This is why it is not a given that the honey picked up from grocery stores is replete with all these health benefits. Raw honey is what is derived directly from the bees in its most natural form. Raw honey is neither heated nor pasteurised. It is not processed in any form and does not contain any additives. Rather, it comes laden with the immense benefits of bee wax and bee pollen. However, not all honey available in the market is in its natural raw and unprocessed state.
The process of mechanical filtration, pasteurisation and bottling does significantly improve the texture and appearance of honey but it also kills most of its benefits. Pasteurised honey can increase its own glycemic index which in turn has adverse effect on diabetics.
Heating honey not only deteriorates its quality but also results in a loss of essential enzymes and nutrients. Worse still, the principles of Ayurveda suggest that when cooked, the molecules of honey produce toxins which contribute to health problems such as congestion, obesity, indigestion, respiratory diseases and blood glucose imbalances. Unfortunately, most of the mass-packaged honey we get in our local stores is preheated and severely processed. On the other hand, some producers also replace honey with sugarcane, corn or rice solutions while many beekeepers replace the honey in the hive itself with sugar substitutes.
A study conducted by a leading Indian environment watchdog recently threw up startling revelations. It concluded that a number of leading honey brands in the country were adulterated with sugar syrup. If you are out to buy honey for its health and immunity boosting benefits, it is raw and unprocessed honey that you should look for.
Gentle low-temperature warming allows it to flow for bottling and a light straining is undertaken to remove larger particles such as leaves and non-honey debris. Regular commercially produced honey undergoes processing, including pasteurisation heating the honey to very high temperatures that destroys yeast found in honey, and ultrafiltration to prevent crystallisation and increase shelf life.
In simple terms, raw honey is extracted from the beehive, strained and poured straight into the bottle— so what you get is just from the bees collected. To make it easier to understand the different kinds of honey, we explain the generally accepted definitions for each kind of honey:. The benefit of not heating honey is that the naturally-occurring enzymes, vitamins and minerals are preserved and you get the full benefits of them from eating raw honey.
If you have the choice between raw honey vs regular honey, raw honey is a better choice for health, taste, bees and the environment. Organic Honey: Organic honey is produced from the pollen of organically grown plants, and without chemical miticides to treat the bees.
Buying organic honey ensures that you avoid contact with pesticides that may be sprayed on or near the plants visited by honeybees. Of course, bees usually fly up to 2 miles from the hive looking for flowers, which means that all the flowers within this 2-mile radius must be certified organic in order for the honey to truly be organic. As you would expect this can be difficult to control, but an Organic certification is a good way you can be sure the apiary is taking care to ensure it.
Much of the certified organic honey available in the United States is imported in large quantities from Brazil or other foreign countries and undergoes pasteurization and heavy filtration. Look for both raw and organic on the label.
Filtering honey is not the same as straining honey, which is commonly done to remove bee parts and other large debris prior to jarring while still retaining the pollen and other beneficial qualities of honey.
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