Because pasteurization exposes the honey to high temperatures, it may destroy or remove honey's natural properties. This means that raw honey may offer more powerful health benefits, in terms of healing wounds and fighting infections, than regular honey. Many studies have found that raw honey has health benefits.
Pure Honey: Which to Choose? In terms of the taste and nutritional benefits, we recommend choosing raw honey out of all your options. Raw honey has the highest amount of pollen and nutritional compounds, which means that it is the most beneficial choice for your health.
Pure honey is taken from the hive and gently filtered to remove all nasties (dirt, pollen, dead bugs), before being packaged. Raw honey however is taken directly from the hive without any filtration and placed into its packaging.
Daily consumption of honey has a beneficial effect on the level of antioxidant compounds in the body that can fight excess cholesterol. Research shows that the antioxidants contained in honey can prevent arteries from narrowing.
Manuka honey is a rare form of raw honey made from the flowers of the New Zealand Manuka tree. It contains MGO, Leptosperin, and other naturally occurring beneficial compounds.
Minimally processed manuka honey is generally considered “raw”. Higher levels of processing remove the manuka honey's beneficial properties making it now longer raw. Therefore, the level of processing that your manuka honey goes through, will determine if it is considered “raw” or not.
Although all raw honeys (unheated) have numerous health benefits, Manuka honey has been found to have higher therapeutic and anti-microbial properties than alternative varieties. Containing the unique compound Methyglyoxal (MG), Manuka honey has potent health benefits for face, hair and skin.
It's this hydrogen peroxide that bolsters Jarrah Honey with active, healing, antimicrobial properties. Jarrah also contains three times more antioxidants than Manuka that help to support a healthy immune system.
Avoid giving honey — even a tiny taste — to babies under the age of 1 year. Honey can cause a rare but serious gastrointestinal condition (infant botulism) caused by exposure to Clostridium botulinum spores. Bacteria from the spores can grow and multiply in a baby's intestines, producing a dangerous toxin.
It is not necessary to refrigerate honey. In fact, it's much easier to handle if you don't because the cooler temperature will cause the honey to solidify. This makes it difficult to use when you need it and you will have to warm it up to get it back to a liquid state.
For best quality, store honey for up to 12 months. After that time, it remains safe but the quality may not be as good. Honey can become cloudy, crystallized or solidified but this is not a safety concern.
To make sure you are buying raw honey, look at the label. It should say “100% raw” or “unpasteurized”. Words like “organic” and “pure” do not indicate that the honey was unheated. If the label passed the test, look at the product more closely.
Raw Honey Is Packed With Antioxidants
Just like many of the most nutritious fruits and vegetables, raw honey is a rich source of antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants fight free radicals in the body—such as those created from exposure to harmful UV rays—and reduce oxidative damage.
"Honey has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties," Cassetty explains.
Honey should never be consumed with non-vegetarian items, especially fish and meat. Nor should honey be eaten one hour before and one hour after eating these things. Consuming honey with meat and fish is considered harmful for health since this can lead to white spots and other stomach-related problems.
Malfroy's Gold honey is top of the class. Tim Malfroy produces some of the world's best honey in the pristine world heritage Blue Mountains of Australia.
Capilano honey is 100% pure Australian honey. There's absolutely nothing added, it's just as nature intended.
Jarrah is a natural “peroxide” honey which also contains methylglyoxal components (found in Manuka) - both are antimicrobial components.
Manuka honey is expensive because it only comes from New Zealand. The high price of Manuka is largely due to its limited supply. Authentic Manuka honey only comes from New Zealand. The word Mānuka is the indigenous Maori word for the Leptospermum Scoparium tree.
Manuka honey has antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It gets its antibacterial effects from an active ingredient called methylglyoxal (MGO). MGO is created in manuka honey thanks to the conversion of another compound known as dihydroxyacetone (DHA).
A maximum of two teaspoons a day (15g) is a good portion size of manuka honey, as while it has many impressive health benefits, it is still high in sugar. If you are using manuka honey as part of a balanced diet, try drizzling it over porridge, overnight oats or natural yogurt.
Does manuka honey need to be refrigerated? No, you should avoid refrigerating your manuka honey. It is best stored in a cool, dark place like a cupboard or pantry. Refrigeration of any honey — not just the special manuka variety — can cause crystallisation.
Manuka honey boasts many natural, beneficial properties that make it healthy too. Eating it regularly in small amounts (a spoonful a day) is recommended. If you're using it as an alternative to sugar and natural sweeteners, manuka honey is absolutely the best option.
New Zealand Manuka comes only from the leptosperum scoparium plant, commonly known as the Manuka plant, while Australian manuka can come from any plant in the leptosperum species. Since research studies tend to focus on New Zealand manuka, it isn't appropriate to extend that research to Australian manuka.