Raw honey has been used as a folk remedy throughout history and has a variety of health benefits and medical uses. In fact, every house has a honey bottle. It’s even used in some hospitals as a treatment for wounds. It is possibly the only favourite medicine one can have for cough, cold, and also for weight loss.
Honey has been with us, humans for more than 8000 years now. We all trust this natural sweetener to be a healthy alternative to sugar. It is loaded with fructose and natural vitamins and minerals.
Though honey is trusted by all of us to be healthy, it is quite difficult to find pure honey. Moreover, many of these health benefits are specific to raw, or unpasteurized, honey.
Pure, raw honey is obtained straight from the beehives. It is unheated, unprocessed and unpasteurized. It can be characterized by fine crystals. Such pure raw honey is rich in nutrition.
Here are a few ways to test honey purity.
10 Uses of Pure and Raw Honey
-
Healthy alternative to Sugar
Honey can replace sugar in baking, cooking and beverages. Diabetic patients and people who are trying to lose weight can use honey as a sweetener.
-
Treating burns and wounds
Honey can be used to treat burns and wounds. There are evidence of honey being used by Greeks, Egyptians and Romans for skin ailments.
-
Acne cure
Honey can be used as a face mask to cure acne. This face mask also helps to moisturize the skin.
-
Immunity from pollen allergies
The seasonal or pollen allergies can be prevented by consumption of raw honey. The pollen present in raw honey makes you less sensitive to pollen creating allergies.
Raw honey also increases levels of antioxidants in the body which boosts the overall immunity.
-
Natural cough syrup
Honey is effective in treating cough. Many mothers prefer giving honey to children for treating mild cough. Honey can soothe a soar throat.
-
Improves digestion
Combination of honey with ginger can help improve the digestion. The same combination with some lemon can also give a relief from nausea.
-
Hair conditioning
After hair wash, massaging hair with a mixture of honey and water can make your hair smooth, healthy and soft. Honey can also be used in creating a hair mask with banana and olive oil.
-
Lip Balm
Applying honey directly to lips and washing off after a few minutes can help to keep the lips hydrated.
-
Face scrub
Mixing honey with oats or sugar creates one real good exfoliating scrub for clean, soft and hydrated skin.
-
Bath soak
Honey mixed with milk and few drops of essential oil can make a rejuvenating bath soak and help moisturize your body.
Nutritional facts about Meghalaya Honey (based on calculated value, Ref- NIN):
Moisture % : 20.9 %
Protein : 0.30 g
Fat : 0.00 g
Fibre : 0.83 g
Carbohydrates : 79.5 g
Minerals : 0.20 g
Calcium : 5.00 g
Iron : 0.7 mg
Calories : 319
As you can see honey is rich in carbohydrates that is required to fuel and energise your body. Include honey in your daily diet, either in your teas, smoothies or snacks. You can also use it as an alternative for sugar.
Zizira's Honey
We at Zizira bring to you, pure raw honey from the farmers of Meghalaya. Our honey is collected from traditional beekeepers of Meghalaya. They live in remote villages deep below the gorges and some of them almost inaccessible.
Beekeepers in these villages follow an age-old practice of collecting honey. The natural methods of beekeeping and collecting honey are quite impressive. These traditional practices help in preserving the pollen, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and make this honey rich in nutrition.
When we went to meet the beekeepers, we were awed to see how they communicate with their bees.
Here is a short video that shows you how a beekeeper collects honey from the beehive.
After looking at this unusual way of beekeeping, we were amazed by this cooperative relationship the bees had with the beekeepers.
Along with these beekeepers, we also give credit to the Rural Research Training Center. RRTC is an autonomous organization that trains farmers on sustainable farming techniques. Farmers of Meghalaya are learning about low-cost agricultural techniques to make the best use of their lands and other resources. RRTC has taught sustainable beekeeping techniques to the beekeepers in Meghalaya.
Taking good care of the bees and following natural methods in doing so is not easy in this world of commercialization. We heartily respect the hardships these farmers go through and their integrity, even in these hardships.
At Zizira, we care for both farmers and our customers. We only sell raw, unprocessed, unheated natural honey.
We are always looking out for beekeepers who have followed the traditions till now. We build relationships with them and try to help them to get good returns for their efforts.
Have you ever tried pure raw honey from Meghalaya? Look it up on our store.
How else do you use honey in your daily life? Tell us on the comment below.
