Eating honey is one of the healthiest habits from the ancient period.Natural honey has been consumed by people for thousands of years. Honey usually comes from honeycomb and it is where bees live.Raw honeycomb has just as much nutrition as any healthy food. Honeycomb is where bees store the nectar that they obtain from several sources outside. It is more than just a bee house that keeps the honey, nectar, and bee pollen, in fact.Raw honey is great for cooking because it does not destroy the nutrients in honey as it does not undergo any form of heating and processing. It simply remains a raw product that retains its original taste and nutritive value. The main downside to raw honey is contamination from pathogens. Furthermore, it’s important to be careful and purchase from a reputable source to avoid any harmful effects due to its high sugars. Having pure honey every day is safe too.There is a fact about bees; they leave their comb if there is a lack of food or too much disturbance. You can find honey in those left combs initially. If the comb still has bees, the first work will be driving them out. You can use smoke for that. Now take down the hive or honeycomb and break it open. If there is a bee in it, it might be hard to open using bare hands. Use tools as you want, preferably a knife, and cut open it. Worker bees only produce small amounts of honey in the course of their six-week life span. These worker bees are unique among honey bees and they tend to bring honey for their own use, as opposed to for the use of others. Honey Bees like worker bees will benefit from the presence of trees. Worker bees acquire the majority of their nectar from trees, as you may know.Honeycomb or hive contains brood cells also. Those need to be separated. Use your knife to cut those out. You can identify easily as those are darker in color and stay to the down part of the comb.After separating, make small pieces of it. Take a bowl and strainer and smash the comb parts using any spoon or smasher. Small parts of beeswax may go into the bowl. Once you are done with smashing, strain it again and take the wax part out. You have your fresh raw honey for health purposes and that is one of the primary nutrition facts.You may find a lot of myths and misinformation out there when it comes to how healthy raw honey is, with more claims being made each day. Health BenefitsThe truth is that raw honey has amazing benefits as a holistic food product that can also be used in cooking!Raw honey contains nutrients like calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, manganese, and arginine.It is also a good source of Vitamin B12 and Potassium, helping us protect our immune system and liver.It has a better concentration of fructose, which is one of nature’s most common sweeteners. It is also very powerful in terms of caloric and nutrient intake of the body.Raw honey is also an amazing soothing remedy for colds, allergies, and other ailments but really, it doesn’t have any set medicinal value.It has been proven to help with sleep issues, though.Honey is also a popular ingredient in cosmetics. There is no real evidence to confirm that raw honey works as well as the alternative, but it does taste better.The best fact about raw honey is that it can be used in place of sugars as a sweetener and with fewer calories and more antimicrobial properties!Honey for cooking is best because it’s more intense and pure than pasteurized honey, which has been stripped of much of its taste and nutritional value by heating the nectar.Also, beekeepers prefer raw honey rather than pasteurized honey because the latter can be more difficult to extract.Extracting honey is better when left to professional beekeepers.The main difference between raw and pasteurized honey is the pasteurization process that makes it possible to keep the nectar in its liquid form.This also makes it easier to store honey and transport it. You will find that pasteurized honey has a lower nutritive value.Nutritional ValueRaw honeycomb has mainly carbs in it.If you want to know how many carbs are in it, 3.52 oz (100 g) honeycomb contains 3.35 oz (95.1 g) carbs, 0.035 oz (1 g) fat, and 0.148 oz (4.2 g) of protein. It contains 381 calories.If you serve one tbsp. of raw honeycomb, which is approximately 0.74 oz (21 g), it will contain almost 60 calories.If you are sure that the honey you are consuming is raw and it doesn’t have any kind of added sugar it’s safe. But you must be precise with the serving amount.Raw honey has a small amount of Clostridium botulinum. Excessive honey can cause botulism, a type of food poisoning.Sugar is a type of carbohydrate. And raw honeycomb contains a good amount of that. In 3.52 oz (100 g), it has 3.35 oz (95.1 g) of carbs and without sugars, it doesn’t have any dietary fibers.So 3.52 oz (100 g) raw honeycomb contains 3.35 oz (95.1 g) of sugar. If you are serving one tbsp. it will contain almost 0.70 oz (20 g) of sugar.Its PropertiesHoney has been used as a traditional medicine for a long time now considering the antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties that it has. It keeps us from any disease-causing bacteria.Raw honey is distinguished from commercial honey by the fact that it has not been pasteurized or filtered.Consuming raw honeycomb escalates the health values that you might get from commercial honey.The main reason why the nutritional values in raw honeycomb differ from the normal liquid honey is that when honeycomb is exposed to air, the honey pulls water from the atmosphere.It leads to dilution in the honey that leads to a slight but significant difference in its nutrition. Raw honey from honeycombs consists of 95-99% sugar and water.Along with this, it has proteins, vitamins, and minerals in trace amounts which could be highly beneficial if consumed daily.Minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins like C, B6, B12, A, E, and D are present in trace amounts in this nectar.Honey’s low moisture content, hydrogen peroxide, and average acidity of pH 3.9 are highly hostile for bacteria which gives honey its antibacterial properties, thus making it an effective wound dressing.The antioxidant levels in raw honey are up to four and three-tenths times higher than processed honey. It is also less likely to be mixed with processed sweetening agents like high-fructose corn syrups increasing its antioxidant values.These combs consist of hexagonal cells geometry which is made up of beeswax extracts that provide heart-friendly alcohols and long-chain fatty acids. Honey can be termed as one of the best supplements for sugars as it can bring an equal amount of sweetness to any given drink.On the other hand, it is also marked as a healthy alternative. Along with adding that sweet and fresh flavor, honey also helps with dilating the arteries that are near our heart.In the long run, this alternative usage will help people in preventing any heart attacks, clots, or heart-related diseases for that matter.In simple terms, honeycomb and the honey that is harvested in there can help increase the good HDL cholesterol levels while lowering the bad cholesterol.It also increases the blood flow and keeps the blood pressure and triglycerides under control.Honey also works best as an alternative to sugar for diabetic patients, helping the digestive system and liver function.As honey is much sweeter than sugar, only a small quantity of it is enough for the right amount of sweetness.It also raises blood sugar levels less in comparison to refined sugar and keeps the cholesterol under control.Overall, the nutrients in honey can bring high levels of protein, minerals, vitamins, fiber and level the fatty acids and cholesterol to increase the health benefits to the body and protect our body and ensure well being.Thus, the nutritive values in the raw honeycomb are truly noteworthy with its benefits proving a boon to mankind.Healthy FactsWhen eating raw honey, it is wise to pay attention to its color and taste, as this can help you determine whether there are impurities in your food.If you notice something unusual, then most likely that something has contaminated your natural product.After all, honey is not always meant to be eaten plain; it can be used in many different ways as a sweetener or cooking ingredient.As far as honey goes, there is nothing wrong with having a little fun with your food!Lastly, raw honey is a sticky substance and is not as easy to handle as processed honey. This can also cause problems when transporting.It is better to use small amounts at a time and only once or twice a day.If you are having a honeycomb that is processed it will have more sugar as those typically have extra sugar added to it.Honey has lots of varieties and it differs according to its source. and it’s always better to have the natural ones and not processed ones.Eucalyptus honey originated in Australia and is very good for mild headaches or colds. It has a menthol aftertaste.Lychee honey, acidic in taste, has a nice, fresh smell. It forms crystals if kept at a cold temperature.Sunflower honey, beautiful golden-colored honey, has a very delightful taste. Rapeseed Honey works best as a sweetener if you are on diet. This one is light amber-colored and has a slightly acidic taste.Karanja honey, light amber-colored honey comes from Karanja blossoms. It has medical benefits and helps with the treatment of chronic conditions.Himalayan hone, multi-floral honey that comes from the Himalayan region, extracted from hilly wildflowers.Acacia honey is very famous worldwide. This one is best for diabetics as this one is light honey.Forest honey extracted from the tropical forest of the East Indian side (West Bengal, Jharkhand). This type is special; this one gets extracted from trees and not flowers. It is dark in color and feels warm in taste.These are the types of honey that are most famous in India.Did you know…Speaking of overall health benefits, the raw form of honey is a good source of antioxidants.Some honey types have as many antioxidants as fruits and veggies, helping your overall immune system.These antioxidants provide protection to your body from any cell damage and reduce the risk factor contributing to the damage of the immune system, digestive system, heart health, and overall well-being.It also enhances liver function with its antimicrobial properties, increasing the health benefits.Just as much you learn about honey, you should know about honeycomb too. It is a natural product produced by honey bees to store bee pollen and honey and protect their larvae.Honeycomb may have bee pollen, royal jelly, and other bee products and it shares some serious health benefits.It is to be noted that honeycomb with bee pollen is rich in carbohydrates and antioxidants with trace amounts of sugars, vitamins, fiber, and some sodium to keep us in good health, saving us from heart disease, liver conditions, and so on.Honeycomb has raw honey as its main component and it shares small amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals.Honeycomb has enzymes like glucose oxidase and all the antimicrobial benefits come from those enzymes present in the pollen.These enzymes are lost along with their benefits when the commercial process of honey making is undertaken.The heating and filtering involved in the commercialization affect the enzymes.While it is true that the pollen and the honeycomb can bring benefits like protecting the liver from any harmful liver conditions, cholesterol treatment, and so on, you may want to check if you are allergic to pollen before you start eating honeycomb.
Eating honey is one of the healthiest habits from the ancient period.
