Oxymel is
an ancient mixture made of honey and an acid such as apple cider vinegar. Hippocrates wrote about it for its ability to
produce expectoration and promote “freedom of breathing.”
It used to
appear in ancient herbals for use as an immune system booster, often infused
with various herbs and/or spices.
Traditionally
the mix was made of five parts honey to one of vinegar, but modern taste often
dictates a one to one ratio. A teaspoon
of the mixture is stirred into a cup of hot (not boiling) water and drunk on an
empty stomach first thing in the morning.
My Nana
often began her day with a teaspoon of commercial honey/apple cider vinegar mix
stirred into a glass of cold water. She
claimed it helped her arthritis, but it never helped mine!
I dislike
the harsh taste of vinegar but I do love honey.
My good
friend J is Maori, and his grandmother told them to drink a teaspoon of manuka honey
in a glass of hot water first thing every morning. She said it was good for the heart and
cleansed the kidneys, and gave one strength to face the coming day.
Pure manuka
honey is expensive so I buy a honey mix that contains manuka. I stir one teaspoon into my hot water and
drink this first thing on most mornings (sometimes it is in the wee hours when I
am having trouble sleeping).
It is a
nourishing, gentle way for me to break the night’s time of fasting. My husband used to love starting his day with
a serve of chilled juicy fresh fruit.
Do you have a favourite thing you like to start your day with?
Margaret 😊
P.S. I love
today’s date – 10/10/2020 !
I would enjoy the honey part but not so keen on the vinegar part!
ReplyDeleteMy morning starter is a cup of instant coffee with milk. I grew up as a teenager in England drinking instant coffee and in the morning I prefer it to the real stuff. Yes, I am a philistine.
Son always starts his day with two instant coffees before he stops being a grumpy bear!
DeleteI eat an egg every morning. If I don’t have one, I feel hungry. Decaf coffee always gets me started too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of the weekend, Margaret.
Coffee!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Manuka honey but it does sound interesting. I must check if it is available in Canada and if it costs an exorbitant price. I normally start my day with orange juice.
ReplyDeleteManuka (also called teatree) has a lot of medicinal properties and is even used to treat burns. It is quite a miracle honey!
DeleteApparently we start (and end) our days with Oxymel. A teaspoon of honey with a capful of apple cider vinegar in a glass of warm water. I also drink lots of water with a few drops of apple cider vinegar in it during the day.
ReplyDeleteRoiboos. Well actually MrT starts his day with a commercial brand of catfood, and a helping of Tigger 'salad' carefully hand selected from the pot on the balcony, but F drinks redbush. (Mr B is a green tea day-starter.) xxx Tigger (F & Mr B)
ReplyDeleteI used to drink water with apple cider vinegar but I didn't feel it did me any good. Now I just have a cup of good filter coffee. Black nowadays.
ReplyDeleteI love honey, but cannot handle the acid in the vinegar... I may just try adding honey to my usual hot water that I start the day with. Like you I use a honey with manuka in it - pure manuka is unbelievably expensive.
ReplyDeletehave you tried Rewarewa? That is also a powerful healer with an caramel-like flavour.
Stay safe
Blessings
Maxine
Rewarewa would be my favourite eating honey as I love the flavour. I find clover too sweet and bush honey too sharp, even straight manuka is rather strong. Try some honey in your hot water and see what you think - I often have plain hot water during the day if I don't feel like drinking tea (I'm not a coffee drinker).
DeleteRight! I did that a couple of years ago, too - thank you for the reminder, I´ll resume that, and now it even has a name, didn´t know it´s called Oxymel!
ReplyDeleteI start with tea, how boring! Oh, if it wasn´t for Corinna, I think weddings today would take place like crazy! Also because... even men can remember that date (just kidding, but it works. A friend of mine married 09/10/11, my Brother in October, too, some weeks later, cannot remember that date!)...
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI heard apple cider vinegar is good for the digestive system, I have used it many times and I love honey! I have to have coffee to start my day! Take care, enjoy your day!
I would like to get Riger to try this...I think honey probably has more benefits than we know. And might try to start it myself.
ReplyDeleteI have no habit of the morn..
I love a big mug of tea, and a cup of coffee in the morning! If I am coughing, I think it helps with honey in the tea. There is a lot of wisdom in old advices.
ReplyDelete