Reality behind the purity of honey we get from shelves

Honey is an amazing natural food, prepared by the bees from the nectar of various plants. It has occupied a prominent place in traditional medicines throughout world history.

We use honey in daily diets as a nutritional food but do we get the benefits from it?
And is the honey sold at super markets is really a nutritional food?
Reality is that the honey we get from shelves is not the 'pure honey' which can provide us health benefits,  Honey has many health-promoting qualities. It contains natural antioxidants, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn't Honey                               

More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn't exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News. The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled "honey." The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world's food safety agencies. The food safety divisions of the World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources

Why Remove the Pollen? 
Removal of all pollen from honey "makes no sense" and is completely contrary to marketing the highest quality product possible, Mark Jensen, president of the American Honey Producers Association, told Food Safety News.

Raw honey – which has not been pasteurized or filtered, and ideally taken directly from the hive – is a treasure chest of nutritional value and medicinal remedies. It contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals and is a natural and powerful medicine, both internally and externally.

How can we differentiate 100% pure honey and adulterated honey?
The term "adulterated honey" means that the honey has been added glucose, dextrose, molasses, corn syrup, sugar syrup, invert sugar, flour, starch, or any other similar product, other than the floral nectar gathered, processed, and stored in the comb by honey bees. Legal standards and requirements for foods, including honey quality, and tests for honey adulteration vary widely amongst countries and some may not meet the wish of every consumer around the world.

* It is hard to find pure honey, but may be we can still try to find best quality or pure quality honey.

* When selecting a raw honey for you and your family, make sure the word “raw" is on the label. Or "un-pasteurized."

Source: 'food safety news'

Useful links:

* Medical benefits of honey

The Miracle Food Honey and its benefits

Honey is miracle food which has healing properties for many ailments. The amazing benefits found in honey have less to do with nutritional value and more to do with antioxidant and microbial properties that are unique to this natural sweetness.

Honey is composed of simple sugars, such as sugar-like glucose and fructose that are used quickly by the body. It was man's first and most reliable source of sweetener and an excellent substitute for sugar.

Honey is a remarkable viscous liquid, prepared by the bees from the nectars of various plants. It has occupied a prominent place in traditional medicines throughout world history. The ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans employed honey for wounds and diseases of the gut. When the Children of Israel were in Egypt or journeying through the desert, their promised goal was a 'land flowing with milk and honey'.

The Quran describes the process of its formation by bees and the medical values of it and of the other bees' products.
Honey is mentioned in the Bible 61 times and two times in the Quran.

The four main products from the bees are:- Royal Jelly, Bee Pollen, Propolis and Honey.

They have been used for last few centuries by civilizations around the world to treat a wide variety of ailments and medical conditions.

They are multipurpose substances that in some forms can be applied externally to the skin and in other forms ingested as a food or supplement.

Bee Products are Mother Nature's most incredible gift to our planet, packed with vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids, bee products may provide us with essential nutrition to help with our fast-paced lifestyles.

It follows that the Quran tells us about the healing effects and the medical values of the Bees products that include the Honey.

On the other hand, the Bible says nothing about the Bees products and about their healing effects.

Healing effects of miracle food honey:

Antibacterial and antifungal properties: These properties of honey are well established. Undiluted honey inhibits the growth of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, certain gut pathogens and fungi such as Candida albicans. At a concentration of 30-50%, honey has been shown to be superior to certain conventional antibiotics in treating urinary tract infections. The exact mechanism of the anti-microbial effect of honey remains obscure. Low pH, osmotic disruption of pathogens and the presence of bactericidal substances, collectively called inhibine may all play a part.

Anti-diarrhoeal properties: At a concentration of 40%, honey has a bactericidal effect on various gut bacteria known to cause diarrhoea and dysentery such as Salmonella, Shigella, enteropathogenic E. coli and Vibrio cholera. In one study, honey given with oral rehydration fluid was shown to reduce the duration of bacterial diarrhoea in infants and children.

Wound-healing and anti-inflammatory properties: Honey is of value in treating burns, infected surgical wounds and decubitus ulcers. Honey is very viscous, enabling it to absorb water from surrounding inflamed tissue. For example, a study in West Africa showed that skin grafting, surgical debridement and even amputation were avoided when local application of honey to wound promoted healing, whereas conventional treatment failed.

In another study, wound healing was accelerated by application of honey in women who had undergone radical vulvectomy for vulval cancer. Also, it has been suggested that honey may be useful in the treatment of chronic, foul smelling ulcers seen in leprosy.

Anti-tussive and expectorant properties: These anti-cough properties of honey are related to its capacity to dilute bronchial secretions and improve the function of the bronchial epithelium.
Nutritional properties

Uncontaminated honey is a healthy, easily digestible, natural and energy rich food. It contains carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, enzymes and vitamins. One tablespoon of honey provides 60 calories and contains 11g of carbohydrates, 1mg of calcium, 0.2mg of iron, 0.lmg of vitamin B and 1mg of vitamin C.

Honey is widely available in most communities but its medical potential remains grossly underutilised. Its mode of action remains incompletely understood and the healing properties of honey in other clinical and laboratory situations requires further evaluation. The miraculous beneficial properties of honey, so beautifully ex-pressed in the holy Qur'an and Sunnah 14 centuries ago expose the reluctance of modern science to accept and exploit this 'traditional remedy'.

Sources: The Honey in Bible and Quran
- Bees and the Hidden Miracles of Honey

More studies:

* The healing power of honey: From burns to weak bones, raw honey can help

* 'Honey Nutrition Facts'