Some FAQ about Honey

All of you who came to the last lesson took some honey home that we had spun out of our own frames from our Scout Hive ... you all got Raw unfiltered Honey.

What did you notice the next day about your honey that had "bits" in it ??? 

First one to reply with the correct answer gets a reward..... email or comment here on Blog , both get to my email.

Here are some interesting facts about Honey

FAQ about Honey
Q. What is honey? 
Q. Why is honey so sweet? 
Honey is one of the sweetest foods found in nature.  Flowering plants secrete a sugary substance called nectar.  Nectar is made of dilute sucrose and glucose, both simple sugars.  Bees collect nectar, and take it to the hive where they evaporate water from it by fanning it with their wings.  They also add an enzyme to the nectar which catalyzes the breakdown of the sucrose into glucose and fructose.  Fructose is perceived by our taste buds as very sweet, more so than glucose or sucrose.  Honey, gram for gram or calorie for calorie, tastes much sweeter than any other sugar.
Q. Does honey have any health benefits? 
Yes!   Honey is more than just a sweetener!  There are many health benefits of honey and it has a long history of use as a “medicine.”  Eating honey has a stabilizing effect on our body’s blood sugar levels and does not stimulate as rapid insulin production as sucrose (table sugar) or glucose.  Honey has an antibacterial effect and inhibits the growth of many bacteria strains, including the bacteria responsible for ulcers.  Honey has been used in topical dressings to treat infected surgical wounds, burns, and skin grafts.  Honey significantly increases antioxidant levels in the blood while improving immune system activity.  A tablespoon or more of honey consumed at bedtime promotes natural restorative sleep by preventing metabolic stress due to depleted liver glycogen stores.  Without metabolic stress during rest, stress hormones are not released, maximum fat-burning during rest is possible, and natural restoration of body tissues and immune system functions occurs naturally.
Q. Should individuals with diabetes eat honey? 
Honey is the sweetener of choice for diabetics.  Honey actually stabilizes blood sugar and lowers HbA1c levels, something refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) cannot do.  After ingestion, honey is converted directly into liver glycogen and does not result in formation of triglycerides (fatty acids) as typically occurs after the consumption of large amounts of HFCS and sucrose found in the average American diet.  Honey does not trigger an immediate or excessive insulin release such as results from the consumption of most artificial sweeteners, and thus does not promote fat production, fat storage, and weight gain commonly associated with the use of these products. 
Q. Is honey “organic?” 
Absolutely!  Honey is nature’s food and is all organic.  However, to be labeled “organic” and sold as an “organic” food, it must contain no herbicides or pesticides.  Because bees are not restricted as to where they fly (some may travel up to 2 miles in search of nectar), it is possible that while gathering nectar and pollen, they come in contact with substances that would add trace amounts of non-organic chemicals to the honey.  For this reason, most honey is sold as pure honey.  There are a few honey producers that are certified by the FDA to produce “organic” honey.  These producers have bee yards that are certain distances from any fields that might have been sprayed or contaminated.  Most organic honey is imported from Brazil.
Q. Where can I get sugar-free honey? 
A. There is no such thing as sugar-free honey!  Some stores may sell an adulterated product containing artificial sweeteners and honey flavoring but this in not real honey!  Remember to read the label carefully and select only pure 100% honey!
Q. What is “raw” honey? 
Raw honey is natural honey, nothing added or taken away.  It is what bees produce in the hive.  It is ready to eat after it has been extracted and run through a fine sieve to remove foreign particles that may have found their way into the honey in the extracting process.  All pure honey is raw honey.  Raw honey or pure honey is not pasteurized, modified or adulterated in any way before it is packaged and sold.
Q. Is honey safe for infants?
A. As with any raw, unprocessed foods, honey is not recommended for infants whose immune systems are not fully developed, a process that occurs usually between 9 and 18 months of age.
Q. Is all honey the same? 
Q. Does all honey that is sold in retail stores produce the same health benefits as pure, unfiltered, natural honey?
A. The answer to this question is a qualified “No.”  Honey used in the studies reported on in The Honey Revolution is honey that has not been heated or filtered (processed).  Natural honey contains pollen and other constituents that are removed in the heating and filtering process.  Processed honey, for the most part, is not used in research studies investigating the health benefits of honey as most processed honey is blended honey from many sources, making specific identification of its health benefits imprecise. 
Q. Does pure, unfiltered, natural honey contain trace contaminants or impurities that could harm humans if ingested?
A. Again the answer to this question is a qualified “No.”  The amounts of trace contaminants that may be found in natural honey are too low to be harmful to humans at the levels of consumption of honey recommended in The Honey Revolution (up to 3 to 5 tablespoons per day).  Trace contaminants found in some honey may include residues of pesticides, miticides, antibiotics, organophosphates, and other chemicals that the bees may have come in contact with while gathering nectar and pollen.  When tested, the levels of these contaminants are sometimes measured in parts per billion (ppb), well below the levels dangerous for human consumption at the amounts consumed even over 12 months.  The levels of fat soluble contaminants (organophosphates, some pesticides and miticides will always be higher in comb honey as the wax may retain these contaminants for some time and the levels may accumulate.
Q. Does heating honey above 160 degrees affect its healthful benefits?
Possibly.  Heating honey may increase the amount of methylglyoxal (MGO) found in honey.  MGO is known to be dangerous to individuals who have glucose intolerance or diabetes.  MGO may even affect insulin signaling which may be a cause of diabetes.  Honey that contains MGO should not be ingested.  It is however safe for topical use as an antibiotic. 
Q. What about the healthful enzymes found in honey?  Aren’t they affected by heating?

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