Instead of giving your children over-the-counter medicines, why not give them honey, instead? That is what Dr. Ian Paul, researcher at the Penn State College of medicine, recommends parents do when their children suffer from coughs.

Dr. Paul and his colleagues studied 105 children between the ages of 2 and 18. The team randomly assigned the children to one of three groups: one group received honey prior to bed time, another received honey-flavored cough suppressant, and the last group received nothing at all.

Parents of the children who had received the honey reported that the treatment significantly eased their children's cough and allowed the kids to sleep better. The results come as no surprise; science has already established that honey possesses antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, thanks to its high acidity, hydrogen peroxide and low water activity, which causes osmosis.

When you really think about it, Dr. Paul's study has only verified what people have already known for centuries: that honey is good for treating not only coughs, but wounds and other maladies as well.