Honey from bee's

Darrell Miller

07/01/09

Date: July 01, 2009 12:12 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Honey from bee's

Bees make honey out of the nectar that they sip from flower blossoms. A long and tedious process is necessary to transform nectar into the thick, golden substance that we call honey. Like each product that is produced by the honeybee, care and a number of steps are essential in order to create this beehive food, with honey being no exception. This sweet, nutritious edible substance is a viscous fluid that is exclusively created by the honeybee. Even the most sophisticated modern techniques have failed to synthetically manufacture honey. Like royal jelly, propolis, and bee pollen, honey is only available from Mother Nature. It is a precious and coveted substance that has fascinated and pleased cultures throughout time.

The ancient Greeks called honey one of nature’s most precious gifts, while the Assyrians, Chinese, and Romans routinely prescribed it for its medicinal value. Numerous biblical references refer to the “Honeycomb” and the “Land of Milk and Honey,” as well as the “Enlightenment” that comes from eating honey. Hippocrates recorded that a honey drink cures phlegm and calms down a cough. He was one of the first known advocates for using Honey and Vinegar for fevers and other ailments. All of ancient cultures believed that the use of honey each and every day would insure health and longevity. All kinds of wines and foods were routinely mixed with honey, causing them to be viewed by all peoples as a treasure which the gods provided for health.

Of all the ancient cultures, Egyptians prized honey enough to use it as a form of money. Hieroglyphics often refer to honey as the universal healer and jars of honey were routinely placed in tombs of the dead. Because of its superior preservative properties, honey used to be an integral part of the formula that was used in the mummification process. Throughout all of history, honey has been used to treat open wounds and fight infection. Unfortunately, the advent of refined sugar caused honey to take a back seat to other more popular sweeteners. Thankfully, today honey is experiencing resurgence, as it was once an often overlooked beehive food that is full of nutritive and medicinal value.

When a bee lands on a flower, it sucks a tiny amount of nectar to its honey sac. It is within this sac that the transformation of nectar to honey begins. The nectar is mixed with acid secretions to eventually form the coveted honey that we consume. Substantial amounts of nectar are necessary to produce significant amounts of honey, making flying the distance of up to three miles necessary to obtain the amounts of nectar that is needed to fill the sac. Once the sac is full, the honeybee returns to the hive, where a receiving bee takes the nectar and continues the process, changing, enriching, and concentrating the nectar. Following this, the receiving bee drops the mixture into the empty cells of the honeycomb.

In order to produce a single pound of honey, bees must provide the hive with over 70,000 loads of nectar. A healthy beehive can produce about 300 pounds of honey each season. The health benefits of honey have now been captured by manufactures like Premier one and Montana big sky. Natural honey is available in liquid form at your local or internet health food store. Look for name brands to ensure quality and purity of the product you purchase.

*Statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Honey is not intended to diagnose, treat and cure or prevent disease. Always consult with your professional health care provider before changing any medication or adding Vitamins to medications.

Fine Honey Products from Premier one are available at VitaNet ®, LLC Health Food Stores.