What's So Special About Raw Honey Anyway?

Did you know most of the honey you will find at your local grocery store is not actually honey? A far cry from the health-promoting powerhouse of its raw unpasteurised counterpart. Supermarket honey is highly processed. It is heated to very high temperatures which destroy the naturally occurring enzymes, vitamins, and minerals found therein. This is followed by a fine filtering process that removes the majority of the very elements you want from honey. This filtering and processing eliminate many of the beneficial phytonutrients, including pollen and enzyme-rich propolis. Often fillers and antibiotics may be added.

Non-raw honey or regular commercial honey can be sourced from bees that are treated with antibiotics (such as ciprofloxacin in China’s honey). It is also likely that the bees are fed winter nourishment in the form of sugar or low-cost syrup. This in turn affects the honey that is produced by them.

Commercial honey comes from hives which are made of non-organic materials and can harbour pests. They are cleaned with non-organic substances which results in your final product being not much more than high-fructose sugar. So if you desire any kind of health benefits from your honey, you really must stick to the real stuff.

Here at The Raw Kitchen, we sell the real deal! Raw Honey! Raw honey is a crude form of honey immediately taken out of the cells of the honeycomb within a bee hive. It cannot be heated above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the normal temperature of the bee hive. While it’s OK to strain raw honey, it’s never filtered or pasteurised. It also cannot have any other additives.

Raw honey's nutritional profile is impressive. It contains 22 amino acids, 27 minerals, and 5,000 enzymes. Vitamins found in honey include vitamin B6, thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin, resulting in a multitude of health benefits.

Next time you're at the store, beware of low-cost 'sugar substitute' honey found on the supermarket shelf that can do just as much harm as normal sugar. Instead, opt for our raw honey and start reaping the health benefits of this superfood!

You can read more about Honey as a superfood and its health benefit on the Healthline website.