Raw Honey is Healthy!

The “nectar of the gods”, honey has been used to treat various health conditions for millennia. Recent formal medical, physiological and nutritional research has provided formal evidence for the effectiveness of honey in treating conditions from cough to skin conditions like acne to high blood pressure. Honey has been shown to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome (which puts individuals at high risk of heart attacks) and possibly even cancer.

That being said, we don’t market our honey based on its health properties. In all honesty, you can get the same health benefits from any real, pure, raw honey (but do your research – there’s a lot of questionable marketing and fake honeys out there that lack the health benefits of real, raw honey). We encourage you to try our honey if you’re interested in a luxurious sensory experience that’s also healthy and promotes weight loss. Simply put, we believe that the freshness, the deliciousness, and the silky smoothness of our honey will change the way you think of honey.

It is worth noting that most studies use raw honey and the health benefits discussed below apply to raw honey. Pasteurized honey has been heated well above 40°C which causes some of the enzymes to break down, diminishing the health benefits. The higher the temperature and the longer the exposure, the greater the reduction in benefits. Heat exposure and freshness can be measured in the lab. It’s a little-known fact that even at room temperature, raw honey slowly loses freshness, flavour, and health benefits.

While some research into health properties of honey mentions a specific floral source, with the exception of using manuka honey for medical grade sterilized wound dressings, we feel that one shouldn’t place too much emphasis on the specific floral source of the honey when thinking specifically of health benefits. There are three reasons: Firstly, just because a study mentioned that it used this raw honey or that raw honey, doesn’t mean other raw honeys don’t have similar properties. Secondly, studies have shown that the label on the jar is often incorrect when it specifies a floral source – bees often fly up to 5 km (3 miles) and forage whatever flowers are producing nectar within this large area (roughly 80 km2 or 20 thousand acres). Even beekeepers often get this wrong. Finally, debating which honey has, for example, the greatest level of antioxidant activity, is like debating which vegetable has the highest concentration of folate and choosing not to eat cauliflower because spinach has more folate. All vegetables are good for you you just like all raw honeys have health benefits (without evidence of great differences between different honeys for the most part). You can take comfort in the knowledge that whatever your favorite raw honey is, it’s good for you.

While I’m not a practicing physician, I do hold an M.D. degree (University of Manitoba) and a M.Sc. degree in Epidemiology (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) so I have a big interest in personal health, physiology, and public health. And, speaking the lingo, I’m comfortable reading and assessing scientific literature. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know at info@wendellestate.ca. If your comments lead to website updates, we’ll reward you with honey.

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Health Benefits of Raw Honey

Eating raw honey reduces the risk of developing diabetes, especially if honey replaces dietary processed sugars. A big problem with eating processed sugars is the rapid spike in blood glucose (sugar high) followed by a rebound hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Repeating this cycle over the long term can cause progressive insulin resistance followed by the development of diabetes. Honey is metabolized differently than processed sugars and results in a slower, longer, healthier blood glucose profile, reducing the risk of diabetes. Current research is examining whether honey is beneficial as a treatment for diabetes. Eating raw honey also improves cholesterol by increasing HDL (good cholesterol) and decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol), which is especially important in people with diabetes. If you don’t have diabetes, eating honey rather than processed sugars will decrease your chance of developing it. If you do have diabetes, honey may have benefits, but you should eat honey with caution and careful monitoring of blood glucose. You can read about honey and diabetes in depth in our long-form blog post here.

Honey is an ideal source of energy to power you through your workout or add that extra mile. Due to the combination of fructose and glucose, with contributions from natural bee enzymes, raw honey is easily digested and efficiently converted to liver glycogen. Liver glycogen is your body’s immediate fuel supply: this is your body’s and your muscles’ source of energy in the short to medium term (about a minute to half an hour). As a natural source of carbohydrates that provides as much energy as a similar amount of sugar, but avoids the unhealthy insulin peak that processed sugars evoke, raw honey is a healthy alternative to sugary drinks or snacks used before or during exercise.

As a beekeeper he may have been biased, but John Wendell believed that eating honey before his races helped him win consistently.

“Honey is just another sugar.” is a comment I often come across, with surprise and disappointment when it comes from a physician, or even worse, a nutritionist. The skeptic in me suspects that “Big Sugar” marketing dollars are fueling this erroneous sentiment. Honey is certainly vastly different from processed sugars. This study on honey and heart disease concluded “It is our conclusion that consumption of natural honey…does not increase body weight in overweight or obese subjects.” There’s increasing evidence that honey promotes weight loss in active individuals. This long-term (1- year) study in animals showed that rats fed honey gained no more weight than rats on a sugar-free diet, and gained significantly less weight than rats fed sucrose (table sugar). Here’s a recent review of the research. Honey is not a miracle cure for obesity, but eating honey, especially if it replaces processed sugars (like those in energy snacks and drinks), should give you healthy energy for your workout AND help you slim down, especially if you are physically active.

This article by Louise Atkinson summarizes in near-layman’s terms the research into how and why eating honey can help you to lose weight. The article also has starter suggestion recipes for a diet that replaces harmful processed sugars with honey. As always, for maximum benefits ensure that you use unadulterated fresh raw honey. The brand or stated floral source of the honey is much less important than simply using real, undiminished raw honey.

There’s widespread agreement, from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) to the Mayo Clinic to Evidently Cochrane, that raw honey alleviates coughing at least as well as commonly used medications and over-the-counter treatments. If coughing is keeping you or your child awake, why not try a soothing warm honey drink before bed? Simply add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of honey to warm water. Add lemon and/or ginger and/or cinnamon for extra flavor and holistic healthiness. (Remember that honey should not be given to infants below one year of age.)

Honey has long been thought to improve sleep quality. Proposed physiologic mechanisms for this are similar to the reasons why honey makes an excellent pre-exercise energy snack: eating honey efficiently replenishes liver glycogen stores. Liver glycogen provides your still-active brain with energy while you’re sleeping. It is thought that low blood sugar during sleep can reduce sleep quality and result in waking earlier than desired. A pre-bedtime snack of honey on toast, or drink of honey with warm milk may improve your sleep. This isn’t yet backed by large studies, but this small study gives some scientific support to the folk wisdom.

Studies in rats indicate that raw honey appears to be an effective treatment for peptic ulcers (ulcers of the stomach and small intestine). Studies in humans are lacking, so we wouldn’t recommend treating peptic ulcers solely with honey, but eating honey likely reduces the risk of developing peptic ulcers. Similarly, people who eat honey regularly appear to be less likely to develop peptic ulcers.

Traditionally honey has been prescribed to improve digestion. Raw honey appears to have pre-biotic and pro-biotic properties that promote a healthy gut microbiome that in turn leads to improved intestinal functioning. Quality studies providing good evidence are lacking, but the idea that honey improves digestion is attracting research.

Despite a lack of formal research, there are plenty of personal stories of how honey has improved digestive troubles. Here’s one related to us recently by a Wendell Estate Honey customer:

“I was having stomach problems. These persisted for 3 months. I tried everything: Over-the-counter medication and eliminating various foods from my diet. Nothing helped. A friend suggested I try honey. I started taking 4 tablespoons of honey daily and had almost instant relief. All my symptoms disappeared. It was wonderful!”

– John Morrall

Eating raw honey appears to be good for your heart and circulation. There’s evidence that honey improves cholesterol profile and decreases triglycerides. It’s accepted that raw honey decreases your chances of developing metabolic syndrome, which is a strong risk factor for heart attacks. Honey is also associated with decreased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure).

Raw Honey is Great for Keeping your Skin Healthy & Youthful!

Any raw honey exerts emollient, humectant, soothing, and hair conditioning effects, keeps the skin juvenile and retards wrinkle formation and regulates pH. In addition to a daily maintenance treatment, raw honey is an effective treatment for a variety of skin conditions, from treating skin conditions like sebhorrea, dandruff and acne to atopic dermatitis (eczema) and psoriasis to  preventing wound infections and promoting healing of minor scrapes and cuts. You will want to mix the honey with some oil or water at a minimum to help with skin application. For skin treatments the exact ratio of water to honey or oil to honey is not very important – you can experiment with it. Here’s a brief video clip of Carol showing how she uses honey and olive oil as daily skin maintenance therapy.

Raw Honey Treatment of Sebhorrea & Dandruff:

I have personal experience treating my resistant sebhorrhoeic dermatitis with raw honey. I was skeptical, and it was messy. I did develop a system, using a medicine dropper to apply a ~ 1:3 honey dissolved in water solution (use just enough water to allow application of dissolved honey to the skin or scalp: the more concentrated the honey solution is the more effectiveness it will have) to my scalp and then massaging it around with my fingers. Followed by a shower to wash the honey out of my hair 30-60 minutes later. Prescription topical medications prescribed by dermatologists were only partially effective, so I gave honey a try and, for me, it worked quite quickly (2-4 weeks to complete resolution, including the dandruff that accompanies sebhorrhoeic dermatitis for me).

Beyond my personal experience, raw honey’s healing properties for skin conditions have a lot of scientific evidence.

Raw Honey Treatment of Acne:

The potent antibiotic properties, along with antinflammatory and other properties of raw honey make it a potentially effective treatment for acne. For mild to moderate acne that does not leave scarring (more severe acne should be assessed by a physician and may warrant oral medications), you could try raw honey as a treatment, alone or in combination with any other over-the-counter treatments. Other than messiness, raw honey applied to the skin won’t have any side effect, so there’s no harm in a trial. Mix honey with either oil or water to facilitate application to the skin. As above, the exact ratio is not terribly important: Simply use the minimum amount of oil or water that allows you to spread the mixture on the skin. If you are also using an anti-bacterial or anti-acne soap, apply the raw honey mixture after washing the soap off. Leave the honey on your face (or affected area) for 30-60 minutes and then rinse off with water, once or twice a day. You may get noticeable results after 2-12 weeks, but if you have been using the treatment for 3 months without improvement, honey is probably not an effective treatment for your acne. Solid scientific evidence on efficacy of raw honey on acne appears to be inconclusive. This study in the British Medical Journal found that more participants in the raw honey group had improvements in their acne at 12 weeks, but that this effect was not statistically significant so may have just been chance. Note that an insignificant result doesn’t disprove the theory that raw honey may effectively treat acne. It could be that the study was not sufficiently large or well-designed to detect the effect. Note also that the researchers used medical-grade kanuka honey in this study, but I haven’t seen any evidence that any raw honey, with raw honey’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties may not be as good or better than medical grade kanuka honey.

Raw Honey for Minor Cuts, Scrapes, and Burns

I probably don’t need to mention that for any serious cuts, burns, abrasions or other skin injuries or lesions, you should seek physician assessment before using natural remedies like honey as a sole treatment. However, raw honey’s properties make it great for preventing infections of wounds as well as accelerating wound healing and can be beneficial as a sole treatment of minor skin injuries and superficial burns.

Honey has been applied to skin wounds as a preventive and curative treatment for millennia. Modern research has supported the beneficial effects of putting natural raw honey on wounds to both prevent bacterial infection of the wound and to decrease wound healing time. This 2001 research summary stated  “For some or all outcomes honey was superior to all these treatments. Time for healing was significantly shorter for honey than all these treatments.”1 regarding the use of honey as a wound and burn treatment. The potent antibiotic effects of raw unpasteurized honey (similar to that of manuka honey) are very effective at killing bacteria and preventing infection. Less clear is the mechanism behind raw honey’s measurable acceleration of wound healing. It could be due to the anti-inflammatory properties of raw honey or some other mechanism relating to compounds either in the nectar the honey was produced from or bee enzymes that are added to the honey. This 2011 scientific review of honey for wound healing goes deeper into the proposed technical “how” and “why” does raw honey help prevent infection and heal wounds, with the conclusion “There are tremendous data supporting the effectiveness of honey in the management of wounds.”

Regardless of the mechanism, raw honey can be applied to prevent infections and promote healing of minor skin injuries, burns and ulcers.

Final Words on Raw Honey to Treat Skin Conditions

While our honey is certainly raw and pure enough to use as an effective skin treatment, you can get similar benefits from any other authentic raw honey (and save your premium Wendell Estate Honey for eating!)  Manuka honey’s original claim to fame is for making medical grade heat-sterilized wound dressings for use in hospital settings, so many doctors will think of manuka honey due to this (and due to great manuka marketing), when thinking of honey-based treatments. However, even with skin treatments, any raw honey will have benefits similar to oft-fraudulent manuka honey. You don’t need heat-sterilized medical-grade honey for treatment of skin conditions like acne, dandruff, eczema, or minor skin wounds, so any real raw honey will work. No need to be concerned about MGO or UMF numbers if you’re using unpasteurized, unheated raw honey. Good news for the wallet!

Notes

  1. The review does state that the quality of studies was low and hence confidence in a conclusion about honey was also low. This is due to the original research that was compiled being done with small samples or having other issues. It does not mean that raw honey is not good for healing wounds, rather that not enough (high quality) research had been done prior to 2001 to establish honey’s efficacy with high confidence.
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