HONEY, REMEMBER TO BUY SOME HONEY!
Off to the store you go, and you suddenly find yourself staring at the honey shelf with absolutely no idea which honey to choose! You're in a rush and have no time to fine-comb labels.
With so many wide varieties of honey available at the local grocery store and online, what types of honey will offer the best health benefits for your family?
How do you avoid another sugar source with empty calories and zero nutrients? After all, there's a reason we choose honey over sugar - its beneficial properties.
Let us explain the differences and how to choose the healthiest honey for your family! Bee-cause we care!
IS IT EVEN HONEY?
You may have good intentions, but many of the honey products found in stores are highly processed and "fake honey." Fake honey often consists of only one-third of raw honey and is usually mixed with water and sugar syrups like cane, corn, or rice sugar.
Food Safety News decided to test honey sold all over the U.S. They analyzed the pollen of 60 jugs, jars, and plastic bears of honey from 10 different states. Among all the containers of honey provided, a staggering 76 percent or more had the pollen removed.
Many commercially sold honey products are pasteurized (a process where high heat is applied) to extend their shelf life and help to keep them in liquid form.
Another counteractive process is the filtration of the honey to remove all the air bubbles, giving it a cleaner, smoother, and more appealing consistency.
But all the good we wish to get from honey is removed by these very processes.
Pasteurization and filtration remove many of the phytonutrients that give honey a healthy reputation.
They also destroy almost all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant properties you would have found in raw honey straight from the beehive. In some cases, honey is filtered so much that no pollen is present anymore.
As The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states, honey that has been ultra-filtered is not really honey, and the medicinal advantages of honey can't be expected. Unfortunately, the FDA does not conduct quality or control checks on honey sold in the U.S. to see if it contains any pollen.
So if you desire any health benefits from honey, it is time to get to know the different types of honey and make informed choices for your family.
The Different Types of Honey
Raw Honey
Raw honey comes directly from the beehives, which the bees produce from the nectar of flowers and is placed in packaging or eaten as is.
It is unheated, unprocessed, and unpasteurized. It may contain chunks of wax, dead bees, and rough pollen particles. The rawest form of honey you can eat is honeycomb.
Pure Honey
Pure honey is still 100% raw honey but is taken from the beehives and gently strained by spreading it over a nylon cloth to remove nasties such as dirt, chunks, and dead bugs.
Unheated or unfiltered honey is entirely natural, retaining all the enzymes, nutrients, and medicinal compounds beneficial for our health.
Pure honey is not mixed with synthetic sugars like corn or cane sugar and does not contain added coloring or preservatives.
Organic Honey
To be classified as organic, honey producers must prove that their bees only foraged organically and they follow organic practices and standards.
Hives must be treated organically, and the flowers cannot be sprayed with pesticides. Organic honey can be strained and may not be heated above 95 degrees F.
Honey labeled as organic is also not necessarily raw and can be filtered and pasteurized. Yes, honey can be both raw and organic, but you should not assume it is raw because it is organic or vice versa.
To prove that honey is organic is challenging as bees can fly within a 9-mile radius. Farmers can seldom guarantee that their bees have not flown off to the neighbors where pesticides are used.
Unfiltered Honey
When honey is filtered, tiny particles are removed, even as small as the pollen. It is also often heat-treated to change to a liquid state and thus no longer raw.
Unfiltered honey is not necessarily raw, but it will be closer to the natural state, preserving all the good for you properties. When possible, it is best to choose a product labeled raw and unfiltered.
Regular Honey
Regular honey is the kind you want to avoid (and, most often, the cheapest!).
Regular honey goes through pasteurization and filtration, removing all the characteristics that make honey so remarkable. The bees may have visited pesticide-treated crops, been treated with antibiotics, and gotten winter nourishment with sugar or low-cost syrup.
It essentially becomes just another sugar-ridden item in our pantries with no beneficial properties.
how to choose the best types of honey
Examine the label
------Scrutinizing the label is the first step. Look for the words 'unpasteurized', 'unfiltered,' 'raw,' 'organic,' or 'true source certified.'
Consider the price
------If the price looks too cheap, it probably is cheap honey. More expensive honey reflects the time and care that go into producing it.
Evaluate the consistency
------Cloudy, opaque, or cream-colored honey is often a sign that the honey is still in its raw state. But that does not mean clear honey is not pure or unfiltered; it is simply a guideline.
Do the spread test
------Pour honey on your thumb - If it spreads right away or drips, it's most likely not pure, and if it stays intact or drips very slowly, it's pure.
Do the water test
------Add a tablespoon of honey to a glass of water - if the honey forms a lump and settles at the bottom, it is pure. If it dissolves, it is artificial honey.
Observe the shelf life
------Pure honey will start to crystallize over time, whereas fake honey will remain in a liquid state like syrup.
These are general guidelines to help you choose, but are not set in stone and may differ from supplier to supplier.
so what type of honey is the best?
Ultimately, the most natural, raw state of honey is the best for our health if we want to reap all the fantastic benefits.
Not only is it better for you, but also for the bees and the environment, as you are supporting sustainable bee and honey farming.
Unfortunately, there are no strict regulations or requirements for labeling, so the best you can do is choose honey in its most natural state, which is pure, organic, and unfiltered.
You can also research the source or honey producer for more information on their honey-making practices.
Lastly, look for small, artisanal honey producers at farmers' markets, natural food shops, or trusted online shops like Country Life Natural Foods.
At Country Life Natural Foods, we are serious about selling only natural foods from our network of trusted producers. We selectively choose only the best products for our customers with the highest standards.
Our honey is pure, unfiltered, unpasteurized, and tastes fantastic.
We bee-lieve in goodness and natural, just like mother nature intended it to bee!
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Thank you for going over some of the different kinds of honey. I’ve been wanting to use honey over sugar for my tea in the mornings. I think I’d like to try raw honey to see how it differs from my regular sugar. https://registerfamilyfarm.com/collections/tupelo-honey