Why You Should Buy Raw, Unprocessed Honey

Here’s why you should choose unprocessed, unfiltered, unpasteurized and raw when shopping for honey.

Honey is one of nature’s sweetest, healthiest and most precious gifts that is highly appreciated and loved by bears, honey badgers, and yes, humans! Walk into any grocery or big-box store and you’re sure to find a variety of bottled honey to choose from.

There is just one little (or actually big) problem with most of the honey you see on the shelves of Walmart, Target, Costco, and similar stores; it is highly processed and lacks some of the important nutrients found in raw, unprocessed honey as it comes out of the honeycomb.

Many consumers are becoming aware of this fact, and that’s why the demand for raw honey has been rapidly growing recently.

What is Processed Honey?

Most commercial honey on the market is processed. You must have seen and used that crystal clear honey that flows so smoothly out of a tiny hole at the top of the bottle — that’s not what raw honey is like.

Raw honey naturally tends to crystallize and form coarse granules. It is cloudy due to the existence of pollen, propolis, and other natural components suspending in it. It also ferments with time due to the existence of natural yeast and enzymes.

In order to create a product that is more appealing to the uninformed consumer and more profitable to producers, regular honey goes through different “purification” processes. Here are the two main processes that honey makers normally implement:

• Filtration: Different filtration methods are used to remove suspended solid particles from raw honey. According to the USDA, filtered honey does not contain pollen, propolis, air bubbles, wax or any other fine particles naturally found in raw honey.
• Pasteurization: Honey is pasteurized by heat in a process that kills most to all of the yeast and other microorganisms found in raw honey.

These two steps are merely done for commercial purposes. Filtration results in a clearer liquid that looks more appealing and gives the illusion of being “pure”, which is actually more of a disadvantage here. Filtering and pasteurization also slow down crystallization and prevent fermentation, leading to a longer shelf-life.

While clearer honey that lasts longer without turning into hard granules may seem like it’s of higher quality, it’s quite the opposite. It’s that cloudy raw honey that tends to crystallize more quickly that has a higher nutritional value.

What Exactly is Raw Honey?

Well, “exactly” no one really knows! There isn’t any official or standard industry definition of what constitutes raw honey. According to the National Honey Board, raw honey means it “has not been heated or filtered”. In other words, honey that has been extracted from the honeycomb, settled at room temperature, and then bottled (or jarred) and sold directly to the consumer without any further processing or additives.

But not all raw honey on the market is equal. Again, due to the absence of an official definition and enforced standards, the term is used rather loosely and some of the honey labeled “raw” may still be slightly processed.

While raw honey should not be filtered, it is often strained. Straining removes some larger suspended solids (like propolis, wax, dead bee parts and other impurities), but retains most pollen and other fine particles. Raw honey may also be slightly heated at temperatures up to 118 degrees F (this isn’t a fixed standard value and may vary per producer) to make it easier to handle and package. These mild processes usually do not destroy the natural nutrients and properties of raw honey.

Each company may have its own definition of “raw”, so you should always read the label or look for information on the company’s website to get a better idea of what exactly you are buying and how it is made. Look for terms like “unfiltered”, “unpasteurized”, “unheated”, etc.

Fact 1: Authentic raw honey will naturally crystallize/granulate over time. Some varieties tend to crystallize more quickly than others. Unlike what many people think, it does not mean the honey is bad or impure. Placing a jar of crystallized honey in a warm (not too hot) water bath reverses crystallization and brings it back to smooth liquid state. Avoid heating honey in the microwave as it may damage many of its nutrients.

Fact 2: Raw honey may come in liquid form or finely crystallized (creamy) form. As long as it’s not creamed with the use of heat, it should be the same in terms of quality.

Is Raw Honey Better Than Processed?

Many advocates of the natural and organic lifestyle argue that raw honey is more nutritious and healthier than regular, processed honey. And this is reasonably true. Here are some of the main advantages of raw honey (in addition to the other health benefits of honey in general):

• It contains natural enzymes like diastase (amylase), invertase, glucose oxidase, and phosphatase.
• It has wound healing properties, and can be used as a first aid remedy for burns, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., an integrative medicine practitioner.
• It contains bee pollen and propolis, which have some nutritional and medicinal value.
• It retains most of the nutrients and characteristics (like color, smell and flavor) of natural honey as it’s found in the beehive, which could be otherwise damaged by high heat during processing.

The more processed honey is, the more its nutritional value degrades. The more raw and less processed it is, the higher its nutritional value and potential health benefits. “Processing honey eliminates many of the beneficial phytonutrients,” says Dr. Josh Axe, a certified doctor of natural medicine.

That’s the generally accepted and undisputed claim. However, just how much more nutritious and beneficial raw honey is compared to processed/filtered honey isn’t an easy question to answer, nor has there been any thorough studies to provide conclusive answers.

Is Raw Honey Hyped Up?

“Raw” has been the buzzword in the honey market for the past few years and it’s been widely marketed as a better, healthier and superior choice. However, most of the buzz seems to be created by beekeepers and vendors of raw honey.

I’ve seen some people and companies go as far as completely trashing processed honey calling it sweet sugar syrup that is void of any nutrients or health benefits of natural honey. Well, that’s just not fair or accurate.

It is true that filtering and heating destroy some of the nutrients in honey, but processed honey (assuming it’s real and pure, not adulterated) still retains many of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that are present in the raw substance.

A study conducted by the National Honey Board found that while most enzymes were destroyed by heat in processed honey, mineral and antioxidant levels remained about the same pre- and post-processing. Now, this wasn’t a comprehensive study and it didn’t examine many of the other nutrients and properties of honey, but it still shows that raw honey isn’t as nutritionally superior to processed honey as many producers and consumers may suggest.

It’s also worth noting that filtration levels and settings vary from one company to another, as do the temperatures at which honey is pasteurized. With the lack of strict and well-defined standards, both raw and processed honey can have different nutritional values that vary from one type of honey to another and from one producer to another.

There is no doubt that raw honey is more natural and has higher nutritional value and variety of nutrients than processed forms. So the next time you buy a jar of honey, opt for pure, raw and unprocessed! But what about organic? Hmm, let’s see…

Is Organic Honey A Lie?

“Organic” is another trend in the food industry, but it gets a little tricky when it comes to honey. The USDA has no official definition or standards for the production of organic honey, nor does it certify any USA-made honey as organic.

All “certified organic” honey that is sold in the USA is imported from other countries, such as Brazil, Mexico, China, and others. The organic certification takes place in the origin country and according to their own standards, which vary in strictness and reliability from country to country. You just have to take their word for it!

But even the self-proclaimed organic honey that is produced in the USA may also not be quite organic after all! You see, unlike other crops and livestock, a beekeeper can’t easily control what goes into their honey.

Honeybees travel as far as 3 miles (and sometimes farther) away from the hive in all directions foraging for nectar. That’s too massive of a land area to confine to organic-only sources of nectar, and almost practically impossible to achieve for most small bee farms and local beekeepers. Alex Wild, an entomologist at the University of Texas at Austin, has published an interesting article about this topic in Scientific American, where he explains how some agrochemicals may still make their way into organic honey.

I think being organically produced is a considerable advantage, however, given the fact that organic honey may still be contaminated with some agrochemicals (from the nectar bees collect, air pollutants, and/or the foundation wax used in beehives), and also the fact that it’s impractical for most local beekeepers to produce organic honey, you should focus more on buying “raw” while keeping “organic” a secondary consideration.

Where to Buy Raw Honey?

The best place to purchase raw honey from would be a local beekeeper or farmers’ market. When that’s not an option, you can find many online stores that sell the real deal. I’d recommend you avoid big-box retailers like Walmart and Amazon, and instead shop at smaller online shops or order directly from the producer’s website (if available). The price may be a little higher, but keep in mind that supporting smaller businesses is a good cause.

Tip: When you put raw honey in hot tea or coffee, the heat may destroy most of the enzymes in it. You can still use it as a hot drink sweetener, but to get the full potential benefits of raw honey, eat a tablespoon every morning and/or evening right out of the jar (or mix with cold water and drink).

Warning: Do not feed raw (or even processed) honey to infants younger than 12 months. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that honey contains Clostridium botulinum (bacteria) spores, which can cause infant botulism; a serious and possibly life-threatening disease.