Is Raw Honey The Cure All Solution? Let’s Weigh In

Whether it’s raw honey or raw milk, the US is obsessed with the health benefits of consuming unprocessed juice of bees and cows, but is there actually any health benefit?

The great debate: Raw honey is the purest form of bee juice. It’s unprocessed, unfiltered, and unpasturized. It’s essentially straight from the hive and full of all the delicious goodness therein. The honey is only strained before being bottled, making it as pure as possible.

• People believe that, because of the lack of processing, raw honey holds many more benefits than the processed, supermarket version. It’s common knowledge that honey is a superfood, and getting it unprocessed is, according to fads, the most health-beneficial way.

However, many people claim that just because honey has been processed and made FDA safe, it doesn’t take away from the health benefits.

How Much Healthier is Raw Honey

Raw honey is prepared for human consumption by pouring it through a mesh cloth or basic filter. This removes all the dead bees and nasty dirt. However, when honey no longer becomes raw, it has been put through a number of processes.

Pasteurisation exposes it to high heat to kill yeast and increases shelf life. Ultrafiltration cleans the honey, but it can remove a lot of the pollen, enzymes, and antioxidants. But a lot of it is simply filtered, leaving these healthy benefits in.

Why it matters: So, it turns out that, if you’re eating raw honey, there are actually more benefits to your health. The ultra-processed version, although delicious and bug-free, has had much of the good stuff killed. Honey is incredibly rich in antioxidants and healthy enzymes. But, to increase shelf life and ensure it’s completely food safe, it has these removed.

It’s an odd thing to do. Raw honey doesn’t have a shelf life. Due to its high acidity PH and low moisture, it can be stored properly indefinitely. If you’re looking for the best honey, full of all the health benefits it gives, find your local bee farmer and grab a jar straight from the source.

Even better, buy yourself a hive and a queen and fill your garden with wildflowers. Your HOA will hate it, but your body will thank you.