For those who do not know and hear for the first time the meaning of “raw” honey I want to explain, it is concentrated or in other words intense nectar from flowers, which was not amenable to pasteurization, heating, and any heat treatments. If you pay attention to the store option, it is always sold pasteurized. Of course, the process of heat treatment does not lead to anything good, because because of this, honey loses all the beneficial properties, vitamins and nutrients that the body needs. Accordingly, the benefits of store honey can only be dreamed of, it can be eaten so simply, not for good. Also commercial honey is not as nutritious as raw. Raw honey is very useful, it contains textured crystals and pieces of honeycombs, contains amylase, this natural enzyme, which allows you to improve the work of the digestive system and helps it to fight acid disorders in the stomach.
Raw honey is honey that has not been heated, pasteurized, or otherwise processed. It is considered to be the healthiest form of honey. Raw honey contains yeast, important enzymes and pollen, which are considered healthy. In most cases, the normal honey that is sold in the supermarket is pasteurized and filtered.
There were disturbing reports that a significant amount of this “industrial” honey can be falsified and contain harmful impurities (rich in fructose corn syrup and even prohibited antibiotics!). Such industrial processing of honey is performed for a number of reasons: to improve the “appearance” of the product, remove sediment, control the color and liquidity of the product. Grocery supermarkets attach great importance to the appearance of products, which in many cases affects their nutritional qualities. Let’s look at why it is necessary to eat only raw honey?
7 main benefits of raw honey…
Raw honey is an excellent source of nutrition. It contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, raw honey is considered useful for the treatment of anemia, arthritis (in combination with apple cider vinegar), colds, allergies, obesity, parasites, insomnia and many other diseases.
Raw honey can be applied topically. It is an excellent treatment for burns, wound infections, ulcers and even gangrene. Scientists have found that raw honey contains natural antibiotics and enzymes that help kill pathogens and heal wounds.
Raw honey is never filtered. In order to filter the honey, it is usually heated to 66-77 °C. Heating and filtration remove valuable nutrients from the honey. Raw honey contains pollen, and industrial honey does not (filtering removes pollen). Pollen is very useful for people suffering from allergies (especially local production).
Some scientific studies support this traditional use of pollen, but modern medicine does not yet recognize the efficacy of pollen from allergies. There is even more serious ultrafiltration, which consists in running honey under high pressure through ultrafine filters. This process removes all the pollen from raw honey. Such filtration is a big problem, because in addition to removing many nutritional qualities, the presence of pollen is the only way to determine the authenticity of honey. In most cases, the honey that is sold on the shelves of supermarkets does not contain any pollen.
Raw honey is not pasteurized. Wikipedia says: “pasteurized honey is honey, which is heated during pasteurization at a temperature of 72 °C. Pasteurization of honey destroys yeast cells and also dilutes any microcrystals in honey (which delays the onset of visible crystallization). However, excessive heat exposure also leads to deterioration of the product, since it increases the level of hydroxymethylfurfural and reduces the activity of enzymes (for example, diastase). Heat also affects the appearance (the color of raw honey becomes darker), the taste and aroma. ”
Heating honey to 37 °C results in a loss of about 200 components, some of which have antibacterial properties. Excessive heat can be detrimental to the nutritional value of honey. Heating to 37 C results in a loss of about 200 components, some of which have anti-bacterial properties. Heating to 40 °C destroys an important invertase enzyme. At 50 °C, caramelization of the honey sugar occurs. Thus, large temperature fluctuations cause deterioration of the product.
Raw honey is real honey! This is just a shock: according to the American press, commercial honey is one of the “most falsified food products” in the United States. Approximately one third of the honey was smuggled into the United States from China and contains impurities. Raw honey bought from farmers usually contains pollen and is rarely fake.
In many cases, imported honey contains toxic ingredients or other sugars (corn syrup enriched with fructose) or even prohibited antibiotics! All supplies of honey from India are banned in the EU due to the presence of lead and illegal antibiotics. In addition, it was found that more honey was made without the help of bees: from artificial sweeteners, and then actively filtered to remove any evidence of the presence of impurities.
Honey that has been heated contains higher levels of hydroxymethylfurfural, which is considered an undesirable ingredient in food.
Raw honey is a vital product! Raw honey is the only kind of food that never rots. Discovered jars of honey from ancient Egypt were in very good condition! Therefore, you need to love honey and take care of hardworking bees, which, apparently, have studied the needs of the human body even better than the man himself!