How Much Do You Know about the Honey in Your Kitchen?

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Honey is often processed and filtered because consumers expect to find clear, pure looking honey. Unfortunately, what sometimes look clean and clear is not always what is better for your health. If the honey you are buying looks super clear, almost transparent, and flows very easily, like pancake syrup, then that is a sure sign that it has been filtered, processed, and pasteurized.

In fact, some manufacturers add corn syrup, sugar, or other types of sweeteners to some types of honey. Why they do this is strange, as honey is plenty sweet all on its own and many people buy honey because they are trying to get away from sugar.

The worst part is that many food companies add sweeteners to honey and still label it as honey. Luckily, the FDA is about to change that. Companies are soon going to have to label their products as a “blend,” so consumers will know the truth about what they are buying. Read also how food labels trick you into eating GMO foods.

Americans consume more than 400 million pounds of honey every year, but only 149 million pounds are made in the US. So, in order to please consumers, millions of pounds of honey are imported each year. With natural foods being in high demand, the popularity of honey is at an all-time high.

What can you do? Stop buying that store bought junk and look for raw honey. You can usually find it at your local health food store or farmers market. Raw honey is unfiltered, simply pulled straight from the hive. It’s cloudy looking and sometimes contains honeycomb bits, pollen, propolis, and even the occasional dead bee. Don’t worry about the bee. He died doing something he loved.

Raw honey contains 80 percent natural sugars, about 18 percent water, and 2 percent minerals. Honey should contain all of that, but nothing more.

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