Raw Honey

THIS Type of RAW HONEY Kills Every Kind of Bacteria Scientists Could Throw At It (Even the Super-Bugs!)

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The health benefits of raw, unprocessed honey are well known, but in Australia, scientists recently made a startling discovery – that one particular, obscure type of honey is capable of killing just about everything scientists throw at it, including some of the worst bacteria known to man.

The findings were published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (June 2009 edition), and could hold special significance at a time when many of the world’s top antibiotics are failing, especially against resistant “superbugs.”

The honey in question is known as manuka honey, which is produced in New Zealand and also goes by the name of jelly bush honey.

The honey has become so popular in the past few years that shortages have been reported and fake products have been sold, leading New Zealand manuka producers to seek trademark protection (similar to French champagne or Scottish whiskey for example). It’s easy to see why now that the secret is out about this honey’s incredible health benefits.

Manuka Honey Kills MRSA, Other Superbugs 

Manuka honey is created by bees foraging on the nectar of Leptospermum Scoparium, the New Zealand manuka bush, as well as tea trees native only to Australia and New Zealand.

In the aforementioned studies, Australian researchers found that the honey killed every bacteria or pathogen it was tested on, according to a report byThe Australian. The honey can be applied topically to help fight against infections of the skin, cuts and insect bites, or taken internally.

The most exciting difference with the manuka honey that was tested is that none of superbugs killed by the honey were able to build up immunity, a common problem with today’s antibiotics.

“New antibiotics tend to have short shelf lives, as the bacteria they attack quickly become resistant,” said Dr. Dee Carter of the University of Sydney’s School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences. “Many large pharmaceutical companies have abandoned antibiotic production because of the difficulty of recovering costs. Developing effective alternatives could therefore save many lives.”

In 1981, researchers at the New Zealand University of Waikato discovered that Manuka honey has a considerably higher level of enzymes than regular honey. These enzymes create a natural hydrogen peroxide that works as an antibacterial. Some strains of this New Zealand honey are particularly rich in hydrogen peroxide, methylglyoxal and dihydroxyacetone.

This medicinal trilogy helps make up what is referred to as the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF), a global standard in identifying and measuring the antibacterial strength of Manuka. (3) Essentially, the UMF is a guarantee that the honey being sold is of a medicinal quality.

UMF is not found in the nectar of all Manuka flowers and, comparatively speaking, regular Manuka only contains the hydrogen peroxide antibacterial property that is common to most types of honey.

What separates UMF Manuka from other Manuka varieties is that it has both the natural hydrogen peroxide and its own natural UMF antibacterial property, which greatly enhances it effectiveness. The UMF properties of Manuka is extremely stable and, unlike the hydrogen peroxide common in most honey, is not easily destroyed by heat, light and enzymes in the body.

How to Verify Genuine UMF Manuka Honey

The minimum UMF rating recognized is UMF5, however, it is not considered beneficial unless it carries a UMF 10+ level of antibacterial activity in the honey. Anything ranging from UMF10-UMF15 is a useful level, and anything UMF16 and up is considered a superior quality.

Genuine UMF Manuka Honey will have these four things:

  • It will have a UMF trademark clearly labeled on the front of the container.
  • It will be from a New Zealand UMF licensed company and labelled in New Zealand.
  • It will have the UMF company’s name and license number on the label.
  • It will have a UMF rating number of 5-16+. If it is labeled without the UMF or without a number, then it is not the genuine article.

 

According to the UMF association the UMF rating actually tests the antibacterial performance of a honey and compares it to phenol, a disinfectant. The Active Manuka Honey Association(AMHA) that does the testing states:

“The presence of the special non-peroxide activity can be detected only by an array of scientific testing directly relating to the phenol standard. The rating has a one-to-one relationship to the phenol standard. “

This means that a UMF rating of 20+ is equivalent in strength to a 20% solution of phenol. The ideal UMF rating varies depending on your purpose, but laboratory studies have shown that manuka honey with a non-peroxide activity level of UMF®12 to UMF®15 is effective against a wide range of very resistant bacteria.

Here is an explanation of what manuka honey UMF you should use:

0-4 Non-therapeutic

4-9 Maintenance level with general honey health benefits

10-14 Supports natural healing and bacterial balance

15+ Superior levels of phenols that are highly therapeutic but shouldn’t exceed taking 1 tbsp at a time

Raw Honey

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Raw Honey is often referred to as “liquid gold” due to its highly therapeutic antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, antiseptic, anti-aging and anticancer properties. Raw honey is not filtered, strained, or heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit and provides far more benefits than regular honey as it is full of active enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that are vital for keeping the body health and for preventing illness and disease.

Raw honey contains vitamins such as B-complex and Vitamin C as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Raw honey has the power to strengthen the immune system, promote digestive health, reduce throat irritation, stabilize blood pressure, calm nerves, relieve morning sickness, balance blood sugar, heal ulcers, purify the blood, fight off colds and flu, soothe sore throats and laryngitis, and flush the kidneys.

Raw honey is also great for digestion as it contains probiotics that help to keep the beneficial bacteria in the gut healthy and strong. Raw honey also functions as a expectorant and is known to benefit respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and asthma. Raw honey promotes restorative sleep and can aid in healing and rebuilding the body during the night.

Raw Honey is hygroscopic, which means it draws all the moisture out of germs which ultimately kills them. This is why raw honey is an excellent first aid cream and can be applied externally, like a natural neosporin, to cuts, abrasions, rashes, and sores to keep the wounds sterile and quicken the healing process.

Consider adding a teaspoon of raw honey to your lemon water and/or herbal tea everyday. It’s provides instant energy and great health benefits which can give you a much needed boost to your daily health routine.

RAW HONEY CONTAINS PROBIOTIC THAT BOOSTS IMMUNITY

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Honey has a world of health benefits that science is only beginning to uncover. Now, new research reveals that raw honey in particular has special immune boosting properties as well.

Prior research has shown that honey’s ability to stimulate the immune system had a lot to do with the fact that flower nectars contain plant polyphenols and other phytochemicals.

Well, we can now add another reason for honey’s ability to stimulate the immune system: A particular probiotic bacteria endemic among honeybees.

The understanding of this probiotic reveals a number of key elements regarding honey and the honeybees – regarding fructose digestion and even honeybee colony collapse.

The probiotic of the beehive

The probiotic bacteria is Lactobacillus kunkeei. This bacteria was initially studied in relation to winemaking, because it was often found when a winemaking fermentation process became “stuck.” As such, the bacteria has been implicated among spoilage disasters in winemaking and grape juice processors.

But Lactobacillus kunkeei has more recently been found among honeybees, and a new sequencing method employed at the Prefectural University of Hiroshima has found that this probiotic bacteria is not only used by honeybees: It is also contained in the honey, bee pollen and royal jelly produced in the hive.

This also means that by eating raw honey, we may be consuming this probiotic bacteria as well. Is it good for us?

Immune-boosting bacteria

To investigate the effects of this probiotic bacteria, the researchers mentioned above first tested two strains of the Lactobacillus kunkeei bacteria on cells within the laboratory. When the cells were exposed to heat-killed Lactobacillus kunkeei bacteria, the cells initiated an IgA response – meaning they stimulated the cells’ immunity processes.

The researchers then gave 1,000 milligrams of heat-killed Lactobacillus kunkeei to 11 healthy adults for a month. The researchers found that the Lactobacillus kunkeei increased saliva IgA concentrations and secretion among the subjects. This means that it significantly stimulated the immune system.

The researchers confirmed the discovery of this information:

“This is the first report of microbiota analysis of royal jelly and the immune efficacy of L. kunkeei from honeybee products in humans.”

What are ‘heat-killed’ bacteria?

Remember that the honey bacteria tested in the study above was heat-killed. This means the bacteria were first heated to the point where they died. In this state, the bacteria are no longer alive. They are not consuming food (called fermentation). They are also not producing acids and antibiotic substances – as living probiotics do.

But when a bacteria is heat-killed, it will go down fighting. It will produce a number of acids and antibiotic substances as it seeks to protect itself from its impending death.

This is why a heat-killed bacteria can still provoke immunity: Those immunity chemicals are in the mix.

But this also means that the living bacteria will do even a better job at stimulating the immune system. Not just a one-shot, but an ongoing immunity stimulation – as long as those bacteria remain alive in the system.

Implications of raw versus refined honey

This heat-killing is what normally happens in most conventional honey production because conventional honey is typically heated and then filtered. This heating process will allow the honey to more easily be run through a filter so the particulates can be screened out.

However, a true raw honey is not heated, nor filtered. You can easily tell a raw honey from a heated-filtered honey because the heated-filtered honey will be clear and the raw honey will have a creamy darker color – and you can’t see through it.

This also means a raw honey will contain the living forms of this immune-boosting probiotic bacteria.

The existence of this probiotic can now explain why raw honey has been found to be not only immune-stimulating but also antibiotic. Why? Because probiotics secrete numerous natural compounds to kill off those bacteria that threaten their territories.

Sure, honey also contains phytochemicals from the plant’s nectar that stimulate the immune system. We cannot deny that, as other honey research has shown that honey from immunity-stimulating plants (such as Manuka flowers) has more antimicrobial properties than honey from bees that harvest from other plants.

Probiotics from flowers

Honey is stored as energy for bees for wintertime when there are theoretically no more flowers to feed from. Flowers, it seems provide more than just the pollen and nectar – they also provide the bacteria important to the storage and protection of the honey.

A healthy bee produces honey by mixing the flower nectar with saliva and collectively regurgitating it by trading it back and forth between bees. This process infuses the sweetness of the pollen with the probiotic bacteria from the bee’s digestive juices – thereby protecting it. This protection doesn’t just come from digestive juices however: It also comes from the probiotic bacteria that the bees host. Where do they get this bacteria from?

Several studies by researchers from South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch have investigated numerous strains of L. kunkeei, collected from flowers, honey and in wine production. The important part of the collections from flowers is these flowers were fresh. In other words, the L. kunkeei bacteria have a symbiotic relationship not only with bees and thus humans – but also with these flowers. Thus the flower nectars are providing the bees with bacteria.

As I discuss in my book on the subject, probiotic bacteria provide numerous benefits to their host. These include providing direct antibiotic immune function, assisting and stimulating the immune system, and providing enzymes for digestion along with other chemicals used by the metabolism of the host.

This ongoing investigation on bee bacteria finds that the L. kunkeei bacteria initially provide probiotic activity to nectar-containing flowers. This means that bees are not just harvesting the pollen nectar from flowers: They are also harvesting these beneficial bacteria, which provide probiotic services to the beehive.

Another dimension to bee colony collapse

Indeed, after finding no less than 66 strains of L. kunkeei and a related species among honeybee hives, the at University of Stellenbosch researchers conducted a study testing a disease pathogen that threatens many hives throughout the world.

The infective pathogen is Melissococcus plutonius, and this is the cause of a honeybee disease called European foulbrood. This has also been implicated as one of the manifestations involved in bee colony collapse.

The researchers found that L. kunkeei successfully killed and thus provided antibiotic properties against the M. plutonius pathogen.

The mechanism for the antibacterial function of L. kunkeei was that it produced an antibacterial peptide.

While L. kunkeei is not the only probiotic bacteria that honeybees will utilize in their hives, this study opens up a new in our understanding of bee collapse – the wipeout of those bacteria that bees use to prevent infection.

Is this such a leap? The reality is that pesticides and herbicides also have the unique ability to kill off bacteria along with their intended pests – many of which are microscopic. This unspecific wipeout can be compared to how antibiotic drugs can wipe out our gut’s probiotic content.

Passing on honey probiotics to humans

One collected by the honeybee from flowers, the probiotic services provided by the L. kunkeei bacteria are then passed onto those humans who smartly and carefully harvest the honey stored in the hive. And of course to those who eat those honeys raw.

This of course confers these probiotic benefits to humans.

Just as other probiotic bacteria do, these bacteria produce lactic acid and acetic acid – both of which assist in the correct pH of our intestinal tracts. These acids also set up an environment which helps prevent the growth of many types of pathogenic bacteria and yeasts.

Raw honey and blood sugar

Probiotics also help us digest and process our foods – and L. kunkeei can also perform this function.

The researchers at University of Stellenbosch also found the L. kunkeei bacteria feed off complex D-fructose – which both flower nectars and honeys provide.

This fact reveals a much more complex mechanism and benefit of eating raw honey – and at least one reason why honey is one of the healthiest forms of sweeteners in terms of blood sugar control. The fact that these bacteria feed from fructose means they also break down the fructose that can be responsible – in its pure forms – for hiking our blood sugar.

In other research I have showed that fructose from raw fruit comes with complex fibers that help prevent the fructose from surging into the blood. This process is further slowed down by gut probiotics that feed from fructose, thus breaking down these polysaccharide chains into healthy components such as lactic acids and acetic acids.

But honey provides another level above this – assuming raw honey is eaten: It delivers the probiotics that reduce the absorption of fructose of not only the honey, but other fructose-containing foods.

This also provides the missing link that underscores the fact that probiotic supplementation has been shown to improve the fructose/glucose response.

Propolis Has Enormous Benefits for Your Health

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Various products derived from the beehive have been studied and propolis has proved to be a product having beneficial results for human health.

Propolis (Pro-before, Polis-city = defense of the city), is the resinous substance that bees gather from the leaf buds of trees and certain vegetables.

The bee gathers this and transforms it in order to disinfect the beehive, seal cracks, build panels, as well as using it as a microbiocidal agent, disinfectant and also for embalming intruders otherwise difficult to expel due to their size.

Propolis, thus, is directly responsible for guaranteeing the asepsis of the beehives, locations prone to developing viruses and bacteria, given their conditions of temperature and humidity.

Due to the great number of active ingredients present, tincture (alcoholic extract) of propolis is well known and used for its therapeutic properties, principally for its stimulant action on the organism’s defense system. Notable amongst its properties are its antioxidant and anti-microbial action, its activity as a stimulant and its healing, analgesic, anesthetic and anti-inflammatory activity.

To date, in the literature consulted, no antioxidant capacity values have been found greater than those obtained for propolis, for any of the products/foods analyzed, using this type of methodology.

bee, bees, bee products, honey, propolis, bee propolis, manuka, raw honey


The Many Uses of Bee PropolisBees, by pollinating trees and crops, are true sustainers of life on earth. Without their tireless service, we simply would not be able to feed ourselves. At the same time, they also create a wide variety of other useful products, including:

As described above, propolis extract has a number of well known therapeutic properties, including potent antioxidant and anti-microbial action, and healing, analgesic, anesthetic, and anti-inflammatory properties.

It’s been used for thousands of years in folk medicine.

Previously, bee propolis has been found to prevent the formation of dental plaque by inhibiting the activity of certain enzymes that synthesize glucans from sucrose. Propolis, along with other bee products, has also been studied for its potential to control tumor growth, with some success.

Bee pollen, on the other hand, is often referred to as a Superfood – one of nature’s most completely nourishing foods. It contains nearly all nutrients required by your body. About half of its protein is in the form of free amino acids that are ready to be used directly by your body and can therefore contribute significantly to your protein needs.

And raw honey, another potent anti-infection/anti-inflammatory bee product, is a natural option to antibiotics.

This is important to remember, considering the fact that traditional antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective against certain microbes. Meanwhile the solution may be as close as your kitchen cabinet…

What You Need to Know About Honey

The main thing to remember when it comes to honey is that not all honey is created equal. The antibacterial activity in some honeys is 100 times more powerful than in others!

Processed, refined honey is NOT appropriate for use in wound care. In fact, your average domestic “Grade A” type honey found in the grocery store will likely increase infection. It also will not offer you the same health benefits as raw honey when consumed.

Manuka honey is a specific type of honey that has actually been approved for use as a medical device – it’s that potent! But you could use raw honey to treat a mild burn, sunburn, or small wound at home if you don’t happen to have a jar of Manuka around.

Good quality honey offers several topical wound-care benefits:

  • It draws fluid away from your wound
  • The high sugar content suppresses microorganism growth
  • Worker bees secrete an enzyme (glucose oxidase) into the nectar, which then releases low levels of hydrogen peroxide when the honey makes contact with your wound
  • A chemical reaction between the honey and tissue also makes healing wounds smell good

Manuka honey, however, is in a class of its own.

Clinical trials have found that Manuka honey from New Zealand, made with pollen gathered from the flowers of the Manuka bush (a medicinal plant), can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria, including resistant varieties such as:

  • MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
  • MSSA (methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus)
  • VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci)
  • Helicobacter Pylori (which can cause stomach ulcers)  

With the increasing threat of antibiotic-resistant infections and drug over-use, the return to honey as a natural, multi-purpose healing therapy makes all the sense in the world.

Honey was in fact a conventional therapy in fighting infection up until the early 20th century, at which time its use slowly vanished as penicillin took center stage. Using raw honey instead of topical antibiotics and cough medicines, for example, is a simple way to decrease your over-dependence on drugs.

As long as it’s used in moderation, eating raw honey is likely to promote health. One caveat is if you suffer from signs of elevated insulin such as:

  • Overweight
  • High blood pressure
  • High blood cholesterol
  • Diabetes

If you have elevated insulin levels, you’ll want to limit consumption of honey just like you would sugar and grains, as it will raise your insulin levels.

Raw Honey: Liquid Gold in Your Pantry.

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When selecting foods for your stockpile, the most budget-friendly, space-conscious way to do it is by selecting items that multitask.  This criteria places honey high on your “to-buy list”.  Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition lists honey as one of the top SHTF sweeteners to store.

Honey is indeed nature’s sweetener, but don’t write it off as just a condiment.  The sticky sweet substance is far more than something to stir into your tea or spread on your toast.

Since ancient times, the healing properties of honey have been documented.  Some of this knowledge seems to have been forgotten (and purposely marginalized), and drug companies have replaced honey with chemical ointments, antibiotics and antivirals. (This is, as always, about money – they can’t patent honey, can they?)

§  Honey has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for more than 4000 years.  Honey is an ingredient in 634 remedies in ancient Hindu vedic texts.

§  The Ebers Papyrus of ancient Egypt expounded on the medicinal properties of honey, and it is contained in nearly every ancient Egyptian remedy.

§  In ancient Greece, Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine” wrote,  ”Honey and pollen cause warmth, clean sores and ulcers, soften hard ulcers of lips, heal carbuncles and running sores.”

Just Because the Label Says “Honey” …

Now, you can’t go and get the ubiquitous squeezy bear full of honey at the grocery store and expect it to cure all your ills.  In fact, the some of the squeezy bears don’t even contain real honey at all. Our good friends at the FDA have defined  honey as “anything containing pollen.

Even with that broad definition, some of the Chinese companies have “ultrafiltered” the honey that goes into those little bears to the point that there isn’t even any pollen left.

I bet you wonder why – I did.

Ultrafiltering removes the pollen so that the source of the honey cannot be determined.  Providers of cheap honey do this so that consumers cannot  discover the origin.  Often the cheap honey is tainted with pesticides, illegal antibiotics, and heavy metals.  Some of the cheap honey is watered down with High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Much of the questionable honey originates in China.

According to independent testing ordered by Food Safety News and performed by Vaughan Bryant, a professor at Texas A&M University and one of the nation’s premier melissopalynologists, or investigators of pollen in honey.76% of the golden stuff sold in grocery stores as honey doesn’t contain even one little drop of pollen.

§  76 percent of samples bought at groceries had all the pollen removed, These were stores like TOP Food, Safeway, Giant Eagle, QFC, Kroger, Metro Market, Harris Teeter, A&P, Stop & Shop and King Soopers.

§  100 percent of the honey sampled from drugstores like Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS Pharmacy had no pollen.

§  77 percent of the honey sampled from big box stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target and H-E-B had the pollen filtered out.

§  •00 percent of the honey packaged in the small individual service portions from Smucker, McDonald’s and KFC had the pollen removed.

§  Bryant found that every one of the samples Food Safety News bought at farmers markets, co-ops and “natural” stores like PCC and Trader Joe’s had the full, anticipated, amount of pollen.

The  FDA, despite their definition, doesn’t seem to care about the false labeling of these products.  The FDA has ignored requests from Congress, beekeepers and the honey industry to develop a U.S. standard for honey.  Less than 5% of honey on store shelves has been tested by the FDA for purity.

How can you be sure you are actually buying honey?

As with most products, the closer you can get to the actual source, the better off you’ll be.  Short of scooping the sticky stuff directly from the hives, purchase as locally as possible, directly from beekeepers or at your favorite farmer’s market.

There are more than 300 varieties of honey sold in the US.  The difference in these varieties is the source of the pollen.  Buckwheat honey is reputed to have the most healing properties of any type of honey.  As a general rule of thumb,  the darker the honey is, the more benefits it has.

Pasteurized vs. Raw

The FDA seems more concerned that honey be pasteurized (i.e.,heat  processed) than that the honey actually be honey.  The problem with pasteurization is that it kills off many of the beneficial components in the honey, most particularly propolis.

…The processing of honey often removes many of the phytonutrients found in raw honey as it exists in the hive. Raw honey, for example, contains small amounts of the same resins found in propolis. Propolis, sometimes called “bee glue,” is actually a complex mixture of resins and other substances that honeybees use to seal the hive and make it safe from bacteria and other micro-organisms. Honeybees make propolis by combining plant resins with their own secretions… Other phytonutrients found both in honey and propolis have been shown to possess cancer-preventing and anti-tumor properties. These substances include caffeic acid methyl caffeate, phenylethyl caffeate, and phenylethyl dimethylcaffeate. Researchers have discovered that these substances prevent colon cancer in animals by shutting down activity of two enzymes, phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C and lipoxygenase. When raw honey is extensively processed and heated, the benefits of these phytonutrients are largely eliminated… (source)

Despite the important benefits of raw honey, there are some caveats.

§  Infants under the age of 1 should not be fed raw honey because of the risk of botulism.  Their underdeveloped immune systems cannot prevent the Clostridium botulinum pores from multiplying.  Botulism can cause paralysis and death.

§  People with bee venom allergies sometimes suffer an allergic reaction to honey.  These allergic reactions can easily become life-threatening.

§  There is a higher risk of food poisoning when you consume raw honey vs pasteurized honey.

With the knowledge of the above warnings, I still purchase only raw honey for my household.  The pros outweigh the cons for me.

 The Benefits of Raw Honey

Raw honey is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal, making it one of the most healing substances on earth.  It is also highly nutritious.  Honey is a natural multivitamin.  It contains significant amounts of: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C, magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, and phosphate.

Honey has been used historically both internally and externally for a variety of concerns:

§  Apply honey liberally on a wound to speed healing.

§  Apply honey to a rash, burn or scrape, and cover loosely.

§  A tsp taken 3 times per day can help prevent seasonal allergies.

§  A tbsp of raw honey sprinkled with cinnamon taken 3 times per day can boost the immune system and fight off a cold or sore throat.

§  A spoonful of honey can soothe a cough caused by a tickle or sore throat.

§  A couple of tablespoons of honey stirred into hot tea can lessen the symptoms of a cold or flu.

§  Honey mixed with equal parts coconut oil makes a wonderful skin conditioner.

§  Some studies say that honey can help control blood sugar fluctuations.

§  Raw honey increases the production of antioxidants in the bloodstream.

§  Recent studies proved that honey reduced overall cholesterol levels when taken daily.

§  Honey applied topically to a wound or incision moistens the skin and helps prevent or reduce scarring.

Long Term Storage of Honey

The great news about buying honey for your stockpile is that it stores forever.  Literally.  Honey was discovered in the pyramids of Egypt – over 5000 years old – and still edible. Given that, I strongly suspect it will remain viable in your stockpile for as long as you care to store it.  The only thing that will happen is that, in time, it will crystallize.  You can resolve this issue by placing the jar of honey in a bowl of hot water until it returns to liquid form. However, you can also use it in its crystallized form – you can stir it into tea, spread it on hot toast, or take a spoonful of it as one of the remedies mentioned above.

Frequently heating and cooling honey can lessen its nutritional potency, so I recommend putting honey in a small jar for regular use and using the big jars just to restock your little one.