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  • What are the benefits of Honey? How to identify natural honey from adulterated one?


    Interested in knowing all the benefits of natural honey? Do you also want to understand how to dinstinguish between natural and artificial honey? Here, on this page our experts shall provide you all the information you need.

    I want to know about the benefits of natural honey. I have heard a lot of benefits about it but it should be natural. Once I had a spoon of honey and afterwards felt very uncomfortable with an acute pain in stomach and felt like vomiting. I thought that I am allergic to honey and never again tried it.

    Now how could I identify a natural honey as when I searched online there were so many options and even the price variance was very high. Some are selling a kg for Rs. 500 and some for Rs. 1500 a kg. Now I want to retry and see the actual benefits but can't choose one brand. Should I go with popular and cheaper brands or choose expensive but not so popular brands.

    Also let me know how to check whether the honey I will purchase is natural or not?
  • Answers

    9 Answers found.
  • These days honey that is available in many shops is not pure and it is much adulterated. Girijan Corporation of India is supplying good honey and there will not be adulteration in this product. Similarly, the honey from Dabur and Patanjali is also found to be pure honey and they are also not adulterated,
    Pure honey is dense. It trickles only into a stream.
    It will not get separated into layers and the texture will be soft.
    Natural honey that is directly extracted from the honeybee nest is the best and will have a different taste and sometimes we may have a little burning sensation in our throat.
    There are methods which will give you some idea about the purity of the product.
    1. Pure honey will never get mixed in water. Take a glass of water and add a teaspoon full honey to it and mix well. If the honey is getting mixed in water it is not pure. Pure honey will settle in the bottom and you can distinctly observe in the bottom and the water even will not get the colour of honey.
    2, When you add vinegar to a mixture of water and honey, if it foams, the honey is not pure and original. Pure honey will not give any foaming.
    3. Pure honey is supposed to be inflammable. You can test this with a match stick. Dip a match stick in honey and try to light using the matchbox. If the honey is pure the match stick will catch fire. This test is to be carried out very carefully.
    4. If you heat honey it will not give any foam and get caramelise quickly. This is also a good test to find out the purity.
    I visited an Ayurvedic firm who purchase honey. I have seen there these tests. Before going for a purchase they perform these tests and then only they accept the material.
    I have used honey from different suppliers and I feel the product supplied by Girijan Corporation of India is the best and the second-best is Patanjali Honey.

    drrao
    always confident

  • First of all, make sure whether you are allergic to honey or not. If you are allergic to it, you should avoid it at any cost. If you try to consume it even after being allergic to it, you may have to face lots of consequences such as stomach upset, diarrhoea, sharp pain in the stomach, nausea, vomiting. You can also check the allergy by applying a small amount of honey on your skin. Take some amount and apply it to a small area of your arm. Wipe it after a few minutes. If the area turns red or else, if you experience itching or burning sensation, it means you are allergic to it.

    Also, those who are allergic to honey shows severe symptoms if they consume or apply pure honey when compared to adulterated one. Some people tried unprocessed pure honey and were hospitalized as they were allergic to it. Thus, do not make haste in purchasing the purest honey. First, ensure that you are not allergic to it and then buy a good one.

    Do not look at the prices while purchasing. Look for brands. For example, Dabur and Patanjali are good brands and sell original products. Similarly, there are many others known for their purity. Only buy the trusted ones. You can buy it from the beekeepers. They hardly adulterate it and also, they will charge you less. It will be unprocessed and raw one. Thus, it will be the purest.

    Ways to identity pure honey-
    1) Pure honey will always spread. Immerse a finger in honey. It never spills from the finger. On the other hand, adulterated honey spills easily.

    2) Some brands try to adulterate honey by mixing a small amount of water in it. If the honey leaves a wet mark on blotting paper, it indicates that it has some amount of water in it.

    3) Read the labels. If there are added colouring agents, artificial sweetening agents, artificial flavours, it is obvious that the honey is adulterated.

  • Pure honey contains vitamins, proteins, minerals and amino acids. it's beneficial for health in every form, but it should be pure, its correctness is tested in these ways -

    Paper test
    To do this test, take the bloating paper. Then put some drops of honey on that. If there's some impurity in it, then that paper will absorb it and pure honey will remain on the paper. you'll be able to also try this with tissue.

    If heated, see if the dead is heated then it'll be thick but if honey is impure then bubbles will start to rise in it.

    Test on bread try it during breakfast. once you put honey on the bread, it'll become hard. If there's any impurity within the honey, the bread are going to be soft and wet.

    Check with fire, light a candle and wrap a cotton and apply honey on that. Then put this honey cotton on the fireplace, if the cotton starts burning then the honey is pure. Otherwise water has been added to honey.

    Check with water purity, add a spoonful of honey to a glass of water. If honey settles down in water, it's pure and if it dissolves in water before sitting down, it's adulterated.

    Glass test honey test , a small glass plate can tell you whether you're consuming pure honey or adulterated honey. If dripping honey during a glass plate makes its shape sort of a snake's coil, then honey is pure. Adulterated honey will spread as soon because it falls on the plate.

    There is a really simple identity of pure honey that pure honey contains fragrance. Honey freezes within the winter season, and there are mild rave-like grains and it melts completely within the summer.

  • Yes, natural honey can provide you incredible health benefits and some of the same are listed below -
    1) Natural Honey contains enough antioxidants such as flavonoids, phenolic compounds and organic acids providing less risk of heart attacks, strokes and cancer.
    2) Improvement of HDL cholesterol- Regular consumption of pure honey will enhance HDL level of your lipid profile simultaneously reducing LDL and triglycerides.
    3) Better option for Cough Remedy - Instead of using Allopathic remedies for cough, you may rely upon Natural Honey containing enough antibacterial and anti fungal properties to take care of your cough issue apart from producing sound sleep.
    4) Can regulate Blood Pressure - Because of presence of antioxidants and other benificial minerals, it can reduce both systolic and diastolic pressure to a certain level if taken regularly in empty stomach.
    5) Improves Heart Health - Because of rich source of phenols and other antioxidants compounds, they dilate the arteries and ease the blood flows having benificial effects on the heart.
    6) It can take care of your burning skin if applied externally on the affected part due to its antibacterial property.
    7) Heals up your wound - Regular application of Natural Honey speeds up the recovery of the wound due to its anti fungal and antibacterial property if used on regular basis for a couple of days.
    However, it may show allergic effects in some of the consumers such as stomach aches, vomiting, dysentery, diarrhoea or even other serious issues leading to hospitalisation. In your case, you have felt the burning sensation of stomach, you should avoid its further consumption.
    Our body responds differently though the food is same in all cases and since Honey contains several organic compound such as Phenol, Organic Acids and host of Antibiotics and its combined effect produces severe allergic effects on some men.
    Taste of Purity of Honey-
    1) Pure Honey is sticky in nature and if you place a drop of your Honey in your thumb, it will not roll over but it will stick to the point where it is lying.
    2) If you put some Honey in a glass containing water, Honey is not likely to dissolve in it rather it will look lumpy in the lower portion of the glass. If you could see such an observation, Honey is pure.

  • Honey has been used as a natural remedy for many health related problems and it has been consumed across the globe in raw form as well as processed and preserved form. The best honey is considered as the filtered raw honey which contains a large number of beneficial nutrients for the body. That type of honey might still be available in some remote villages where the villagers might be taking it from the nearby jungles or their own honey gathering stations.

    Some of the uses and benefits of honey are as follows -

    1. It is a good source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are the chemicals that help to protect our body from cell damage due to free radicals. Free radicals are the culprits in our body which accelerate ageing and induce ailments. Actually these antioxidants in honey come from the phytonutrients present in the plants from where the honey bees bring them and they are added in the honey in the honeycomb. They are vital for good health.

    2. Honey is known to possess antibacterial and anti fungal properties and has been used for that purpose. Use of honey was very common for healing of wounds in earlier times. Honey has a property of killing many fungus and bacteria. One type of honey known as Manuka honey which is native to New Zealand is known to possess these characteristics in enhanced forms.

    3. Honey is considered a soothing agent for stomach and is taken in the condition of stomach ulcers. It is having prebiotic potential also which means that it helps in the growth of the good bacteria that live in the intestines. Some people use it in conditions of diarrhoea also though that particular use is not established medically.

    4. Honey is also used as a soothing agent for sore throat and it is very effective in that. In throat ailments or virus infections honey with lemon tea is taken as a home remedy.

    One rare thing about honey is that it contains a little amount of a bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum. Sometimes this may cause in some people a condition of food poisoning type situation known as botulism. It is rare but if it happens then one has to be careful in consuming it.

    While buying honey one has to buy it from a reputed source so that the threat of adulteration would not be there. Many small shopkeepers sell honey in a highly adulterated form as a large amount of ordinary sugar cane easily be mixed in honey. Some of the good brands in India are Dabur Honey, Hitkari Honey, Apis Himalaya Honey, Beez Honey, Zandu Pure Honey, Little Bee Organic Honey, Dyu Honey, and Mantra Honey.

    There are some tests by which one can identify the purity of honey. Some of these are -

    a) Place a little amount of honey on your thumb and see whether it spreads or remains as it is. If it spreads it is not pure.
    b) Drop a spoonful of honey in a glass full of water. If it dissolves it is not pure. Actually pure honey would settle at the bottom.
    c) Pure honey is inflammable and if you dip a matchstick in it and strike it for burning, it should burn nicely. If it does not then adulteration is there.
    d) Add a tablespoon of honey to little water and 2-3 drops of vinegar. If foam is created, honey is adulterated.

    Thoughts exchanged is knowledge gained.

  • Honey has been a favourite of many people historically for consuming it for many health reasons. That time honey used to come in raw form and most of the time people simply filtered it and used. I remember, about 55 years back when I was in my village, we used to get the honey in raw form along with the honeycomb as the person selling it had neither the time nor technology to process it. So when we used to get it then we used to keep it in a cloth or metal sieve and drain it. It used to take a long time for the honey to get segregated from that honeycomb framework and after that time what we had was real pure raw honey below and on the top some wax like honeycomb and a few of honey bees and their parts which remained there entangled in the remaining honeycomb.

    Today, what we are getting is processed honey which gets heated during processing and might had lost some of its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Moreover there is a big risk of adulteration in it as sugar is one item that can be mixed with it in good quantities and the buyer would not be able to distinguish it.

    Still if we buy from reputed sources like Zandu, Dabur, Patanjali etc then we can get a good quality honey. Though processed honey is not as effective as the raw one, still it is used by people for a variety of purposes -

    1. For sore throat.
    2. As a substitute of sugar.
    3. As an immune boosting supplement.
    4. For applying on skin in beauty preparations.
    5. As a healing agent for mouth ulcers or boils.

    There are many ways to test the purity of the honey. One of the simplest is drop a spoon full of honey in a bowl full of water and see its behaviour. If it does not dissolve and just remains intact at the bottom of the bowl then it is pure.

    Knowledge is power.

  • Honey has been used as a remedy for ages. Modern researchers also prove its medicinal uses. Following are some of honey's benefits.

    - It contains antioxidants which protect body cell as well as keep the heart healthy and reduces the risk of heart diseases.

    - It has antibacterial and antifungal properties.

    - Honey's antioxidant and antibacterial properties help improve the digestive system and boost immunity.

    - It's a good remedy for cough, cold and sore throat.

    - Honey contains glucose and fructose which boost energy in the body as well as work as a good cure for wounds, cuts and burns.

    - Honey is good for skin because of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and ultra-moisturising properties.

    - It can be used to treat dandruff

    There are some simple ways of elederly people to distinguish pure honey.

    a: Put a drop of honey on your clothes like trouser, you will see it does not stick on your trouser, rather, it will move downwards.

    b: Take some mud in a plate and put a drop of honey on the mud then shake the plate slowly, you will see it does mix up with mud rather it will move like a pearl as you move your plate.

    c: Dip a match stick in honey and light it. Pure honey will burn.

    d: Put a drop on a paper and let it be on the paper for a few minutes. Turn the paper if the paper is wet on other side, honey is not pure.

    e: Take a glass of water and take one spoon honey, then pour it quite slowly into the middle of water. The honey will set on the bottom of the glass without mixing with water.

    f: Take honey in a spoon and drop it into a pot, then pour some water into the pot and move the pot in round, it will result in beautiful texture similar to skin of custard apple.

  • Wow, I am thrilled to know about the benefits of honey. I did not know that it had so many benefits. Thanks to each one of you, for taking out the time to respond to my query, I will definitely test the honey for its authenticity before using it.
    @Dr. Rao, I tried ordering honey from Girijan Corporation but the logistics charges were almost equivalent to the cost of honey so I cancelled the order. I chose a lot many products but for an order of almost Rs.500 the logistics cost was Rs. 320, so had to change my mind. Will go for other brands as suggested by members.

    Live before you leave.

  • Honey is a sweet liquid made by bee using nectar which comes from a flower. Honey is good for our health as it contains nutrients. It has been a popular food item in traditional society. It is used as homemade medicine for ages. High-quality honey is rich in antioxidants. There are many health-related benefits from having regularly in food as follows:-
    1. It helps in lowering our blood pressure.
    2. It helps in reducing our weight
    3. It strengthens our immunity system as it is rich in antioxidant which fights against viral infection.
    4. It can be used for healing our wounds and burns.
    5. It may prove beneficial in relieving cold and cough.
    6. It has been effective in treating indigestion and imbalance in body.
    7. It can be applied for skin care.
    Nowadays, you will get honey in many shops. But, all honey are not pure. You have to keep knowledge before buying it. Honey is called "natural" when it doesn't add any artificial additives. But natural honey may add corn syrup, sugar, or natural flavouring. On the other hand, honey is called "pure" when nothing is added in it. There are different ways to identify pure and adulturate honey are as:-
    1.Put a little honey on your palm. If it is in running condition then there would be more chances to be adulterate.
    2. One tablespoon honey dissolve in water. If it dissolves, then it is impure. Pure honey will go down like a plop.
    If you want to buy pure honey then you should buy Dabur and Patanjali honey which is considered as best. One different honey named Girijan honey which is supplied by Girijan Corporation of India also found as best. All are pure not adulterate. Above all product, I used many times and found it as a best.


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