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What is raw honey? |
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What is raw honey? Raw honey is the concentrated nectar of flowers that comes straight from the extractor; it is the only unheated, pure, unpasteurized, unprocessed honey. An alkaline-forming food, this type of honey contains ingredients similar to those found in fruits, which become alkaline in the digestive system. It doesn’t ferment in the stomach and it can be used to counteract acid indigestion. When mixed with ginger and lemon juices, it also relieves nausea and supplies energy. Raw honey is the healthiest choice amongst the various forms of honey as it has the most nutritional value and contains amylase, an enzyme concentrated in flower pollen which helps predigest starchy foods like breads.
Most honeys found in the supermarket are not raw honey but “commercial" honey, which has been heated and filtered so that it looks cleaner and smoother, more appealing on the shelf, and easier to handle and package. When honey is heated, its delicate aromas, yeast and enzymes which are responsible for activating vitamins and minerals in the body system are partially destroyed. Hence, such honey is not as nutritious as raw honey. It's no secret! Unprocessed honey, straight from the hive, has been used worldwide for millennia to promote healing. "In digestive disturbances honey is of great value. Honey does not ferment in the stomach because, being an inverted sugar, it is easily absorbed and there is no danger of a bacterial invasion. The flavor of honey excites the appetite and helps digestion. "For anemics, dyspeptics, convalescents and the aged, honey is an excellent reconstructive and tonic. In malnutrition, no food or drug can equal it. The laxative value of honey, on account of its lubricating effect, is well known. Its fatty acid content stimulates peristalsis. In gastric catarrh, hyperacidity, gastric and duodenal ulcers and gall bladder diseases, honey is recommended by several eminent gastroenterologists. Dr. Schacht, of Wiesbaden, claims to have cured many hopeless cases of gastric and intestinal ulcers with honey and without operations. It is rather unusual that a physician of standing has the courage and conviction to praise honey. The beekeepers and their friends know that honey will cure gastric and intestinal ulcerations, this distressing, prevalent and most dangerous malady, a precursor of cancer. But the news has not yet reached 99% of the medical profession. The remaining few physicians who know of it, are afraid to suggest such an unscientific and plebeian remedy, for fear of being laughed at by their colleagues and scientifically inclined patients. You may read in almost every issue of agricultural papers the reports of correspondents regarding their experience with honey for gastric ulcers, after going through the medical mill for years without improvement, without even hope of ever getting cured. Then incidentally, they meet a beekeeper or one of his converts and if they have courage and common sense (there are few) to heed the advise, they get well. It is disheartening for a physician to read such reports. For instance, a correspondent A.L.T. of Omaha, Nebraska, writes in Gleanings in Bee Culture, February, 1931, "I have been a sufferer from ulcerated stomach for several years, part time in the hospital, part time in bed and nearly all the time in much pain. I noticed from the middle of September I was much better and gave no thought to the reason but kept up eating honey because I relished it. I had no attack since and it held good." It would fill a volume to assemble similar testimonials, praising particularly the curative value of honey in gastric and intestinal disorders, including ulcers. Father Kneipp, a great admirer of honey, remarked, "Smaller ulcers in the stomach are quickly contracted, broken, and healed by it." The above historical information from the 1930s and contemporary commentary compiled from: Honey and Your Health, Bodog F. Beck, M.D. and Doree Smedley, Health Resources Press, Inc., Silver Spring, MD, 1997. Always check with your health care provider. |
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Traditional Healing Apitherapy is, simply said, the use of Bee Products to Prevent, Heal or Recover from one or more diseases/conditions. It is also "the Art and Science of Treatment and Holistic Healing through the honeybee and her products for the benefit of Mankind and all the Animal Kingdom." Learn More ...
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