Honey is a popular food located in every grocery store in the country. It is super sweet and gives added benefits. While sugar is sweet, honey also offers vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants. Yet, at a farmer’s market or organic foods store, you will find unpasteurized honey on the shelves as well.
This is a multi-part serious about the effects on unpasteurized honey.
What is the difference?
Honey is pasteurized in an effort to kill bad bacteria. Yet, during the process good bacteria and vitamins are also destroyed.
The National Honey Board contracted with American Analytical Chemistry Laboratories to analyze the differences between pasteurized and unpasteurized honey. They tested the changes in minerals, antioxidants and enzymes and how they were affected by the pasteurization process.
Major minerals in unpasteurized honey
Four minerals were evaluated. They are calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.
The health benefits of calcium
Calcium is important for dental care, maintaining bone health, prevention of colon cancer and is found to be valuable in weight loss. About two percent of our body weight consists of calcium. Though milk and other dairy products provide a major supply of calcium to the body, honey is another source for calcium.
What you need to know how magnesium benefits your health
The benefits of magnesium is often overlooked. It plays a big role in making certain your bones are healthy by helping your body absorb calcium. It helps keep your heart healthy and helps people with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Magnesium is essential to a healthy lifestyle and most people may be deficient in consuming enough daily.
Tell me about the benefits of phosphorus
Phosphorus is important for growth and cellular reproduction. It also helps breakdown nutrients by releasing potential energy stored in the food you eat. It is the second most abundant mineral in the body.
Potassium health benefits
As the third most abundant mineral in the body, ;potassium benefits many parts of the body, including heart and circulation, muscles, nervous system, metabolism and nervous system functions.
What are the effects on raw honey?
The research suggests a minimal effect by pasteurization as there is little difference between pasteurized honey and unpasteurized honey. To me, this is not a surprise as the heat needed to pasteurized simply is not that high.
The research also analyzed the effects on enzymes and antioxidants during the heating process on unpasteurized honey. Learn more by reading the next article in the series.
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