Throughout history, honey has been promoted as a superfood in medical texts from various ancient civilizations.
It’s been known for generations to have beneficial plant compounds and is well known for its amazing healing abilities. Bee produced honey contains pollen, several minerals, antioxidants, and many beneficial vitamins (usually B and C).
Some people still maintain that honey obtained from anywhere is pure, irrespective of the methods used for harvesting and processing.
To truly enjoy the health benefits of honey, one must understand that honey in its purest form is genuinely beneficial.
Depending on its purity and place of origin, it can be challenging to select honey at supermarkets or retail establishments simply by reading the labels.
Many honey brands have been flooding the market with honey jars, pretending to be pure and unadulterated.
Advantages of Unprocessed Honey The Processed Honey You Are Missing Out On
A vast array of nutrients, including 22 amino acids, 31 distinct minerals, and a variety of vitamins and enzymes, can be found in raw honey.
The most remarkable feature of raw honey is that it contains almost thirty different kinds of polyphenols, which are bioactive plant compounds with antioxidant properties.
These antioxidants have been connected to real health advantages, such as decreased inflammation, a decreased risk of heart disease, and a decreased risk of some types of cancer.
However, because of processing and ultra filtration techniques, the majority of store bought honey jars have fewer or even no antioxidants.
To put it in perspective, a study compared the antioxidant content of raw honey purchased from a local market versus processed honey.
Antioxidants in raw honey were found to be up to 4.3 times higher than in regular honey bought from the store.
Controlling weight
You can lose those pounds more quickly if you include honey in your weight loss or Keto diet.
Compared to sugar or other simple carbohydrates, raw honey digests more slowly in the body, resulting in a more relaxed feeling. It also does not cause a rapid spike in blood pressure. It will lessen your desire for food as well.
It helps in the healing of cough and sore throat
Honey has strong antiviral and antioxidant qualities. To relieve a sore throat, mix two tablespoons of honey with a warm glass of water or tea and sip as needed.
Support with digestion and constipation relief
The beneficial bacteria in your stomach known as probiotics ensure that everything you eat is broken down, digested, and converted into energy. Probiotics can be found in abundance in dairy products.
When our bodies contain the proper amount of probiotics, we can manage constipation and maintain mental clarity. Prebiotics, which are present in honey in abundance, are not broken down in the stomach.
When they get to the large intestine, they serve as a great source of food and support the growth of the probiotic bacteria previously mentioned, which promotes optimal gut health.
Boost Your Immunity
One of the best foods for zinc, potassium, and magnesium is honey. These nutrients help us fend off infections and avoid symptoms of the common cold and flu.
If honey is consumed regularly in milk, herbal tea, or as a sugar replacement, it can help prevent the flu.
Improving Athletic Performance and Building Stamina
Honey is a natural way to increase your stamina. The term “king of foods” refers to honey in numerous traditional Ayurvedic texts. Take my word for it; you can verify different proof seals on YouTube. Foods One such recipe is a paste made of honey, garlic, and turmeric.
Use honey to naturally color your hair
When using hair masks, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, and honey, go lighter.
Honey and acne
Honey masks are the best way to get rid of acne and blackheads. For this, there are lots of do it yourself videos on YouTube that are also quite simple to make.
A hearty “yes” for relieving tension and relaxing, honey
Bring some water to a boil, add some ginger, and mix in some honey. Serve and look relaxed.
The perfect Sugar Alternative for your household
Raw honey has a lower GI than processed honey, so it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels quickly.
As raw honey is sweeter than sugar, you need less of it to get the same amount of calories. However, if you’re trying to watch your calorie intake, make sure you’re eating enough of it.
An organic way to improve memory
By controlling oxidative stress, which is brought on by free radicals in cells, honey improves memory performance. It has been demonstrated that honey lowers stress and enhances memory.
Your ability to remember things better allows you to learn and remember them for longer periods of time.
Watch out for honey laundering!
Raw honey and regular honey are processed using entirely different techniques.
Natural honey preserves the majority of its healthy nutrients and antioxidants because it is only strained once before being put in a jar or bottle for sale.
Conversely, regular honey, or the majority of honey purchased from stores, goes through a number of processing steps that remove the majority of its healthy nutrients, such as pollen, and lower the amount of antioxidants it contains.
Food and health experts report that a number of consumers fall prey to commercial honey adulteration, which is primarily caused by corn syrup, unrefined sugar, or sweeteners.
Selling contaminated, impure honey as genuine, pure honey is therefore now referred to as “honey laundering.”
How to Choose Raw Honey from the grocery stores?
Not only is honey with pollen beneficial to health, but it can be traced back to the source, so it is important to look for honey that still has pollen.
A study revealed that there was no pollen in 75% of the honey jars that were sold in grocery stores and big-box stores.
Pollen was present in the majority of the honey purchased from natural food stores and farmer’s markets.
As a result, one can purchase raw honey from nearby grocers, beekeepers, or companies that get their honey straight from beekeepers’ hives.
To find raw honey that has not been heated or processed and still has its live enzymes intact, look for labels that read “Raw Honey.”
It’s also crucial to look into the certifications that the honey brand has obtained; these could include ISO, FSSAI, and other certifications from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
- Understand your honey terms
When looking for quality honey, there are a number of terms you should be aware of; some are important, while others are essentially marketing jargon.
The first thing you should look for is raw honey, which has the highest concentration of pollen because it hasn’t been pasteurized or filtered.
Additionally, you may come across the labels “organic honey” or “GMO free honey,” but regrettably, those are meaningless as well because it is impossible to ensure that the bees producing the honey pollinate only organic, non GMO plants.
Do not be fooled by terms like “organic pure honey” or “pure natural honey,” which are more for marketing purposes than a true label.
- Go through the labels
It is important to carefully review the fine print when purchasing quality honey, as some honey may not always be what it seems.
Unfortunately, since cutting costs and boosting profits for large manufacturers are the benefits of using lower grade ingredients like corn syrup, cutting honey is a fairly common practice.
Because of this, even though the product’s label states that it is “genuine honey,” you should still read the fine print on the label’s reverse.
Similar to this, some purportedly very healthful “organic” honey actually contains filtered and pasteurized pollens, which are removed. All of this information can also be found by reading the label’s back.
Look into the origin
Whether the honey is from a large manufacturer looking to pad their bottom line or a small, neighborhood beekeeper who genuinely cares about their colony, it matters.
Since they have the best quality control, individual or family farms—like the ones from which Brightland gets its honey—usually produce the best honey.
However, it is always worthwhile to look into your sources to make sure they are as good as they seem to be.
Because the taste and smell of honey are directly correlated with the plants that the bees pollinated to create it, the honey’s origin will also affect its final product’s flavor and aroma. Additionally, do some research on that.
Identify the many kinds of honey
As we discussed in the section above, the honey’s ultimate flavor greatly depends on the kind of flower(s) that the bees use to produce it. It’s crucial to understand a little bit about the different grades of honey in addition to the plants that provide it.
While grade B is in the middle and grade C is the lightest in terms of color and flavor, grade A is typically the darkest in color and has the strongest flavor.
Honey that has been whipped until it resembles butter is known as “creamed honey,” and it’s another variety of honey that you may find on the shelves.
It will be less difficult to select pure honey online for your requirements if you are aware of these various varieties.
Choose a jar made of glass
Since glass jars are the best for storing honey, we suggest either purchasing honey already packaged in a glass jar or transferring it into a clean, glass container of your own for optimal results.
Unlike some plastic containers that might also contain BPA, glass won’t give the honey a taste.
If the honey crystallizes, glass is a safe place to reheat it; however, if you do need to reheat the honey, you will still need to move it from a plastic container to a glass one.
Simply put, purchasing honey already packaged in a durable glass jar is more convenient. You won’t ever have to worry about heating it up or storing it that way.
How Can You Tell if the Honey You Purchased Is Raw?
You can purchase raw honey in the market in both liquid and creamy forms. Over time, liquid raw honey may crystallize or solidify.
Depending on the kind of flowers the bees have been feeding on, raw honey can have shades of yellow, brown, or even white.
Lastly, it can be presumed that honey is processed unless the term “raw” is present in the bottle or jar.
How can one confirm if honey is pure?
Have you ever been at a grocery store and been unsure about which honey is the best quality and which to purchase?
These are some guidelines, though, that you can use to ensure that the honey you purchase is pure.
- Examine the entire honey bottle, including the label, closely for any additional flavors or additives.
- Understand the honey standards that the regulating body has established. Always taste the honey before purchasing it if you have the opportunity.
- If you have already purchased honey, use the at home tests listed above to determine whether it is truly 100% genuine.
In India, honey is a common household food. Owing to its medicinal qualities, it is used. As a natural sweetener, it can be added to food or dissolved in water for consumption.
Nevertheless, it is very challenging to locate honey that is entirely pure due to the rising adultery in honey.
You now know how to check the purity of honey at home using easy experiments, so go ahead and check the quality of the honey you use there.
To get the full benefits of honey, try to buy natural honey online
Honey purity tests conducted at home
To determine the purity of honey at home, there are several techniques you can employ. You can evaluate the purity of various types of honey on the market with the aid of these DIY solutions.
It is always advised to use multiple tests to determine the purity of your honey because one test may yield results that are falsely positive.
Solubility Test
The honey is allowed to slowly dissolve in a glass of water for this test. Your honey is considered pure if it sinks to the bottom of the glass without dissolving in the water.
However, because adulterants aside from molasses are added to honey to thicken its consistency and prevent it from dissolving in water, this test may yield false positives.
Additionally, unripe honey is pure but dissolves easily in water due to its thin consistency.
Flame examination:
It’s a test to find out if honey contains water. To conduct the flame test, dip a matchstick into honey and attempt to light it with a matchbox.
A pure honey will make it easy to light the matchstick. However, it might be challenging to light a matchstick if your honey has been tampered with.
If your honey is tampered with using thick adulterants with lower moisture content, the test may cause inaccurate results.
Which Substances Are Found In Honey?
Cheap materials that can withstand the requirements of laboratory testing are used to adulterate honey. In India, the following substances are frequently used as adulterants:
Molasses:
The sugarcane juice is viscous and thick. The result of boiling sugarcane juice is a dark, murky liquid with a honey like flavor.
Fluid glucose:
The baking and confectionery industries use this glossy, thick solution. It is also easily accessible and reasonably priced.
Invert sugar
It is a thick, shiny liquid that is made from refined sugar.
HFCS, or high glucose corn syrup:
It is created during the processing of the sweetcorn. HFCS is comparable to honey in terms of composition and consistency.
Rice syrup:
When rice is processed, this syrup is created. It is one of the honey adulterants that is most frequently used worldwide.
Conclusion
Vedichoney sources their organic, raw, and unpasteurized honey from organic sources. Vedichoney sources raw honey from natural and organic sources for its customers by working with tribal beekeepers and apiculturists from all over India. You can buy organic honey online from us!
