Honey – Part One – sacred, sweet, and medicinal

Honey has been used as food and medicine since ancient times. The practice of keeping bees to harvest their honey dates back to at least 700 BC. Honey was used in religious ceremonies to pay tribute to the gods, to embalm the dead, and for a variety of medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Only the very wealthy could use honey in cooking because it was so rare. Honey became displaced as a sweetener for cooking when “refined” sugar made from sugar cane or sugar beets was discovered. Refined sugar cost less and became readily available. Since that time, honey continues to be used for sweetening but much of its use has become focused on its medicinal properties.
Honey’s unique composition makes it useful as an antimicrobial agent and antioxidant. Raw honey, as it exists in the hive, is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. Phytonutrients found in raw honey have been shown to possess cancer-preventing and anti-tumor properties. Children with coughs and upper respiratory infections treated with a single dose of honey before bedtime were able to sleep better and coughed less than other children treated with honey flavored dextromethorphan. Experimental evidence indicates that honey may improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity compared to other sweeteners. The body can tolerate honey much better than sucrose or glucose alone. This makes honey a better option for those with mild diabetes and Type 1 diabetes. . Honey also boosts immunity.
Honey has been used topically for ulcers, burns, and wounds for centuries. Studies have shown that patients treated with honey had fewer infections, healed more cleanly, and had a reduced hospital stay. Honey is composed mainly of glucose and fructose. These two sugars attract water. This allows honey to absorb water in the wound, drying it out so that the growth of bacteria and fungi is inhibited. Honey also contains an enzyme called glucose oxidase. Once combined with water, this enzyme produces hydrogen peroxide, a mild antiseptic.
Almost all of the honey sold in grocery stores is not really honey. According to a study done by Food Safety News, three-quarters of the honey sold in the United States is not proper honey. This means the honey has been ultra-filtered and thus is missing pollen naturally found in raw honey. According to US standards, any product that is filtered so much that it no longer contains pollen cannot be labeled honey. A product like this would also flunk tests used by other world food safety organizations to determine the legitimacy of the honey.
Honey is normally filtered to remove various bee parts that consumers do not want in their honey. This practice is normal and acceptable. Ultra-filtered honey contains no pollen what so ever. This means that the country of origin cannot be traced. This is one way Chinese honey can get into the United States. Chinese honey is heavily tariffed because the price is so low. By laundering Chinese honey through other countries these tariffs can be avoided and low cost Chinese honey can make its way into the US. Chinese honey has been found to be contaminated with antibiotics and other chemicals. These products do not have the same nutritional or medicinal value as minimally filtered and processed honey.
The good news is honey purchased at farmers’ markets, co-op, and specialty food stores is local honey. You can easily identify the source of this honey and it does contain the expected amounts of pollen. Often times you can purchase raw, unfiltered honey directly from a local beekeeper.
Stop in at Lanesboro Local Marketplace and pick up some local honey today. We sell John and Deb Bruihler’s pure natural honey from Rushford, MN. Be prepared for coughs and sore throats this winter and have this sweet, golden liquid available for your afternoon tea or morning yogurt. Store your honey in an airtight container so it does not absorb moisture from the air and it will last almost indefinitely.