Honey has existed for millions of years and has since been used as food and for medicinal purposes. It is one of the few foods that contain all the ingredients necessary to keep you alive, this makes honey one of the greatest superfoods that exist on this planet. And the wonderful part about honey is that it is found everywhere and is used by several cultures across the world. Honey is also relatively affordable and does not require many resources to be preserved. Honey can never spoil if preserved properly. In fact, all you need to do is store it in an airtight plastic container. There are primarily two types of honey raw honey regular honey.
Raw honey
It can be best described as honey as it exists in the beehive. It comes straight from the honeycomb of the hive. After getting extracted from the hive, it is poured over a mesh to separate the honey from impurities like pollen, debris, beeswax, and parts of dead bees. It has a cloudy or opaque color because it contains extra elements.?
Regular honey
It is that has been pasteurized meaning it goes through a process of getting treated with high heat to eliminate yeast cells found in the honey. This process helps to extend the shelf life of honey and make it much smoother. Some types of this only undergo filtration to make it more smooth and transparent, however, this may remove some nutrients like pollen, enzymes, and antioxidants.
Differences between both
Antioxidants
Honey has been found to help in managing various diseases like reducing risk factors for heart conditions like blood pressure and cholesterol, improve wound healing and treat coughs. However, it is most likely these health benefits are linked to raw honey because it has a higher amount of antioxidants and other beneficial components. It contains up to four times more antioxidants than the regular honey.
Glucose oxidase
Raw contains an enzyme called glucose oxidase that helps produce molecules that give honey its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Regular honey on the other hand does not contain this enzyme because of the pasteurization it goes through. Heating and filtering of the honey destroy the enzyme.?
Bee pollen
Regular honey does not contain any bee pollen as it is removed during pasteurization and filtration. Raw honey on the other hand does contain bee pollen. According to a study, bee pollen has benefits that include; antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory effects, antifungal and antibacterial effects and pain-relieving properties. These properties enhance the ability of it to heal wounds and kill bacteria. Besides these properties, bee pollen also has amino acids, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and sodium.
Bee propolis
Another key element that gets destroyed during pasteurization and filtration of regular honey is the bee propolis. It is the sticky substance that is used by bees to build their hives and hold their structures together. Some scientists believe that this substance that is found in raw honey is healthy for humans and may have; anti-inflammatory effects, anti-cancer and ulcer action and, antifungal effects. Furthermore, the bee propolis has magnesium, potassium, vitamin B, vitamin C and, vitamin E.
Sugars
Some regular honey products have been found to have added sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup. Some products that contain the label honey may not be completely real honey. They contain sweeteners like brown rice syrup. The other on the other hand only contains honey from the beehive.
Conclusion
Regular honey and raw honey are processed in different ways. Raw honey has all the natural nutrients and benefits while regular honey has some elements removed. Although there is no scientific evidence yet to prove that raw honey is better than other , many health experts have found some health benefits that are linked to the ingredients found in raw honey.
Although individual popular regular honey types like acacia honey, clover honey, buckwheat honey, and clover honey is good for you, raw honey might be the better option because of the extra natural ingredients.
Varsha