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Authors: Cal Orey

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OTHER 20TH-TO-21ST-CENTURY HEALTH MILESTONES
It is no surprise that in the 20th century honey was a popular business as it swept the nation and world with its gifts from the honey bee, including its health benefits.
Year
What Happened
Author / Doctor / Company
1952
The Nature Doctor,
a classic, was published.
Swiss naturopath Alfred Vogel who recommends honey with echinacea for cuts and wounds
1957
The model of the original honey bear invented.
Ralph and Luella Gamber, founders of Dutch Gold Honey
1970s
Honey was popularized by a Vermont doctor's bestselling book,
Folk Medicine,
and honey prices skyrocketed.
Dr. D. C. Jarvis
1975
Honey: A Comprehensive Survey,
the most significant review of honey ever pubished, was written by a researcher and author on the subject of bees.
Eva Crane
1994
Health and the Honey Bee
was penned by a beekeeper and apitherapist who used bee venom to treat patients with arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other disorders.
Charles Mraz
2000
Presentation about apitherapy was made by an apriculturist at an international bee research association conference in Thailand.
Naomi M. Saville
2010
Groundbreaking research was done on honey, especially manuka, in New Zealand.
Peter Molan, Ph.D.
(
Source:
South Staffordshire Beekeepers Association.)
Honey Is Timeless
Past and present, honey is a food that stimulates the minds of entrepreneurs and creative artisans in America and around the world. Honey and its health benefits were making the news in the late 20th century and continue to do so in the 21st century. And it's not uncommon to find folks in the honey world to enable you to savor the goods they produce. That means recipes that work with honey are part of their life, like this one.
Ted's Savannah Bee Grill Honey Salmon
1 pound fresh salmon filet
2 tablespoons White wine
vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Savannah
Bee Company Grill
Honey
Fresh rosemary
Salt
Black pepper
Preheat grill to 350ºF. Prepare grilling planks according to directions on package. Make slits in salmon (along the grain) every 1 to 2 inches. Pour vinegar and lemon juice over salmon filet, turning to coat both sides.
Mix olive oil, mustard, and Savannah Bee Company Grill Honey in a small pan over low heat, blending mixture into an emulsion. Pour half of the mixture over fish, turning to coat.
Strip the leaves of the rosemary and roughly chop to release the oils. Gently push rosemary into the slits on the filet.
Heat the plank on the grill for 5 minutes and turn the warm side up. Place fish skin side down on the plank. Pour remaining mixture over the top and close grill. When salmon reaches an internal temperature of 135–145º (about 15 minutes), drizzle Savannah Bee Company Grill Honey liberally over the top and turn up the heat to 450º. After 1–2 minutes pull salmon out and let stand for 5 minutes under foil tent before serving.
(
Courtesy:
Savannah Bee Company.)
Now that I've put honey, nature's sweetest superfood, on the table, it's time to scrutinize its healthful ingredients like it's a frog (dedicated to budding scientists) on a slab in high school biology class. (As a sensitive, devout animal lover, I skipped class on dissection day.)
So, what exactly makes honey a superfood—or is it another added sugar (as some nutritionists claim it to be) that we should stay clear of because it will make us fat and lead to heart woes? I tackle this controversial nutrition topic in the next chapter.
UN-BEE-LIEVABLE HEALING HINTS TO CATCH
The United States is a hot spot for honey packers and producers, and its climate and health-conscious nuts and foodies as well as tourists enjoy the progressive honey highlights.
Old-time honey companies, including Sue Bee
®
and Golden Heritage, have held and are holding their place in the global honey industry, past and present.
Other well-known major honey companies have made their name in both the 20th and 21st centuries.
California's honey packers and producers are touted for their honey products, but they are also praised for their honey bees and pollination services to keep agriculture, including almond production, a thriving industry.
While honey producers are busy working in the honey industry, medical doctors, scientists, authors, and health-conscious consumers are aware of the growing trend of the healing powers of honey.
The honey industry in the 21st century has captured a worldwide audience because honey's back-to-nature goodness is versatile and promises healing powers for ailments and diseases.
CHAPTER 4
Where Are the Secret Ingredients?
The only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey . . . and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it.
—Winnie the Pooh in A. A. Milne's
The House at Pooh Corner
1
 
 
 
 
 
At 21, a Californian with a honey bee–like wanderlust, I thought about joining the Peace Corps or armed services with the promise of travel and to be with other people—like busy bees in a hive. But I sensed I was different from a worker bee. My travels across America happened with my own two feet, two arms, and one thumb. I set out to do just that as a human bee—go astray from a swarm like a lone honey bee.
One day I gathered up one sleeping bag and a knapsack stuffed with road-friendly foods, including granola bars and peanut butter. I fled Northern California and headed south toward Interstate 10. My first goal was Florida—the Sunshine State, with beaches, palm trees, and flowers. Naïve like a house bee, I wasn't ready for the world full of pests, nature's wrath (from blizzards to windstorms), and man-made challenges.
Soda and BIT-O-HONEY bars were often the staples of my diet, which lacked nutrition. “California Butterfly”—an insect like the honey bee that also seeks sweet nectar—was the moniker I embraced. During my road adventure, little did I know that honey—not white sugar, which I was eating—was getting kudos from progressive medical experts and health nuts. Some nutritionists and doctors played down the good-for-you nutrients in this liquid gold “cure-all.” But there are folks around the world who did and still do believe honey is as good as gold.
These days, in the 21st century, humans are reaping the nutritional rewards of honey, but that doesn't mean the golden liquid is full of nutrients in small amounts. Here's what I found out:
Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon (21 g)
Servings Per Container: 22
Amount per Serving:
Calories:
64
Total Fat:
0 g
Sodium:
0 g
Total Carbohydrate:
17 g
Sugars:
16 g
Protein:
0 g
(
Source:
National Honey Board.)
 
When you look at a honey's product label, it appears to be a health nut's dream come true: The food contains no fat, no cholesterol, and no sodium. But the fact remains, all is not perfect, according to nutritionists, who are quick to point out a large portion of the calories in this superfood comes from sugars—culprits that may lead to heart disease and obesity.
One dietitian told me point-blank that she had no positive words to say about honey. But I argued, “There are tons of anecdotal evidence, studies from countries abroad, and medical experts who do tout the golden liquid.” She stuck to her words: “It's sugar, no better, no worse, than other added sugars.” Dazed and confused, I went straight to the honey-savvy nutritional gurus who are aware of the sweet stuff in the ancient liquid gold. Studying the nutrition facts for honey is similar to analyzing vinegars—they differ from source to source and company to company, and the bigger the measurements, the more nutrients you'll find.
More Honey, Please
339 grams (one cup) contain:
14 milligrams sodium
279.34 grams carbohydrate
0.7 gram dietary fiber
278.39 grams sugars
1.02 grams protein
1.7 milligrams vitamin C
20 milligrams calcium
1.42 milligrams iron
7 milligrams magnesium
14 milligrams phosphorus
176 milligrams potassium
0.75 milligrams zinc
23.7 milligrams fluoride
2.7 milligrams selenium
Other nutrients: riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B
6
, folate, choline, betaine, amino acids.
Apparently, more honey equals more nutrients. One cup contains more than 1,031 calories, but zero saturated fat, trans fat, or cholesterol.
(
Source:
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, 2009.)
IT'S THE ANTIOXIDANT POWER
Honey wizards such as
SuperFoods HealthStyle
co-author Steven G. Pratt, M.D., note that honey contains at least 181 known substances, nutrients, such as amino acids, carbohydrates (natural sugars), as well as trace enzymes, minerals (including calcium, fluoride, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and selenium), vitamins (including vitamin C, folate, and choline), and water. But the vitamins and minerals aren't the highlight of honey's healing powers.
2
As I noted in chapter 1: “ The Power of Honey,” honey is antioxidant rich and that's where the real power lies, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We're talking mighty bioflavonoids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, which act as disease-fighting antioxidants—the good guys that help to keep your body healthy and stall Father Time. It is the darker honeys, like quality dark chocolate, that contain more antioxidants—and that's what really accounts for honey's healing powers. But that's not all....
Here's proof: It's been proven in past studies—more than one—by scientists that for people, not rats, eating honey raises blood levels of good-for-you antioxidants. A connection was made with 25 healthy men who drank plain water or water with buckwheat honey. Those who chose the honey concoction had a 7 percent increase in their antioxidant levels.
3
To Be 100 Percent Pure Honey—or Not?
People in the honey bee world, including the National Honey Board, know that the honey they see in some grocery stores and dollar stores may not be 100 percent pure but instead be “adulterated” (contaminated with tainted elements). This fact is upsetting to people because not only are we not getting what we pay for, but we also are being duped, as often the honey is tainted with unhealthful, cheaper ingredients such as antibiotics. This ordeal is making headlines in the news more rather than less and it's causing concern for both consumers and beekeepers.
All-natural, 100 percent pure honey will have
one
ingredient listed on the nutrition label:
honey.
Imitation honeys, much like quality imitation dark chocolate, are not a laughing matter in the real world. That means trouble lies ahead for real honey lovers who want to “save the endangered honey bear.” Honey-flavored syrups, or honey that's diluted with other ingredients, are becoming more commonplace and being sold to the unaware consumer. To be sure you get the pure golden food of the gods, check the label.
(
Source:
National Honey Board.)
HONEY IS NOT JUST ANOTHER SWEETENER
During my trek through Honeyland, the words “honey is still a sugar” echoed from one nutritionist to another—it was a domino effect, sort of. I sensed that many of these food experts did not go the distance to learn about the antioxidant value of honey varietals in the United States and around the world. Honey, with all its virtues, is not just a miracle fly-by-night snack that has made the news. It's real food with real merit.
The Honey Revolution
co-author Ron Fessenden, M.D., like me, is sharing the buzz about healing honey: “When compared to table sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), honey contains nearly the same ration of fructose and glucose.” However, adds the honey guru, “Honey contains dozens of different substances, which makes it more like fruit than sugar.” And since sugar and HFCS are simpler compounds by comparison, containing only glucose and fructose, honey is a standout sweetener and functional food.
Many Tahoe summers ago, I had a thing for walking outdoors on a hot day to visit a local ice-cream store to buy a cool shake or smoothie. My reward would be enhanced fitness, a golden tan, and an ice-cold beverage to sip on the way home. One day I did research on the Internet and discovered the ingredients in the smoothie I had savored.
I dumped my habit of buying prepared beverages; it was my last smoothie full of sugar, corn syrup, artificial flavors, concentrated fruit juices, dyes, and stuff I can't pronounce. Worse, the bad buzz is that the words “high-fructose corn syrup” may be changed to “corn sugar” on food labels.
So, making and sipping do-it-yourself cool beverages—with pure honey—was a learning experience. And it brought back memories to when I wrote about smoothies for
Woman's World
magazine. The nutritionists who made up those concoctions used fat-free ingredients and other stuff that wasn't fresh and natural. Homemade smoothies can be sweet and should be real.
HONEY TERMS AT A GLANCE
Other products you buy that contain honey often use words on the product nutrition label that might make you scratch your head and look around for a translator in need of decoding what you're looking at and really getting.
 
Dried Honey
is dehydrated over very high heat and mixed with starches or sugars to keep it flowing.
Flavored / Fruited Honey
has either fruit, coloring, or flavoring.
Kosher Honey
is produced, processed, and packaged according to Jewish dietary regulations and certified by a kosher organization.
Organic Honey
is produced, processed, and packaged according to USDA regulations on organic products and certified by a USDA agency or organization.
SO HOW MUCH HONEY IS TOO MUCH?
Here I sit mulling over the contents of my pantry and wondering
, How many spoonfuls can I enjoy each day?
Well, I made the rounds to book authors, medical doctors, and registered dietitians, and the American Heart Association recommends 6 teaspoons (about 100 calories) of added sugar daily for women, no more than 9 teaspoons for men. Translate that number to honey—an added sugar—and 5 teaspoons of honey for women, 8 teaspoons of honey for men, is just about right.
Refer to chapter 5: “Honey, You're Amazing!” to discover how honey is the sweetener of choice for diabetics and other people who want to stay heart-healthy and lean and live longer.
While I'm still pondering those smoothies I sipped, this is a good time to share an all-natural do-it-yourself bee beverage I whipped up and enjoyed. Using all-natural ingredients makes a big difference in taste and appreciation of what you're putting into your body.
Worker Bee Mocha Shake
½ cup 2 percent low-fat
organic milk
½–
¾ cup all-natural
Häagen-Dazs honey vanilla
ice cream
3 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 tablespoon organic
gourmet chocolate
honey or fudge sauce
sweetened with
honey
4 small ice cubes
In a blender, mix milk, ice cream, coffee, and chocolate sauce. Add ice cubes and blend till smooth. Pour into a parfait glass and sip with a straw. Serves one.
 
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that honey is a functional food with health-boosting nutrients—especially its mighty antioxidants. So, the question is: How does this ancient essential elixir that is available to us in the modern day help your body inside and outside to prevent disease? Scientists, medical doctors, nutritionists, and beekeepers told me everything I wanted to know and more about how honey heals, and you'll find out its secret healing powers in the next chapter.
UN-BEE-LIEVABLE HEALING HINTS TO CATCH
In the 21st century, honey is touted for its vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Honey is praised for its healthy sweetener virtues: It has no fat, no cholesterol, and no sodium.
Nutritionists in the United States disagree about the health virtues of honey just as they do about dark chocolate.
The quality of honey matters. It's real, raw, unprocessed, unheated, unfiltered honey—straight from the hive—that is the superfood nutritionists applaud.
It's pure honey—without honey-flavored syrups or high-fructose corn syrup—that consumers want to purchase and consume.
Honey products are processed in different ways, from kosher to organic, to satisfy all honey lovers.
Honey is a sweetener and is recommended to incorporate in the daily diet but in moderation, like chocolate.
The pairing of quality honey with nutrient-rich antioxidant foods can help lower the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
BOOK: The Healing Powers of Honey
5.25Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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