Honey is a naturally made viscous sweetener from bees. It is a very versatile substance since it is widely known as an effective ingredient in several products like: moisturizer, bath soap, hair and scalp recipes, dental and mouth treatment. According to reallyrawhoney.com, honey in general is an effective treatment of various diseases like anemia, ulcers, dyspepsia, and more. The level of effectiveness varies according to the method of preparation namely the:

Filtration Method

Filtration is a process of removing impurities and other particles from a substance using a tool or equipment especially made for filtration instead of heating.

Pasteurization Method

To kill bacteria present in honey, a process called pasteurization is done. This involves heating of honey at a very high temperature to effectively kill botulinum toxin, which causes food poisoning. Another reason for heating honey is to prevent granulation that usually happens when honey is allowed to sit over a period of time.

Raw honey is pure and coarse while, commercial honey has been heated and processed. To have a clearer view about the difference between raw and commercial honey, the two classifications of honey are defined as follows:

Raw Honey

A concentrated nectar, which is pure and unprocessed. It is the most nutritious classification of honey and is effective in treating indigestion, nausea, anemia, malnutrition, ulcers, burns, cancer and gallbladder diseases. It has high levels of antioxidant and is also found to have expectorant, anti-allergic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Raw honey appears to be thicker in texture and contains particles like bee wings, pollens, honeycomb bits and enzymes.

Commercial Honey

This is a commercial type of honey found in the supermarket that has been filtered and heated. Since the process of heating destroys not just the bacteria, but some vitamins and minerals as well; the nutients it contain is much less compared to the raw honey. Although the nutritional value differs, it serves the same purpose as the raw honey. The texture is much consistent, transparent and liquid. Most of the commercially prepared honey comes in customized containers for a more appealing look.

Is there really such a term as “pure raw honey“? Although pure honey and raw honey may seem like interchangeable words, the two are actually not the same.

Raw Honey

The concentrated nectar being collected by honey bees from flowers is the raw honey.  It is characterized by a fine arrangement of crystals and its appearance looks milkier. It also contains little bits of bee pollen, honey comb, bee wings, and propolis.

Difference of Pure from Raw

Pure honey, on the other hand, simply means that nothing has been added to it like glucose, sugar, molasses, starches, and syrups or other products that are similar. It consists only of nectar that honey bees gathered, concocted, and kept in their honey combs. It may have undergone the process of filtration, pasteurization and or heating so the term “raw honey” can no longer be used on it.

Nutritional Value of Both Kinds

Furthermore, pure honey does not contain the same amount of nutritional value as raw honey does. Raw honey, not only is an alkaline-forming food, which means that it counteracts acid indigestion in the digestive system, it also contains amylase.  Amylase is an enzyme that is abundant in flower pollens which helps in the predigestion of carbohydrates and activate the vitamins and minerals in the body system. But when honey undergoes processess like heating and/or filtration, its fine aromas, enzymes and yeast are destroyed. So, such a honey would not be as nutritive as raw honey.

Now that we know that there should not be a term as “pure raw honey“, we should find out if it is either pure or raw because of its nutritional differences. You may visit Organic Honey Benefits to know more about it.