotoxin. Reported effects include dizziness, nausea, fainting, blurred vision, a slow heart rate and low blood pressure. Treatment is mostly supportive care in hospital.

    • A clinical case series from Nepal and a toxicology review describe these effects. The Utah Poison Control Center reports significant effects after a tablespoon or less.
    • Himalayan cliff honey is the best-known source of mad honey in Nepal.

    If anyone feels dizzy or faint after eating wild honey, seek medical help.

    Sources: Mad honey case series from Nepal; Gündüz et al. 2008; Utah Poison Control Center

  • Lab findings only

    Antioxidant and antibacterial findings

    Laboratory studies, including a 2025 study of five Nepali honey samples, measure antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in honey. These tests describe what is in the jar, not what honey does in the body, and they do not show a health benefit in people.

    Source: Adhikari et al. 2025

  • Traditional use

    Traditional and folk uses

    Honey has long been used in traditional remedies, for example for stomach aches, dehydration, allergies, and skin and hair problems. Honey hunters at Dharche say cliff honey has been used as medicine for stomach ailments, and some villagers feed it to oxen and mules to improve their immunity.

    • A field report on beekeeping in Nepal’s hills says honey is more often used there as a medicine, as a wound dressing, eye ointment or general tonic, than simply as a food.
    • We found no clinical evaluation of these uses.

    Sources: Babbar et al. 2022; Kathmandu Post, May 2023; Himalayan ceranaid field report

How we label evidence

Some clinical evidence
Tested in trials, with limits on how far the results go.
Evidence for medical products
Tested with dressings used in clinical care.
Public-health guidance
Advice from a health authority.
Documented harm
Described in clinical or public-health sources.
Traditional use
Long-standing practice, not tested in clinical trials.
Lab findings only
Measured in the laboratory, not shown in people.