Raw Honey

Raw honey has grabbed our attention...not only because of its health qualities but did you know they make wine from honey? 

Mead is also called honey wine.  It is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation. Depending on local traditions and specific recipes, it may be flavoured with spices, fruit, or hops (which produce a bitter, beer-like flavor). The alcoholic content of mead may range from about 8% to 18%. It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling, and it may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.  Mead is known from many sources of ancient history throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, although archaeological evidence of it is ambiguous. Its origins are lost in prehistory.

Raw honey with its many health benefits is our topic today.

Long before drugstores pushed honey into the realm of folk remedy, it was used worldwide in the most acute of applications. The earliest recorded medical texts describing the use of honey are from Egypt, more than 4,000 years ago; as well as being used to treat burns and wounds, it was employed to calm diarrhoea and inflammation. In World War I, doctors mixed honey with cod-liver oil to treat injured soldiers. Honey fell out of favour as a go-to antibiotic quite recently---during the Second World War, when the pharmaceutical industry came to power.

Truly raw honey, as it remains in its original, fresh-from-the-hive form, is a much richer source of nutrition than the pasteurized form. For one, it retains all of its original enzymes (which are part of what makes it such a potent anti-infective), as well as a wide range of vitamins and minerals (calls micronutrients). The micronutrient content of honey varies depending upon the flowers the bees used to make it, so bees that aren't constrained to a single flower (clover honey, for instance) produce more nutrient-rich honey.

Raw honey is relatively easy to identify. First, smell it to be sure that it has a strong, distinct honey smell. Pasteurized honey has had much of its "stuffing" knocked out of it by means of heat-processing, and has a much weaker scent. Second, look along the top of the (ideally glass) bottle. Are there bubbles? If there are, it still contains the honey's natural surfactant, which would have been removed by pasteurization. If you're still unsure, put it in the coldest part of your fridge and wait a few hours. If it freezes, it almost certainly contains added sugar or preservatives---raw honey won't freeze in the fridge.

Honey supports healing and calms inflammation. As such, it's quite useful in a wide array of applications. A potent natural antibiotic, physicians have topically applied raw honey to wounds since the dawn of recorded history. It calms allergy symptoms, soothes gastrointestinal distress, heals stomach ulcers, lessens insomnia, and is even a useful tool to eliminate bedwetting. Many herbalists and naturopaths advocate the use of raw honey, applied directly to the skin, to aid in the healing of (and prevent scarring in) surgical wounds and burns.

The reason that honey is subjected to pasteurization in so many cases is that there is a slight danger inherent in consuming it; however, this danger is eliminated if one sources one's raw honey locally, from an organic farmer. Since the honey-producing bees harvest the nectar directly from flowers, any chemical that the flowers have been subjected to will make its way into the honey. Organic practices null this risk. Furthermore, tiny levels of botulism spores occasionally make their way into raw honey; if fed to an infant, the spores can grow in their immature digestive tracts and release a toxin.

Here are some more ways to utilize the healing power of honey:

BURNS - Apply freely over burns. It cools, removes pain and aids fast healing without scarring. Apart from being a salve and an antibiotic, bacteria simply cannot survive in honey.

BED WETTING - A teaspoon of honey before bed aids water retention and calms fears in children.

INSOMNIA - A dessertspoon of honey in a mug of warm milk aids sleep and works wonders.

HYPERACTIVITY - Replace all use of white sugar with honey. White sugar is highly stimulating with no food qualities. Honey provides the energy without the "spike."

NASAL CONGESTION - Place a dessertspoon of honey in a basin of water and inhale fumes after covering your head with a towel over the basin. Very effective!

FATIGUE - Dissolve a dessertspoon of honey in warm water or quarter honey balance of water in a jug and keep in the fridge. Honey is primarily fructose and glucose, so it's quickly absorbed by the digestive system. Honey is a unique natural stabilizer: Ancient Greek athletes took honey for stamina before competing and as a reviver after competition.

FACIAL DEEP CLEANSER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of oatmeal, and apply as a face pack. Leave on for half an hour, then wash it off. Great as a deep cleanser for acne and other unwanted blemishes.

POOR DIGESTION - Mix honey with an equal quantity of apple cider vinegar and dilute to taste with water. This is also wonderful for the joints – and promotes weight loss.

HAIR CONDITIONER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of olive oil, cover head with a warm towel for half an hour then shampoo off. Feeds hair and scalp. Your hair will never look or feel better!

SORE THROATS - Let a teaspoon of honey melt in the back of the mouth and trickle down the throat. Eases inflamed raw tissues.

FOR STRESS - Honey in water is a stabilizer, calming highs and raising lows. Use approximately 25 percent honey to water.

ANEMIA - Honey is the best blood en icher by raising corpuscle content. The darker the honey, the more minerals it contains.

FOOD PRESERVATIVE – If you replace the sugar in cake and cookie recipes with honey, they'll stay fresher longer due to honey's natural antibacterial properties. Reduce liquids in the mixture by about one-fifth to allow for the moisture present in the in honey.

BABY'S BOTTLE - Four teaspoons of honey to a baby's bottle of water is an excellent pacifier and multivitamin additive. If the baby's motions are too liquid, then reduce the honey by half a teaspoon; if too solid increase by half a teaspoon. (Caution: Don't give raw honey to babies under 1 year old; it's just too rich.) For teething, honey rubbed on a baby's gums is also a mild sedative and anaesthetic.

OSTEOPOROSIS – Research has shown that a teaspoon of honey per day aids calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis – probably not a bad idea for anyone over 50.

LONGEVITY - The most long-lived people in the world are all regular users of honey. An interesting fact, yet to be explained, is that beekeepers suffer less from cancer and arthritis than any other occupational group worldwide.

MIGRAINE - Use a dessertspoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water. Sip at the start of a migraine attack, and, if necessary, repeat after another 20 minutes.

CONJUNCTIVITIS - Dissolve honey in an equal quantity of warm water. When cooled, apply as a lotion or eye bath.

COUGH MIXTURE – Combine 6 ounces (170 grams) liquid honey, 2 ounces (55 grams) glycerine and the juice of two lemons. Mix well. Bottle and cork firmly, and use as required.

Raw honey may become granulated, as some does after a week and another maybe only after several years. If the granulations bother you, simply place the honey into a pan of hot water (not boiling) and let it stand until becoming liquid again.