Everyone makes mistakes, even Snopes

I just sent this email to the proprietors of snopes.com:

Good evening.

I must admit to being surprised by your recent article on the medical value of honey (http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/honey.asp). It's surprisingly credulous for the authors of such a critical-thinking minded site.

You mention "folklore and traditional medicine" as if these somehow convey real value. Do you also favor other traditional remedies like burying people in swamps and bloodletting?

I was interested in the claims for "Antioxidant effects" since recent actual medicine indicates that dietary antioxidants can be harmful rather than helpful (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=38).

My favorite, though, is the following: "Energy-Enhancing Effects. Honey is an excellent source of readily available carbohydrate, a chief source of quick energy." Your source just claimed that it's healthy because it contains lots of sugar!

You or they also seem to inexplicably think that pollen and royal jelly are honey. That is simply not the case.

You may wish to publish a correction.

Carl Fink