Does honey have to be raw to be healthy?

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  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,998 Member
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    mtdb8 wrote: »
    I've always heard of the benefits of honey. But does as that mean any honey or just raw honey?.

    If it just means raw honey I'll likely skip honey all together. Raw honey makes my throat itch and I can't stop coughing when I have it. It's not healthy for me.

    People will tell you anything is healthy to sell you things.

    No one food is healthy, it is your total diet that matters.

    By this thinking, no one food is bad for you. Just like food can poison is it can rejuvenate us. Not in the ways we always want, and moderation is best, but don't throw out the notion that some foods actually are "super" foods.


    Correct - no one food is bad for you - obviously unless you have an allergy or a medical condition to a specific thing.

    I disagree that any foods are super foods or that any specific food rejuvenates us
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
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    mtdb8 wrote: »
    I've always heard of the benefits of honey. But does as that mean any honey or just raw honey?.

    If it just means raw honey I'll likely skip honey all together. Raw honey makes my throat itch and I can't stop coughing when I have it. It's not healthy for me.

    Healthy or not healthy. Kind of a button term (pushes some people’buttons here) truly open to interpretation. Clearly, op, if you are having a reaction to it, you should refrain from consuming it. Simple logic. There are plenty of alternatives to sweetening foods/drinks.
    I buy honey at the local farmers market. It is produced at a nearby farm. It is the best honey I have ever tasted.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    mtdb8 wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    I have heard that eating local honey can help desensitize certain allergies. The idea is the honey is made from the same local pollen that you are allergic to. I have no idea if it is true or myth but I know some people that swear by it.

    That's actually a myth. It might work if it doesn't land you in the hospital or flat out kill you, but for real desensitization, you need shots by a doctor. Trying to do it yourself is a guaranteed way to ruin your health. It's the same as 'trying' just a tiny bit of peanut butter if you're allergic to peanuts.

    I am not talking about a serious allergy like me getting stung by a bee, it takes me a week to finish swelling. I wouldn't go get stung to desensitize my allergy. I am talking about getting a runny nose when a plant blooms. If a desensitization via doctors shots work I see no reason the bee honey from local pollen wouldn't work too. That is just speculation on my part but if someone wants to try it I see no risk other than running out of tissues.

    You don’t see a risk in recommending that a person do something that might make them sick, and does not have any proven benefits? Eating honey is not the same thing as getting prescribed allergy shots under medical supervision, after undergoing appropriate testing.

    I don't think they were referring to food allergies. I think they were referring to hay-fever. If you aren't allergic to honey then there's no harm in trying local honey to see if it desensitises you to local pollen (though I gather it's a myth) I didn't see anyone recommending that you should eat honey if you're allergic to it!

    Hay fever is an allergy (or, more properly, an allergic response to a variety of allergens which could include pollen). So you're recommending that people who are allergic to pollen eat the pollen they're allergic to.
    Sorry, I embarked on a lengthy response then decided it wasn't worth it. No, I'm not "recommending" that at all. If someone is allergic to honey then of course they should avoid it. But having hay-fever doesn't necessarily mean you're allergic to honey.

    Fixing the quote-embedding, since you made it look like I said something you actually said, that I don't agree with.

    And yes, you are recommending that "people who are allergic to pollen eat the pollen they're allergic to." You keep ignoring what I and others are saying, and moving the goal posts. We say X, and you say, I didn't say Y.

    Sorry, I'm not sure why you are being so hostile. My fault for not being clear enough. And apologies for the quote mistake.
    I'm not ignoring anything, neither am I arguing and neither am I insisting that people eat things that make them ill. Can we drop it now, please?
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
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    Backyard beekeeper here. We simply extract and strain, without heat processing. I don't pretend that it is a miracle cure for all that ails you, but some people just prefer it this way. I don't like honey, so...
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    What kind of benefits would honey have? I don't really like honey. I'll leave it for the bees.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    As a bee keeper I can defiantly tell you that honey bought in shops, made by big manufacturing companies is highly filtered and processed. Heat treated beyond buggery and often cut with even more inferior honey and sugars.
    If you are able to eat honey, best you buy local, from a local bee keeper, buy it raw and unfiltered.

    Honey is AWESOME for you...lots of nutrients/enzymes...I wish the couple of beekeepers who have commented would elaborate on why honey is good for us...it isn't just a sweetener like any other...of course, if a person is allergic/sensitive for whatever reason they should refrain from eating it...that's kinda obvious & has been commented on a lot here. Anyway, it does turn into "just a sweetener" when they heat the goodness out of it to pasteurize it as the above quote relates.

    The comment right above yours...
    Backyard beekeeper here. We simply extract and strain, without heat processing. I don't pretend that it is a miracle cure for all that ails you, but some people just prefer it this way. I don't like honey, so...

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,981 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    mtdb8 wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    I have heard that eating local honey can help desensitize certain allergies. The idea is the honey is made from the same local pollen that you are allergic to. I have no idea if it is true or myth but I know some people that swear by it.

    That's actually a myth. It might work if it doesn't land you in the hospital or flat out kill you, but for real desensitization, you need shots by a doctor. Trying to do it yourself is a guaranteed way to ruin your health. It's the same as 'trying' just a tiny bit of peanut butter if you're allergic to peanuts.

    I am not talking about a serious allergy like me getting stung by a bee, it takes me a week to finish swelling. I wouldn't go get stung to desensitize my allergy. I am talking about getting a runny nose when a plant blooms. If a desensitization via doctors shots work I see no reason the bee honey from local pollen wouldn't work too. That is just speculation on my part but if someone wants to try it I see no risk other than running out of tissues.

    You don’t see a risk in recommending that a person do something that might make them sick, and does not have any proven benefits? Eating honey is not the same thing as getting prescribed allergy shots under medical supervision, after undergoing appropriate testing.

    I don't think they were referring to food allergies. I think they were referring to hay-fever. If you aren't allergic to honey then there's no harm in trying local honey to see if it desensitises you to local pollen (though I gather it's a myth) I didn't see anyone recommending that you should eat honey if you're allergic to it!

    Hay fever is an allergy (or, more properly, an allergic response to a variety of allergens which could include pollen). So you're recommending that people who are allergic to pollen eat the pollen they're allergic to.
    Sorry, I embarked on a lengthy response then decided it wasn't worth it. No, I'm not "recommending" that at all. If someone is allergic to honey then of course they should avoid it. But having hay-fever doesn't necessarily mean you're allergic to honey.

    Fixing the quote-embedding, since you made it look like I said something you actually said, that I don't agree with.

    And yes, you are recommending that "people who are allergic to pollen eat the pollen they're allergic to." You keep ignoring what I and others are saying, and moving the goal posts. We say X, and you say, I didn't say Y.

    Sorry, I'm not sure why you are being so hostile. My fault for not being clear enough. And apologies for the quote mistake.
    I'm not ignoring anything, neither am I arguing and neither am I insisting that people eat things that make them ill. Can we drop it now, please?

    Not hostile, just exasperated.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    mtdb8 wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    I have heard that eating local honey can help desensitize certain allergies. The idea is the honey is made from the same local pollen that you are allergic to. I have no idea if it is true or myth but I know some people that swear by it.

    That's actually a myth. It might work if it doesn't land you in the hospital or flat out kill you, but for real desensitization, you need shots by a doctor. Trying to do it yourself is a guaranteed way to ruin your health. It's the same as 'trying' just a tiny bit of peanut butter if you're allergic to peanuts.

    I am not talking about a serious allergy like me getting stung by a bee, it takes me a week to finish swelling. I wouldn't go get stung to desensitize my allergy. I am talking about getting a runny nose when a plant blooms. If a desensitization via doctors shots work I see no reason the bee honey from local pollen wouldn't work too. That is just speculation on my part but if someone wants to try it I see no risk other than running out of tissues.

    You don’t see a risk in recommending that a person do something that might make them sick, and does not have any proven benefits? Eating honey is not the same thing as getting prescribed allergy shots under medical supervision, after undergoing appropriate testing.

    I don't think they were referring to food allergies. I think they were referring to hay-fever. If you aren't allergic to honey then there's no harm in trying local honey to see if it desensitises you to local pollen (though I gather it's a myth) I didn't see anyone recommending that you should eat honey if you're allergic to it!

    Hay fever is an allergy (or, more properly, an allergic response to a variety of allergens which could include pollen). So you're recommending that people who are allergic to pollen eat the pollen they're allergic to.
    Sorry, I embarked on a lengthy response then decided it wasn't worth it. No, I'm not "recommending" that at all. If someone is allergic to honey then of course they should avoid it. But having hay-fever doesn't necessarily mean you're allergic to honey.

    Fixing the quote-embedding, since you made it look like I said something you actually said, that I don't agree with.

    And yes, you are recommending that "people who are allergic to pollen eat the pollen they're allergic to." You keep ignoring what I and others are saying, and moving the goal posts. We say X, and you say, I didn't say Y.

    Sorry, I'm not sure why you are being so hostile. My fault for not being clear enough. And apologies for the quote mistake.
    I'm not ignoring anything, neither am I arguing and neither am I insisting that people eat things that make them ill. Can we drop it now, please?

    Not hostile, just exasperated.

    Yes, I can see that.
    Honestly I think it was a misunderstanding but I'm shutting up now! :)