|
Nominations and Campaigning for the 2024 RationalWiki Moderator Election are now open |
Raw honey
| Potentially edible! Food woo |
|
| Fabulous food! |
| Delectable diets! |
| Bodacious bods! |
Some people believe that raw honey is better than pasteurized honey sold in bear-shaped plastic squeeze bottles at supermarkets which lack the health and taste benefits of cloudy-looking raw honey—preferably with a big chunk of honeycomb, and maybe even broken bee wing fragments, floating in it.[1] Apparently, it contains all-important yeast, antioxidants, and enzymes (allegedly responsible for activating vitamins and minerals in the body), which have been destroyed by pasteurization. It can also apparently cure allergies and heal skin wounds as well be a cosmetic application. Honey is about 70% sugar (glucose and fructose), so nutritionally, it's not that good for you if you eat a lot of it.
Raw honey is touted by alkaline diet promoters. According to one claim,[2] it becomes alkaline in the digestive system similar to fruits because fruits have similar ingredients to raw honey. Since it doesn't ferment in the stomach, it can be used to counteract acid indigestion and it has amylase
enzymes concentrated in flower pollen that helps predigest starch like breads. For those who have remembered watching The Magic School Bus, never mind that the human mouth is rich in the amylase enzyme, found in saliva, and the mouth is also the beginning point of digestion, not the stomach as claimed. The mouth is already doing the job of "predigestion", so unless there is an amylase deficiency, the enzyme touted is pointless. Finally, the claim of "it doesn't ferment in the stomach" assumes that food ferments in the first place in the stomach. It does not,[3] since the stomach has very low pH and allows for very little bacteria to undergo this process. Hardly anything ferments in the stomach and by the time food reaches the place where bacteria reigns supreme (the large intestine), most nutrients are already absorbed.
Raw honey is also promoted in "natural" cosmetics and is also unsurprisingly touted as medicine. According to NaturalNews,[4] it can be used as a remedy for everything. Just from the quote below, raw honey seems like a wonder drug.
Honey increases calcium absorption; can increase hemoglobin count and treat or prevent anemia caused by nutritional factors; can help arthritic joints, when combined with apple cider vinegar; fights colds and respiratory infections of all kinds; can help to boost gastrointestinal ulcer healing; works as a natural and gentle laxative; aids constipation, allergies and obesity; provides an array of vitamins and minerals; and supplies instant energy without the insulin surge caused by white sugar.
Ingesting raw honey, on the other hand, can be dangerous to infants and immunocompromised adults since raw honey can contain C. botulinum spores and thus those people cannot properly deal with them.
See also[edit]
- Alkaline diet
- Raw food
- Raw milk
- The miracle of honey as an alternative medicine - IslamWeb document purporting the healing powers of honey.
References[edit]
- ↑ Benefits of Honey. 3 Things You Need to Know About Raw Honey (Buying Tips). Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ↑ [1] According to this site, pH diet and possibly raw honey kill CANCER!!. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ↑ Ray, C. (February 22, 2010). Fruit and Fermentation. The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ↑ Neff, K. (January 26, 2007). The healing power of honey: From burns to weak bones, raw honey can help. Natural News. Retrieved September 24, 2017.