Organic Honey vs. Raw Honey vs. Local Honey. Which honey should you buy?

Want to skip the reading and get our best honey? Here it is, just for you:
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Certified Raw Organic Honey

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Pure Raw Honey

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Raw Honey - Right From the Hive - Citrus

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Creamed Raw Honey - Smooth Perfection

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First lets take a look at what these three types of honey are:
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​​Organic Honey
Organic Honey is honey produced without the use of pesticides or chemicals, either in the beehive, or on the plants that the bees collect nectar from. 

Pesticides and Herbicides on the plants have been shown to be retained in the honey, and multiple tests have shown that these same pesticides/herbicides like glyphosate  cause severe deleterious effects on the person consuming them, even in minuscule quantities. In fact, allergies have been linked to eating food sprayed with these chemicals. So, eating honey that has been gathered from plants that have been sprayed with weed killer or other chemicals, can be harmful rather than helpful.

If only we could put hives here.

In the United States, the USDA will NOT certify any honey as organic if it is produced in the states, as there are no regulated places for beehives, in which surrounding plants have not been sprayed with pesticide or herbicide. Bees can travel up to 5 miles, (though usually no more than 2) in any direction from the hive to gather pollen. That is a large area! No regulated, chemical free place in the U.S. exists, that is also conducive to bee-keeping. (The beautifully vast mountainous areas are just too difficult to get your hives on!) This means that all honey marked "Organic" on the store shelves or online is not from the USA.

 

There is a downside to organic honey however... In the countries that produce the organic honey, mainly Brazil, there is very little oversight.

So how does Elden Foods make sure we sell true organic raw honey?

We sample and test every batch of honey that comes through Elden Foods. It is tested for purity, foreign sugars, pesticide and herbicide chemicals, enzyme activity, moisture level, and more. All honey must pass 100% to be sold by Elden Foods.

(Frighteningly, our tests have so far found an entire semi-truck load of already certified organic honeys that have failed the tests dismally. The samples have tested as high as 70% high fructose syrup! Of course, all adulterated honey is sent back to the beekeepers, and they are taken off our list of vendors.)

​Keeping that in mind let's take a look at Raw Honey.

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Raw Honey
Raw Honey is any honey that has not been heated past a certain temperature; 115 degrees Fahrenheit being the upper limit of what is usually still considered raw. It is the enzymes in the Raw Honey that are said to give most of the health benefits. These enzymes begin denaturing, aka dying, in the upper 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and have nearly all been denatured by 120 degrees. 
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Local Honey
Local Honey is the honey that the bees produce from the nectar in the plants where you live.  For true local honey, a backyard bee-hive is the best, and only way to get all your local pollen. There is research that says eating honey with local pollen helps alleviate allergies to that same pollen. Honey that is "unfiltered" denotes that the local pollen are still in the honey. This pollen is the health benefit of Local Honey. 
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So, which honey is the best?
Should you get, organic, raw, or local?

Well, the best honey that you could possibly get on the planet, would be combining all three: Raw, Local, Organic Honey! Nevertheless, this is really unfeasible for most people, so the best thing you can do is to get as close to this as possible. 

Dont's
Don't eat local, or raw honey that has pesticides/herbicides infused in it. It is not healthful. (Most of the honey you'll find on store shelves unfortunately falls into this category.)

Don't eat organic honey that has been heated and filtered. It has none of the good enzymes or pollen left in it, and you're left with only the sugars. 

Do's
The best rule of thumb is to find:

• Raw Honey that has been "organically raised" (not always certified, so you'll have to trust the bee-keeper or company.) 
• Certified Organic, Raw, Unfiltered Honey.​

Certified Organic, Raw Honey, Only the Best! - Elden Foods