Healthy Obsession: Honey That’s Really Raw and Really Good

Newsflash: Those bear-shaped, squeezable bottles of honey look and taste sweet, but they’re most likely watered down with high-fructose corn syrup and other additives.

Since its purity isn’t regulated by the FDA, nearly 70 percent of the honey found on market shelves is so heavily processed and pasteurized that it’s stripped of its two most nutritious components: bee pollen and propolis.

Bee pollen, which is made by honeybees to feed their young, contains 40 percent protein and amino acids, vitamins (including B-complex), folic acid, carotenoids, and bioflavonoids. Its impressive nutritional composition gives bee pollen major superfood status as a result of its many science-backed health benefits.

Propolis, the substance collected by bees from tree buds—they use it to seal and varnish honeycombs—contains a slew of nutrients that help heal wounds and fight bacteria, and has also been linked with cancer-preventing and anti-tumor properties.

If you really want to reap the rewards of all the best bees have to offer, you’ve gotta go with raw honey.

Enter Really Raw Honey, a five-star-rated best-seller at Thrive Market—customers call it “a taste of heaven” and “the freshest, best-tasting honey.” The product boasts pollen, propolis, and more, including honeycomb bits, which may help support oral health and strengthen immunity.

The reason Really Raw Honey tastes so fresh? It’s bottled right on-site at beekeepers’ homes and farms—straight from the hive, meaning it’s completely unheated, unpasteurized, and unprocessed. It’s creamy and delicious but also has a bit of a crunch thanks to those bits of pollen, propolis, and honeycomb bits, together known as “cappings.”

This honey tastes amazing straight out of the jar, and adds just enough sweetness to coffee and tea, morning smoothies, and pre-workout energizing drinks. It’s also ideal for baking: try it in Raw Thumbprint Cookies and Paleo Twix Bars.

Another sweet thing about Really Raw Honey? Its beauty-boosting power. Try it as a one-ingredient face wash, or in DIY facials and scrubs like this Soothing Papaya and Citrus Face Mask and Skin Saving Berry Scrub.  

Photo credit: Alicia Cho