Are you a honey lover? It’s such a versatile sweetener. We use it in everything around here: tea, granola, cookies, chicken. You name it and I’ve probably whipped up a recipe using honey.
Honey might be pretty popular these days, but it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. Back in the day, it used to be more cherished than gold. In the 11th century, honey was in such high demand that German peasants were required to pay their feudal lords in honey and beeswax. Seriously. But the honey they were revering back then is not the same as the honey bears that line grocery store shelves. Not all honey is created equal!
- Raw unfiltered honey is a very different product from the filtered honey {fake honey} sold in supermarkets. Fake honey has been modified and so it’s missing the nutrients that make pure honey so healthy.
- Raw unfiltered honey contains bee pollen, which has long been considered one of nature’s most nourishing foods.
- Raw unfiltered honey is used in many countries for weight control, in beauty products, for anti-aging, to relieve allergies, and for overall health.
- When honey is ultra-filtered or pasteurized, the bee pollen is removed and it leaves it devoid of nutrition in the process
- Companies started filtering honey because it extends the shelf life.
- Some estimate over 75% of all honey sold in stores in the US is fake.
- Most of those companies producing fake honey add high fructose corn syrup.
Still looking for more info on honey? Check out these 10 Cool Uses for Honey or this fun post on Honey Bees and Langstroth Hives.
~Mavis
Kathy says
Was never much of a honey lover until I tried local raw, unfiltered honey.
Holy cow was I ever surprised! Have you heard of A. I. Root, in Medina, OH?
Best honey on the planet, and their beeswax candles are the bomb too.
If you want to help control allergies non chemically, local raw honey really is the best way to go.
Mavis says
The taste is so different. It’s like night and day.
Jen L A says
As a beekeeper, I just wanted to point out that true raw honey never expires. The companies adding things say they do for extended shelf life, but that’s only to preserve the after product honey-like substance. Honey may crystallize but doesn’t spoil. Just place the glass jar in hot water and it will liquify again. Buy honey as close to where you live for the allergy benefits. 1spoonful a day is said to help people with allergies.
Kristina says
What is your opinion of “organic” honey? The beekeeper we rent bees from for our almond orchards says that bees have a several mile range. How many acres (or sq. miles) does a bee hive need to be on of continuous organic forage for their honey to earn the USDA “organic” label? Where I live, I see farmers’ market honey labelled both “organic” and “local”, and I just wonder at the veracity of their claims. I don’t know of any organic growers around here with that much contiguous acreage.
Mavis says
Great info. Thanks for letting us know.
Candice says
I agree with Kathy. AI Root honey and beewax candles are top notch. I live in Medina not far from there and either purchase our honey from them or from an Amish family when they have it. I like to help support small farmers in the area. Its a win-win for us both.
Brooke says
I watched Vanishing of the Bees last weekend, and in it they discussed the additives in most commercial honey. It was a really good, albeit sad, documentary. It made me want my own hives even more!
Robin says
I went to the Western Apicultural Society annual conference since it was near me and got to hear Dr. Ron Fessenden speak about honey. I knew that honey was good for us, but never knew how good. Here is some info from Dr. Fessenden. And remember, if you take honey, it should be raw, unfiltered, and unheated.
According to Ron Fessenden in “The New Honey Revolution” there are 3 major factors responsible for these diseases (Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes): chronic brain starvation, chronic sleep loss and chronic metabolic stress. What are they?
1. Chronic brain starvation = repeated brain starvation that occurs nightly when the liver glycogen reserve becomes depleted during sleep.
2. Chronic sleep loss = a result of brain starvation that triggers the release of adrenalin and cortisol resulting in interrupted and short sleep.
3. Chronic metabolic stress = a condition that happens when repeated and excessive adrenalin and cortisol release. It is a protective mechanism initiated by the brain to provide fuel for itself when liver glycogen reserves are depleted.
These three intertwine and manifest themselves in different ways in people, but they all share the same causal elements. Of course not all obese people have diabetes, just like we cannot say that skinny people cannot have diabetes. Starting from these three conditions some people develop osteoporosis, depressions, thyroid deficiencies or an early onset of Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinsonism. Or other forms of neuro-degenerative diseases. Some people get cancer or coronary artery disease. Many have hypertension or become handicapped from strokes. Others just sleep poorly every night. It all depends on each organism and of all the other systems involved.
But somehow, it seems that all happens because the leader of all our organs, the brain, is not happy. Because it’s hungry, and cannot function well.
Fessenden’s conclusion is that chronic metabolic stress is triggered by “chronic starvation of the brain”, which is caused by a low level of liver glycogen over night. Year after year, this starvation leads to a continuum metabolic stress. We first perceive it as poor sleep or bad quality sleep, or a hungry feeling and then it can degenerate to diabetes, obesity, neuro-degenerative diseases including Azeiheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s and motor-neuron disease like Lou Gehrig’s disease.
a dose of honey before bedtime prevents and heals chronic metabolic stress
A dose of honey before bedtime, meaning 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons according to body weight, is what Ron Fessenden recommends. He supports his statement with the following explanations:
• Honey allows recovery physiology to occur without interruption during rest.
• Honey reduces the level of cortisol produced secondary to brain starvation.
• Cortisol negatively affects the hippocampus, the center for short-term memory and memory consolidation.
• Reducing or eliminating potential damage to the hippocampus from excessive cortisol levels would improve memory consolidation and retrieval.
• The fact that honey also stabilizes blood sugar and reduces the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes, which are known to be causative factors in Alzheimer’s, further suggests that honey might play a role in the reduction in the prevalence of this terrible disease.
Mavis says
These facts are AWESOME. Thanks for sharing.
Carol says
My husband and I are beekeepers in NE Oklahona.
1) Bees can travel for 3 or more miles in search of honey, so since we can’t control what chemicals neighbors use, we can’t label out honey as organic. All I can do is keep our property and flowers organic.
2) Honey sold beekeepers is usually filtered at least once to keep an occasional and accidental bee part out if the honey we sell. But it’s not ultra- filtered as Mavis referred to.
3) Thank you for supporting your local beekeepers. It’s a precarious business. Most of us do this to help the bees, honest!
Mavis says
Beekeeping is so amazing. I’m fascinated by it!
Noel says
Also, another thing to note, most of the honey we find in the “supermarket ” is blackmarket Chinese honey. Nasty Nasty stuff!
Kendall says
Hi Mavis! We eat only unfiltered honey in our home. Our friends family have harvested bees for ever! We love it!!! I use it to sweeten jams when canning. Thank you for sharing!!!