Honey’s benefits go beyond its terrific taste. It’s not only a natural source of carbohydrates but it can also reduce muscle fatigue, pump up the metabolism and boost the immune system. But not all honey is as the same. Some jars may be missing a powerful ingredient: pollen.
A new investigation by the "Food and Safety Journal" reports that 76% of all honey available in grocery stores is treated with a high tech process called "ultra-filtration." When that happens, honey is heated, sometimes watered down and then forced at high pressure through extremely small filters. On the upside, this process removes impurities like wax. On the downside, it also takes out the valuable pollen.
For the study, researchers more than 60 jars, jugs and plastic bears of honey in ten states and the District of Columbia. The investigation found that between 77 to 100 percent of the honey purchased at supermarkets, large box stores and drug store chains contained no pollen whatsoever.
Besides lacking health benefits, another big reason to avoid ultra-filtered honey is that pollen is the only guaranteed way to trace the source of honey to a geographic location. As a result, ultra-filtered honey is often used to mask the unknown origins of certain kinds of honey, especially Chinese honey. The problem with Chinese honey is its frequent contamination with metals and illegal antibiotics. In fact, the European Union has just changed labeling regulations to require that honey containers list "pollen" as an ingredient.
What can you do to ensure your honey is safe? The analysis found that your odds are somewhat better of getting honey that wasn't ultra-filtered if you buy brands labeled as organic. Out of seven organic samples tested, five (71 percent) were heavy with pollen. Best of all, try to buy your honey from farmers' markets and natural food stores. The investigation found few, if any, of these honeys used the ultra-filtration process.
