Honey is an amazing super food with many health benefit and healing power, imagine organic honey. Organic honey is hard to come by, due to the difficulties in the control of bees. Where they go to take pollen and nectar is the main issue. Therefore it is difficult to certify it as organic, hence making organic honey extra special and rare.
The beautiful Australian island is not only famous for its beauty but also possesses high-quality agricultural product: organic honey. Australian organic honey is well-known throughout the world for its delicious, attractive flavour and higher nutritional value than honey from nearby countries. In particular, Australian bee breeds are completely free from termites and parasites, which are responsible for the phenomenon of beeswax and greatly reduce the number of honey bees.
The quality of organic honey also depends on the flowers that provide the source of pollen and honey for the bees. The main food of bees is nectar and pollen in nature. In the composition of the nectar are many types of sugar such as glucose, fructose, or saccharose, all are the source of necessary energy for larvae and bees. If there is a rich source of flowers that provide enough nectar and pollen all year round, the bee grows well and produces high productivity. Therefore, the difficulty in controlling the bees exploration of the flower is a problematic task for the organic honey farmer.
The organic honey
What are the difficulties in having to claim organic honey?
Farmers must know the plants that supply nectar and pollen to bees produce honey. For bees, the value of nectar and pollen from each flower is different. There are flowers only provide nectar, there are flowers that only provide pollen, and other flowers provide both nectar and pollen. It depends on the plants.
- Nectar source: Nectar is a carbohydrate base substance, providing energy. This nectar gives the sweetness to the organic bee honey. All plant use nectar as an attraction to get the bees to pollinate it. Bees use nectar as their source of food and energy.
- Pollen source: Pollin is a protein and fat. Pollin is a product of flowers to help grow fruits and vegetable. The bees on the other have used this to feed it larvae or baby bees. In turn, while collection the pollen bees pollinate the flowers for the plant.
This relationship bees and its plant can cause difficulties in the purity of organic honey. So, the first difficulty in obtaining organic honey is to build a system of organic florists that provide enough nectar and pollen. These plant must not be genetically modified plants and non-chemicals. Also, they are not allowed to use non-organic honey, sugar, or antibiotics in their hives. Most beekeepers can’t do that.
Why? Well, bees need a lot of nectar (about 250 pounds per year) to make honey. But flowers aren’t very generous. They provide only a little amount of nectar. Each bee has to visit millions of flowers per year to survive, so they usually fly very far away from their hives to collect it. The distance that usually bees can travel away from their colonies is about 3 km. This is where the problem occurs. Bees absorb into their bodies a lot of environmental particles, including any substances within their flight reach. And the beekeepers have next to no means to control what their bees bring back in the hive. The solution is farmers need to own a land large enough to plant millions of flowers so that the bees can get enough nectar; all are required to be organic. And that area needs to be very far from pesticides, contaminated water, and chemicals, at least 5km according to the Australian Certified Organic (ACO). It means that not only the already very large farmland needs to be organic, but all the environment around it also need to be. Where do you find a place that provides enough nectar and also satisfy the criteria above? And even if there is, can a beekeeper afford to own it? The answer is there are very, very few producers who can provide real organic honey
The second difficulty in having claim organic honey comes from the beehive itself. Beekeepers usually buy and sell wax as starter comb, and according to a study, most starter comb supply is contaminated with chemicals. The substances accumulate in the combs and linger there for many years. So even if a beekeeper owns a land that meets all the criteria mentioned above, there is still a significant chance that his honey is still non-organic, unless he doesn’t buy wax from outside sources, or that he performs extensive tests before using the wax. Both of those solutions demand a lot of time, effort, and of course money.
The difficulties in having to claim organic honey
Concerning the organic flowers farm that the beekeepers provide for their bees, nectar production and the factors affecting nectar reproduction are the third difficulties. The density of nectar has a great influence on the organic honey harvest. If the nectar is condensed more 70%, it is difficult for bees to extract honey into the gallbladder. If the nectar is too thin, bees will lose a lot of energy to transport and process the organic honey. There are many factors that affect the regulation of the nectar such as temperature, moisture, weather, land and the flowering schedule
With these difficulties, it is almost impossible to make 100% organic honey as advertised on the market. In fact, in the US, the USDA doesn’t have approved standards for organic honey certification. Meanwhile, the ACO also doesn’t guarantee 100% organic honey certification but has an extremely strict standard to use the word “organic” that is difficult to meet. All the honey products you see on the market are not 100% organic. However, we can create organic honey that contains up to 70% organic ingredients from organic flowers. Therefore, organic honey in the market that is labelled “organic” contains only 70% organic ingredients. But don’t worry! The organic honey is already better than normal honey. You still get the benefits of organic ingredients.
What are benefits of organic honey?
Organic honey is harvested exceptionally carefully from healthy bees in a healthy environment. Pure organic honey is obtained from a natural honeycomb, not filtered and processed. This has created the high-grade organic honey with the highest levels of live enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, wound healing agents, like synthetic functional foods. Doctors are on board with the common applications of honey:
The benefits of organic honey
- Reduce a sore throat, soothes the lining of the throat: organic honey has antimicrobial activity that helps the wound heal. Honey is used to reduce infection in the mucous membranes of the throat. From there, honey can soothe the throat, relieves itching and sore throat. Organic honey is a safe treatment for a cough
- Healing of wounds, ulcers: Besides antibacterial effect, organic honey also stimulates the regeneration of new mucosa, helps heal wounds of skin and mucous membranes. This use is made from Pantothenic Acid and Albumin Acid in organic honey. Combining honey with antibiotics will heal the ulcers of the stomach and duodenal faster. If the honey is applied directly to the wound, scratches, skin infected spots, it has the effect of antiseptic, healing the wound quickly.
- Nourishing pill: organic honey composition contains many sugars which are absorbed quickly such as glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, admin acid, minerals, digestive enzymes… They help to restore vitality, fight fatigue, and increase resistance. This is very valuable when the body is exhausted due to persistent illnesses. The body will be purified and healthier by drinking warm water mixed with organic honey and lemon every morning. For athletes, honey can provide energy, enhance physical activity, and maintain endurance. Organic honey has proven benefits for weight loss, anti-allergy, reducing digestive problems and reducing arthritis.
- Anti-aging and skin care: organic honey contains antioxidants that can prevent ageing; enzymes help regenerate and rejuvenate the skin. Honey is one of the important ingredients that create acne masks. After brushing for 10-15 minutes or before going to sleep, use a small spoon of organic honey to help anti-ageing. You can use organic honey to massage your body; it can help to tighten and smoothen the skin.
The real organic honey
The organic honey is a wonderful gift from nature for humanity. The myriad health benefits of honey have been experienced and applied by humans for about 2500 years. For more information on health and beauty visit here https://naturalorganicliving.com.au/