Honey, mm mm good. There are over 300 types of honey. Thus what the bees feed on to make the honey will determine the nutrient density and profile of the honey.
The old story used to be that pasteurized honey is as bad for you as unpasteurized is good for you…but unfortunately that is no longer the story.
Why is pasteurized honey bad for you? Because the pasteurization destroys all the good stuff.
Why is unpasteurized honey good for you? Honey has a variety of compounds such as:
- Proteins like proline, but all nine essential amino acids.
- There are over 5000 enzymes in honey – !!!
- Vitamins include A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6,C, D3 and E.
- Minerals include calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc.
- Organic acids like gluconic acid, acetic, formic and citric acids.
- And pure honey also has polyphenols such as flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, and volatile compounds.
- In addition, a variety of sugars including monosaccharides such as fructose and glucose, disaccharides, trisaccharides, and oligosaccharides.
- A good source of polyphenols that act as antioxidants as well as support the brains BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factors; reduces oxidative stress.
- The propolis in raw honey has antifungal and antibacterial properties.
- The antimicrobial and anti inflammatory properties help healing.
- It is also immune boosting.
- The autoinflammatory and antibacterial properties can soothe the skin, especially burns and help accelerate the healing.
- It has anti cancer benefits – despite the sugars.
- Hydrogen peroxide is a good antiseptic in honey.
- Pinocembrin – a power antioxidant and neuroprotective
- Some studies support giving honey for issues like depression, anti-convulsants and anti-anxiety.
https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/top-raw-honey-benefits#heal-wounds
https://astorapiaries.com/blogs/nyc-beekeeper/14-benefits-of-raw-honey
https://www.littlebeehouse.co.uk/7-basic-honey-nutrition-facts/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9143627/
The problem today is that, while commercial bee keepers used to start new hives or support established hives through a cold winter with high fructose corn syrup, they provide it now regularly. Why? Because the bees make a lot more honey.
What does this high fructose corn syrup do to the bees and to the honey? Well it actually changes the DNA of the bees – wow!!! As for the honey, well, it actually changes the nutritional density of the honey…oh dear…
So the bottom line – make sure you get unpasteurized honey from bee keepers that feed bees on organic fields and feed the hives honey instead of high fructose corn syrup. Then you are getting a really good healthy honey.
Now you might question why I am talking about honey in a gardening site…well another type of bee is the mason bee. They are not honey makers but they are one of the best for pollinating your garden. They don’t sting like honey bees and they are easy to keep. Just use a bird house, face it east, and buy your bees at your local nursery. The nursery may also have the clay that they like to build their nest with.
Now your garden will do even better!!!