RAW HONEY AND REGULAR HONEY: THE DIFFERENCE

Raw honey is best described as honey “as it exists in the beehive”.

It is made by extracting honey from the honeycombs of the hive and pouring it over a mesh or nylon cloth to separate the honey from impurities like beeswax and dead bees.

Once strained, raw honey is bottled and ready to be enjoyed.

On the other hand, the production of regular honey involves several more steps before it is bottled — such as pasteurization and filtration.

Pasteurization is a process that destroys the yeast found in honey by applying high heat. This helps extend the shelf life and makes it smoother.

Also, filtration further removes impurities like debris and air bubbles so that the honey stays as a clear liquid for longer. This is aesthetically appealing to many consumers.

Some commercial honeys are additionally processed by undergoing ultrafiltration. This process further refines it to make it more transparent and smooth, but it can also remove beneficial nutrients like pollen, enzymes and antioxidants.

Moreover, some manufacturers may add sugar or sweeteners to honey to reduce costs.

What Are the Main Differences Between Raw and Regular Honey?

Raw and regular honey are processed quite differently.

This can lead to a variety of distinctions between the two, especially in quality.

Here are the main differences between raw and regular honey.

Raw Honey Is More Nutritious

Raw honey contains a wide variety of nutrients.

It has approximately 22 amino acids, 31 different minerals and a wide range of vitamins and enzymes. However, the nutrients are only present in trace amounts.

What’s most impressive about raw honey is that it contains nearly 30 types of bioactive plant compounds. These are called polyphenols, and they act as antioxidants. 

Many studies have linked these antioxidants with impressive health benefits, including reduced inflammation and a lower risk of heart disease and certain cancers. 

Conversely, commercial honeys may contain fewer antioxidants due to processing methods.

For example, one study compared the antioxidants in raw and processed honey from a local market. They found that the raw honey contained up to 4.3 times more antioxidants than the processed variety. 

Most Regular Honey Doesn’t Contain Any Pollen

Bees travel from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollen.

The nectar and pollen are taken back to the beehive, where they are packed into the honeycomb and eventually become a food source for the bees. 

Bee pollen is surprisingly nutritious and contains over 250 substances, including vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids, micronutrients and antioxidants. 

In fact, the German Federal Ministry of Health recognizes bee pollen as a medicine. 

Bee pollen has been linked to many impressive health benefits. Studies have found that it may help fight inflammation and improve liver function. It also has properties that may help fight against heart disease and stroke. 

Unfortunately, processing methods like heat treatment and ultrafiltration can remove bee pollen. 

Regular Honey May Have Hidden Sugars or Sweeteners

Because honey is so popular, it’s hard to meet this high demand from local suppliers alone. This is why approximately 70% of the honey consumed in Nigeria is adulterated .

However, there is serious concern worldwide about regular honey being contaminated with sugar or other sweeteners like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Most Health Benefits Are Attributed to Raw Honey

Honey has been linked to some impressive health benefits.

Studies have found that it may help reduce risk factors for heart disease like blood pressure and cholesterol, improve wound healing and even treat coughs. 

However, it’s likely these health benefits are mostly related to raw honey, because it is higher in antioxidants and other beneficial components.

One of these components is an enzyme called glucose oxidase. This enzyme helps produce molecules that give honey its antimicrobial and antibacterial properties

Unfortunately, this enzyme can be destroyed by processes like heating and filtering. 

If you want to be sure to get all the health benefits, then you should choose raw honey.

Raw Honey Is Not the Same as Organic

Raw and organic honeys are subject to different regulations in different countries.

Honey that is classified as raw is not allowed to be pasteurized or processed.

Conversely, organic honey must simply come from a bee farm that meets the organic livestock standards of each country like the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

This means the bees, flowers and honey are not allowed to come in contact with pesticides, chemicals and other factors that go against the USDA’s criteria.

How to Pick the Healthiest Honey

When it comes to choosing the healthiest honey, you should look for one that is raw.

Raw honeys are not pasteurized and bypass filtration, a process that may reduce its nutrients.

It’s best to buy it from a local beekeeper like Alake Bee Farm (+2348033696345).

The Bottom Line

Raw and regular honey are processed differently.

Raw honey is only strained before it's bottled, which means it retains most of the beneficial nutrients and antioxidants that it naturally contains.

Conversely, regular honey may undergo a variety of processing, which may remove beneficial nutrients like pollen and reduce its level of antioxidants.

When it comes to choosing a healthy honey, your best bet is to go raw so you know exactly what you are getting.

RAW HONEY AND ITS BENEFITS

What Is Raw Honey ?

Throughout history, humans have utilized sticky and sweet honey, with the earliest record of keeping beehives being traced back to 2,400 B.C., in a temple near Cairo, Egypt. The Egyptians relied on honey as a sweetener and as an ingredient in honey cakes that were offered to the gods and even as embalming fluid.

The widespread use of honey continued with the Greeks and the Romans, and tradition after tradition allowed our generation to use honey for foods, cosmetics and even medicine. Take some time to read this page and learn what raw honey is, how it can greatly enhance your health and the qualities you should look for when buying honey.

Raw Honey’s Vital Health Benefits

There is more to raw honey than what meets the eye, mainly because of the multiple health benefits it can offer, such as:

•Potentially treating coughs: The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that raw honey can act as a demulcent, or a substance that helps relieve irritation in the mouth or throat by forming a protective film.

Raw honey works just as well as dextromethorphan (an ingredient in over-the-counter medicines) in soothing cough caused by upper respiratory tract infections, usually among children.

Raw honey can also serve as a remedy for sleep difficulties caused by these infections.

•Helping with wound treatment: Raw honey has antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties.

Research has revealed that unprocessed honey helped with both wound and ulcer healing. One study highlighted that 58 out of 59 wounds improved following a topical application of honey.

•Delivering an energy boost: You can use raw honey to help provide a quick pre- or post-workout energy boost.

Raw honey can be beneficial for athletes searching for a “time-released fuel” to deliver energy over a longer period of time.

•Assisting with free radical elimination: Antioxidants called phenolic compounds are present in honey, which help protect the body from free radical-initiated cell damage.

•Helping decrease allergy symptoms: More often than not, locally produced honey may contain pollen spores picked up by bees from local plants.

Consuming locally produced raw honey is highly ideal because it can allow the honey to boost the body’s health and resistance against certain allergens.

•Serving as a remedy against herpes wounds: Good-quality raw honey can offer benefits against herpes sores by drawing fluid away from the wound.

Raw honey’s high sugar content can suppress microorganism growth too.

Worker bees secrete an enzyme called glucose oxidase into the nectar. When the honey comes into contact with the wound, the enzyme then releases low levels of hydrogen peroxide.

A staple in some beauty products, raw honey can also provide these cosmetic benefits:

• Act as a humectant: A humectant is able to attract and retain moisture, which is why raw honey is added to moisturizers, shampoos and conditioners.
• Combat acne: Aside from drawing moisture to the skin, raw honey can be helpful for people with acne since it can attack the source of breakouts.
• Help lighten dark circles: A spoonful of honey can assist with fading dark circles and alleviating under-eye swelling.
• Helps heal cuticle damage: Damaged cuticles can lead to fungal and bacterial infection. A mixture of raw honey and apple cider vinegar can help reverse this condition.
• Assist with improving scalp condition: Applying raw honey diluted in warm water to your scalp can help in significantly improving seborrheic dermatitis, a condition that triggers dandruff and itching.

What Is Raw Organic Honey?

There are other honey varieties sold nowadays, like raw organic honey, which refers to honey produced when the bees get nectar from flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides. Raw organic honey is typically crude honey that’s immediately taken out of the combs’ cells and has these qualities:

• It contains rough particles of pollen, dead bees, legs, wings, hunks of wax and other impurities, and is then strained using a fine mesh bag
• Unpasteurized, unfiltered or ultrafiltrated
• Not heated above 95 degrees F
• Does not contain other substances or additives
• Stored in organic containers like light brown or amber glass jars

Organic honey production involves a set of strict and stringent measures for the following stages of production and packaging:

Source of the nectar	Foraging area of the honeybees
Bees’ management	Honey extracting process
Transportation	Processing temperature
Packaging materials

Furthermore, to determine if the honey is truly organic, the sample has to undergo testing to check for a lack of pesticide or environmental pollutant residue. Organic honey farms are also subject to these rigorous and extensive monitoring activities:

• Documentation of and consultation with every land user within a 5-kilometer radius of the organic hives, to ensure these don’t have traces of chemicals
• Regular analysis and testing of honey samples
• Hives need to be proven that they are free of non-organic honey, sugar and antibiotics

Just like raw honey, organic raw honey has a variety of health benefits, namely:

• Maximum nutritional content: Three major sources of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals can be found in organic raw honey, namely royal jelly, propolis and bee pollen.
• Help with improving digestive and immune health: Bifidobacteria, a type of bacteria that’s known to enhance digestive and immune health, is also found in organic raw honey. Organic raw honey can serve as an effective probiotic by stimulating Bifidobacteria growth in the intestine.
• Boost athletic performance: Easily absorbed carbohydrates, natural glucose and fructose, vitamins and minerals combine together to help prolong a person’s stamina, help increase athletic performance and aid in a speedy recovery.

Raw, Unfiltered Honey Is Also a Good Choice

Another type of honey you might encounter is raw, unfiltered honey, or honey that’s still fresh from the honey comb, and contains intact bee pollen and propolis. This type of honey is known to:

• Possess alkaline properties: Vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants come into play and make raw, unfiltered honey an alkaline food that may help fight different diseases.
• Improve skin health: If you have abrasions, rashes or sunburns, try applying raw, unfiltered honey on your skin. This type of honey can soften and moisturize the skin, and helps eliminate blemishes like acne and allergies triggered by cosmetic use.
• Help alleviate constipation: Raw, unfiltered honey, when made into a tincture by combining apple cider vinegar, can potentially provide relief from constipation.

What Is the Difference Between Raw, Pure and Regular Honey?

The vast amount of honey labels can confuse people, especially those who want to make sure they get the best and healthiest honey around. There are multiple differences between raw honey, pure honey and regular or conventional honey. Check this chart to see how raw honey stacks up versus pure honey and regular honey:

Raw Honey	Pure Honey	Regular Honey
Normally opaque and milky	Honey made without additives like sugar, corn syrup or artificial flavoring	Smooth and uniform in color
Comes in a range of colors, from white to yellow or even brown	Does not foam under any circumstance	Contains little to no pollen
Can be purchased either in liquid or solid (creamed) form	Quite thick and trickles in a stream	Undergoes pasteurization to kill yeast that can be present, in order to prevent fermentation
May possess granules that can be melted in warm water	Soft texture (filament-like)	May contain antibiotics and/or toxins
Strained through a fine sieve to remove bee parts, pollen and wax	Never separates into layers	Main ingredient is usually high-fructose corn syrup, a sweetener that’s been linked to conditions like diabetes, obesity, hypertension and liver damage
Honey made without artificial additives or processing	Can also be labeled as clover or raspberry honey, depending on the plant the bees got nectar from	May not contain nutrients or enzymes because these were eliminated during pasteurization
Not heated, pasteurized or filtered
Contains high amounts of nutrients necessary for good heath
Composed of two key constituents: bee pollen and bee propolis

Aside from these qualities that separate raw honey from regular and pure honey, you can also perform these tests to verify if you’ve purchased real and unprocessed honey:

Thumb Test	Water Test
Put a small drop of honey on your thumb.	Fill a glass with water.
Check to see if the honey spills or spreads around. If it spills or spreads around, this means that the honey isn’t pure. Pure honey stays intact on your thumb.	Add a tablespoon of honey into the glass, and observe. Adulterated or artificial honey tends to dissolve in water, and you’ll notice it around the glass. However, pure honey will settle right at the bottom of the glass.

Where Can You Buy Raw Honey?

It’s highly recommended to buy honey that’s raw, unfiltered, local and 100 percent pure from a trustworthy source, like a local organic beekeeper (Alake Bee Farm +234 8033696345). As mentioned earlier, consuming locally produced raw honey can be helpful in building your body’s immunity against allergies.

You can even visit the bee farm itself and talk to the beekeeper/s to ensure that you are getting the best honey possible.

Frequently Asked Questions About Raw Honey

Q: Is raw honey safe?

A: Yes. Raw honey can be safely eaten, provided that it’s naturally made and is raw, unfiltered, local and 100 percent pure. However, raw honey can increase a person’s fructose levels when consumed in excess. As such, consume raw honey in moderation, and ensure you buy it from a reliable source, like a local organic beekeeper.

 Q: Can raw honey go bad?

A: Raw honey can spoil if you don’t take measures to store it properly. Most people recommend storing raw honey in an airtight jar, with a tightly secured and closed lid to preserve the honey’s quality. Once you’ve used raw honey, use a damp cloth to clean the lid and remove excess honey. This will ensure that the jar’s lid is tightly sealed when the raw honey isn’t being used.

Q: Does raw honey need to be refrigerated?

A: Raw honey does not need to be refrigerated because it might crystallize. Instead, store raw honey in a cool environment with a temperature between 70 and 80 degrees F, such as a kitchen cabinet or pantry. Keep raw honey away from direct sunlight or from heat-producing appliances like your stove, oven or refrigerator.

Note: Part of material sourced from www.mercola.com

How Nutritious Is Bee Pollen Exactly?

Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT on June 20, 2017

What are the benefits of bee pollen?
Bee pollen is considered so beneficial that the German Federal Board of Health recognizes it as medicine. Advocates are quick to tout the benefits of this so-called superfood, saying it can:

1.relieve inflammation;
2.work as an antioxidant;
3.boost liver health;
4.strengthen the immune system;
5.work as a dietary supplement;
6.ease symptoms of menopause;
7.reduce stress and,
8.speed up healing

What is bee pollen?

Bee pollen is a ball of pollen made by young bees when they land on a flower. It’s a mixture of pollen, saliva, and nectar or honey. Bees carry these balls back to the hive in sacs on their legs and store them in the hive’s honeycomb. The pollen then ferments into “bee bread,” which feeds a bee colony.
Beekeepers collect pollen from bees by keeping a thick comb in the entrance of their hives. When bees pass through it, it knocks the pollen off their legs into a collection bin below. The bees then must go out to collect more pollen.

Nutrition facts
Bee pollen in its natural form comes as small, crunchy pellets. One tablespoon of bee pollen contains:
16 calories
0.24 grams of fat
1.2 grams of protein
2.18 grams of carbohydrates
250 types of nutrients, including vitamins and flavonoids
You can add it to foods like yogurt, oatmeal, or smoothies. It can be grounded down as a supplement powder or into a capsule.

Recommended dosage
Adult20-40 g or 3-5 tbsp. per day
Children15 g or 1-2 tbsp. per day
If you take it in capsule form, be sure to read the label to ensure you’re taking the appropriate dose.

What the research says.
In recent years, a number of scientists have published studies on the supposed health benefits of bee pollen. However, these studies are mostly on animals and have yet to be proven on humans.

Here’s what the research says about bee pollen benefits:
*Relieving inflammation

*Bee pollen may work similarly to anti-inflammatory drugs, according to researchers. In one study on rats, scientists found that bee pollen extract reduced inflammation in rats with swollen paws. Research on mice showed bee pollen had anti-inflammatory effects when used to treat their liver disease.

*Working as an antioxidant
Researchers have found that bee pollen has very high antioxidant properties similar to those of fermented foods. Antioxidants are naturally occurring chemicals that exist in plant-based foods, usually those that are red or dark in color, as well as fermented foods.
Some common antioxidants include:
flavenols (found in chocolate)
resveratrol (found in wine)
lycopene (found in tomatoes)
vitamins A, C, and E
Antioxidants keep people healthy by counteracting oxidants such as air pollution and cigarette smoke that can damage the body.

*Boosting liver health
The liver is responsible for filtering toxins out of the body. Researchers found that in rats, bee pollen helps keep the liver healthy and can even help the healing process after liver damage.
Researchers noted that the rats had no side effects in taking bee pollen, compared to silibinin, a medication that also contains antioxidants but can also cause harm.

*Strengthening the immune system
A strong immune system is necessary for fighting off disease and keeping you healthy. One study found that bee pollen naturally inhibits allergic reactions in mice. Another study suggests that bee pollen has antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. These properties could help kill off bacteria and viruses, such as staphylococcus aureus, which causes food poisoning.

*Working as a dietary supplement
Bee pollen could potentially work as a supplement that helps your diet and health. One study looked at rabbits that received a bee pollen supplement in addition to their regular diet. They had a longer lifespan and also greater reproductive success. They gave birth to healthier, stronger babies compared to rabbits who didn’t take the supplement.
Another study found that malnourished, old rats experienced improved muscle mass and metabolism after eating a diet that contained bee pollen.

*Easing symptoms of menopause
Many women who take antihormonal medications often experience symptoms of menopause. One study found that some women with breast cancer who took a bee pollen supplement experienced fewer, less intense menopause symptoms than those who didn’t.

*Reducing stress
Bee pollen can increase blood flow to the body’s nervous system, helping reduce stress. It’s also effective for tiredness, according to a review of bee pollen.

*Speed healing
Research shows that bee pollen can be used on the skin to speed healing, as it boosts blood circulation, kills bacteria, and moistens the skin.

What are the side effects of bee pollen?
Always buy your supplements from a reputable source. It’s possible to buy tainted bee pollen that contains potentially dangerous ingredients reported to cause serious side effects, including increased heart rate, cardiac arrest, and even death.
Talk to a doctor before taking any supplements or herbs.

Additionally, if you’re allergic to bee stings or wasps, you should avoid bee pollen. Discontinue the supplement immediately if you experience:
itching
swelling
lightheadedness
trouble breathing

Experts also recommend that pregnant women avoid taking bee pollen, as it may interfere with pregnancy.

BEE PROPOLIS

Bee propolis has been used throughout history for many different things. Today, it is used as a natural remedy for a wide range of ailments by people looking for a product that is safe to use for the whole family.

Propolis has proven antibiotic and antiseptic properties, as well as possible antiviral and anti-inflammatory benefits. The benefits of bee propolis range from simple things like clearing up skin for people who suffer from eczema to more impressive things like helping with female infertility problems and even improving cancer cell death in the prostate and colon.

Studies have shown that the benefits of bee propolis can help lower the number of cases of acute and chronic rhinopharyngitis in children, as well as suppressing the viral microbes responsible for causing the infection in the upper airways. Propolis has also shown to be an effective treatment for pancreatitis in animals. It’s safe to use for your pets, too!

Benefits of Bee Propolis:

• Heals minor wounds
• Speeds up healing of cold sores and canker sores
• Removes warts
• Treatment of bone diseases
• Protects, soothes, and heals skin
• Alleviates allergies
• Fights viruses and bacteria
• Eliminates parasites
• Improves fertility in women suffering from Endometriosis

BEE VENOM

Honey-bee venom has evolved as  an effective defence mechanism over millions of  years and is one of  the reasons why everyone isn’t a beekeeper.
 
It isn’t within the scope of this article to describe bee venom properly but,  suffice it to say,  bee venom is:

*clear, 
*odourless liquid,
*comprising around 88% water and,
*it has a very complex chemistry. 

At  least 18 pharmacologically active  components have  been described,  including various enzymes, peptides and amines.  Of  the small proteins,  one called melittin constitutes about 50% of  the venom’s dry weight.  This hydrolyzes cell membranes,  causing changes in permeability,  and is  most responsible for the pain.  Other components,  however,  act in concert with  it,  such as  hyaluronidase,  which causes changes in cell membranes and allows  the venom to  spread easily. 

Other components can cause anaphylactic shock in sting victims,  and this is the cause of  most fatalities from bee stings on individuals.

Venom poisoning can be caused by large numbers of  bees,  and this can cause death in non-hypersensitive individuals.  It has been estimated that it would take 500–1500 stings for this to  occur.

Using venom for humans 
Apitherapists claim that  bee venom can be used for the treatment of  the following:

1.Chronic injuries,  such as  bursitis and tendonitis. 2.Hypertension.
3.Asthma.
4.Scar tissue removal.
5.Certain skin conditions,  such as eczema.
6.Hearing  loss and,
7.Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) etc.

BEESWAX PRODUCTION

Bees produce beeswax by synthesizing the sugars in honey.  The worker bee’s wax glands mature  around her second week of  life as  an adult and are situated on her lower
abdomen. The wax appears as  a clear liquid,  cools and turns white,  forming a small wax scale or flake.  The workers can produce this  in very large quantities. 

In the hive,  they often link together into chains and clusters between the combs,  which helps them to  maintain a temperature of  about 35° C (96° F)  in order to  produce wax. After clustering for around 24 hours,  the small wax scales are secreted.

Uses
Wax is the bees’  basic house-building unit.  It is often mixed with some propolis for strength and,  without it,  a colony could not exist.  It  takes over 7 kg (15 lb) of  honey to  produce 1 kg (2 lb) of  wax,  and so you can see that,  if  you take away  the beeswax at  harvest time for sale as  comb  honey,  the bees will need to  use up a large amount of  honey to  replace it. 

It  becomes a matter of  working out what  will make the most money for the beekeeper – selling honey alone and preserving  the wax for a good harvest the next year or a second harvest in year one,  or selling more  expensive comb honey and letting the bees use up valuable honey in replacing it. 

It  is estimated that  a standard Langstroth frame of  comb can hold up to  3.8 kg (8¼ lb) of  honey.  The wax necessary to  hold this weighs only 100 g (3½ oz).  Each  wax scale produced by a honeybee weighs about 1 mg, which means that  nearly  one million are needed to  make 1 kg (2 lb) of  wax,  and approximately 9 x 105 of  these little scales are needed to  make sufficient wax for a normal bee colony.  Work  it out!

Composition
The  composition  of  beeswax  is  complex,  but  it  contains  hydrocarbons,  straight-chain monohydric alcohols,  acids,  hydroxy acids,  oils and other substances.  Its specific gravity is less  than one,  so it floats on water.  It  melts  at  63–65° C (145–149º  F)  and solidifies at 60–63° C (140–145º  F),  depending on its purity.

Wax is normally a by-product for beekeepers and,  as  a guide,  for each  60 kg (130 lb) of  honey extracted from the hive,  about 1  kg  (2 lb) of  beeswax is produced.  This comes from the cappings of  the honeycomb,  which are removed during the honey-extraction process.

PROPERTIES OF HONEY

Honey has many determinative properties but,  for the average beekeeper who wants to sell honey,  the important ones are as follows:

Hard or soft (liquid honey)
Most honeys eventually crystallize,  but the rate of  crystallization depends on the ratio of  glucose  to  fructose  in  the  honey,  and  that  depends  mainly  on  the  floral  source.  Some honey,  such as  that from oilseed rape (canola),  often crystallizes on the comb while still in the hive,  making it very difficult for the bees to use as stores and difficult for the beekeeper to  extract using standard equipment. To  the beekeeper,  honey viscosity is very important,  especially during extraction and packing. Larger companies will heat their honey so that  it flows through their equipment more readily and can be packed in  jars or drums easily. 
Some honeys may be thixotropic,  which means they become jelly-like if  left undisturbed.

Taste
The taste of  honey varies enormously.  It depends on the flowering plants the honeybees foraged on. Try some clover honey and then some citrus honey and you will find a huge difference.

Colour
Colour  shouldn’t  be  an  issue  really  but,  in  fact,  in  some  countries  such as Nigeria,  the  USA and Germany,  it is very much  a determinant of  price. 
The  Americans prefer their honey  ‘water white’,  and dark honeys are referred to as  ‘bakers’  honey’  and command a lower price.
In Nigeria, honey consumers prefer golden yellow colour as being genuine while dark coloured honey are seen as being inferior or of lesser quality. In  Germany,  dark honey is preferred,  and pale or white honeys are lower in price. 

Antibacterial quality
Honey’s  ‘hyper-osmotic’  nature  (due to  the high concentration of  solids and low moisture content) prevents the growth  of  bacteria and yeasts as  this draws water out of the organisms,  killing them by desiccation.  It  literally  sucks them dry. 
Consumers of honey mix up this attribute when it comes to ascertaining the quality of honey.
Original honey, when it has not been exposed to moisture through opening, can kill ants because of its hyper-osmotic nature. That is the reason when you pour some quantity of honey on any object, the ants will gather near it but will not be able to taste it. If they move closer, the honey will "magnetise" them and they will die in the honey content because of this hyper-osmotic nature.
Do you know what the ants will do? They will wait for some time for the honey to gather moisture from the atmosphere to dilute it, they then start licking the honey.

Honey is acidic. This plays an important role in the system that  prevents bacterial growth. The pH of  honeys may vary from approximately 3.2 to 4.5 (average pH = 3.9),  making it inhospitable for attack  by most,  but not all,  bacteria. Honey also has its own antibacterial substance in its make-up.  Bees add an enzyme called glucose oxidase to  honey,  and this enzyme reacts with  glucose to  produce hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid,  both of  which have  an antibacterial effect.

Like most products of  the hive,  honey is essentially a by-product of  the all-important pollination process.  The value of  honey in the economy of  the major honey-producing nations is far less than the value of  pollination,  but there is a huge global trade in honey and many beekeepers can make a very decent living by producing good honey either in bulk or packaged for sale.

COMPOSITION OF HONEY

COMPOSITION OF HONEY

Being a natural product,  honey varies in composition enormously but,  essentially,  it is  a fluid,  viscous or crystallized substance,  produced by bees from the nectar of  blossoms that  bees collect,  transform or combine with  substances of  their own,  which they then store and leave to  mature.

Its main components are water and sucrose.  Sucrose is composed of  glucose and fructose, and it is the glucose-to-fructose ratio that  determines some of  honey’s most noticeable physical characteristics,  such as  how long it will  take to  crystallize,  for example.  Water is always  present in honey,  and the amount is critical to  the beekeeper when processing or storing extracted honey.

The beekeeper should always  check their  honey to  ensure that  this moisture/water presence is within bounds. The moisture/water content should be less than 19% in other to meet international standard for quality honey. The more reason a beekeeper should not expose harvested honey to moisture because honey is hygroscopic in nature. It can easily attract and absorb moisture. Hence, it should be stored in an airtight container.

A more detailed definition of  the composition of  honey would be as  follows:

• Honey is composed mainly of  sugars and water. 
• The average honey is 79.6% sugar and 17.2% water. The main sugars are fructose (38.2%) and glucose (31.3%). 
• Other sugars include maltose (7.3%) and sucrose (1.3%). 
• Honey also contains acids (.57%),  protein (.26%),  a small amount of  minerals (.17%) and a number of  other minor components,  including pigments,  flavour and aroma substances, colloids and vitamins.  This  group of  materials constitutes about 2.2% of  the total composition.

It should be noted that the sugars mentioned here are natural because honeybees obtained them from flowering plants and not the same with synthetic sugar being used in homes.

Importance of beekeeping and its challenges in Nigeria

Importance of Beekeeping

• Bee farming is a rewarding and enjoyable occupation which has many benefits to the bee farmers and the returns are high. It has more advantages over other farm enterprises.
• Bee farming requires little land which does not have to be fertile.
• Honey is a source of non-perishable food hence last longer.
• Capital needed to investment is very low compared to other farm enterprises.
• Beekeeping or bee farming is cheap and relatively not competitive to other Agricultural enterprises. It does not compete for scarce resources such as space.
• Labor required in bee farming is very low for activities such as inspections and harvesting.
• Many products can be obtained from bee farming which are great source of income. Examples of these products are honey, beeswax, pollen, bee venom, royal jelly, bee colonies, bee brood, queen bees, and package bees.
• Bee farming encourages environmental conservation since it does not cause any pollution and since bees require plant, there is a tendency to conserve cutting trees.
• Bees act as good pollinators of plants, trees, fruits and crops, thus playing a big role in bio-diversity and improvement of crop yields in our country.
• most hive products provide remedy for a number of ailments (Apitherapy) and can cure many disease.

Challenges Facing Production of Honey in Nigeria

• Lack of skills is a major challenge facing this sector. Most farmers in Nigeria lack adequate skills on managing bees and handling hive products.
• Also Inadequate training for both farmers and extension staff is also a challenge facing this sector.
• Limited   access to appropriate beekeeping equipment is among the challenges facing bee farming in Nigeria.
• Another challenge facing this sector is underdeveloped marketing system of hive products both locally and internationally. This can be due to problems of quality and marketing organizations.
• Lack of adequate and intense research on the existing beekeeping technologies, equipment, honey bee and product utilization is also a main challenge facing bee farming in Nigeria.
• Low prioritization of beekeeping in relation to other enterprises in the wider Agricultural sector has also been a problem facing this sector because they get less funds from the government.

For further information, contact ALAKE BEE FARM on ±2348033696345.

MODERN BEEKEEPING

A beekeeper is someone who is not only engaged in a hobby or business but also someone who (by design or not) is taking an active part in protecting the future of the planet. This sounds dramatic but in fact is true.

Bees, unlike other livestock, do not need constant attention. They will go out each day and get on with it whether you are there or not. If you devote one day in ten to them with occasional bursts of more attention when required and during the harvest, you would be able to keep bees satisfactorily, and this is, in the main, for only part of the year.

During the winter months you can leave them alone completely unless something dramatic happens, such as flooding or lightning strikes.

Most commercial beekeepers who make their living from bees started out as hobbyists. Some specialize in honey production,  others  in pollination services to  farmers;  others specialize in rearing queen bees for sale;  and yet others specialize in other hive products, such as beeswax,  pollen,  propolis or royal jelly.  There is even a large and profitable market in bee venom.  Some graduate into apitherapy – a very effective alternative type of  healing that is  fast becoming mainstream medicine.  Mead,  honey or propolis  soap, face creams and so on are all side-lines for the imaginative beekeeper.

Other beekeepers devote  their efforts to  breeding the  ‘perfect’  bee:  a calm,  gentle, disease-resistant,  productive  creature.  Despite the fact  that  a male bee or drone has no father (which complicates the issue),  breeding success is often claimed to  be at  hand. And then there are the professional itinerant beekeepers  who make a living by hiring themselves out to large commercial outfits all over the world.  These young men and women travel the world moving  from one hemisphere to  the other according to  the seasons,  using their beekeeping skills to pick up the many jobs available in commercial beekeeping.