Honey is a natural product which energizes our body, boosts our immune system, fights bacteria etc. However, many people are misled by fake advertising to believe that any honey they buy is natural.
Unfortunately, most of the honey available in stores has gone through many alterations and contains chemicals. A public research study has shown that 76% of the honey present in the market has gone through ultra-filtration. Manufacturers claim that this process is necessary to prevent crystallizing and to remove impurities, but what they don’t mention is that this way pollen from the honey is also removed.
Many people are not aware of the positive effects pollen has for our health.
There are cases when pollen contamination occurs and then it is necessary to trace the origin of the honey. If the honey is filtrated it is very hard to determine from which area the honey originates from.
There have been cases with Chinese honey when illegal antibiotics and some metal were used for the filtration process. In case you want to find out if you bought the right honey follow these tips:
- Honey sold at Walgreen’s and CVS Pharmacy does not contain pollen
- Honey sold at KFC and McDonalds does not contain pollen
- Honey sold at Walmart under the name Winnie the Pooh does not contain pollen
- 77% of honey sold at Costco, Target and Sam’s club does not contain pollen
- Some types of honey, other than the lack of pollen, also contain glucose. All of the honey types that are not in their purest form are called adulterated honey.
How to recognize adulterated honey
- If the honey is pure it will crystalize after a while, so if you put the honey in the fridge and it does not crystallize it means that it might be fake
- Pay attention to the label of the honey before buying it. Avoid it at all cost if it contains high fructose corn syrup or commercial glucose.
- Take few drops of iodine, put them in water and add honey. If the mixture turns blue it means that the honey has been combined with corn starch.
- Take few drops of vinegar, put them in water and add honey. If it foams that means that the honey has been adulterated with plaster.
- Pure honey ignites when lit, so take a few drops of honey and try to light them with a match. If it ignites you got pure honey.
- Pure honey never dissolves in water, so if you want to test it put a spoon of your honey and see if it dissolves.
If you follow the tips we explained you can easily avoid buying fake honey. Always make sure that you are buying the pure version that contains pollen.