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Honey is a highly nutritious natural sweetener produced by bees in their honeycomb from the nectar of various flowers
For centuries, Honey has been an integral part of the Indian culture and is known to be the “Food of Gods”, for its healing properties, in the 3000-year-old Vedas.
Ayurveda also describes Honey as a natural antibiotic, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory, which also treats various ailments.
The popularity of honey has skyrocketed in recent years, driven by a growing trend of people seeking a healthier lifestyle. Consuming honey with lemon water has become a common morning routine for those prioritizing health.
India is the 8th largest producer and 4th largest Honey exporter worldwide. The Indian honey market rapidly growing at a CAGR of 7.3% and is expected to reach INR 48.6 billion by 2032.
However, your morning detox honey water may be mixed with sugar as more than 77% of the Honey available in India is adulterated with sugar syrup.
A 2020 food adulteration test by the Centre for Science and Environment, an advocacy group, released that top honey brands are adulterating honey using Chinese syrups i.e., rice syrup, inverted sugar, and High Fructose Corn syrup.
Raw Honey is one of the most adulterated natural foods globally and this situation poses severe health threats to consumers.
Consuming honey, filled with sugar syrups can increase the body’s blood sugar, which can cause diabetes, raise blood lipids, abdominal weight gain, and obesity.
How is Honey Adulterated?
When cheaper and low-grade additives are added to an original product that threatens consumer health, it is considered “Adulteration”.
This high-quality natural product is vulnerable to unethical adulteration and mislabelling, due to its limited availability, rising demand, and proven healing properties.
Honey is frequently adulterated with several types of sugars, mainly cheap high-fructose corn sugar syrups, to increase the volume of pure and raw honey.
There are mainly two types of adulteration; direct adulteration where a certain type of sugar syrup is added to the harvested honey to increase its sweet taste and indirect adulteration where honeybees are overfed with inexpensive syrups to increase the honey production in the honeycomb.
India produces a massive quantity, more than 1 lakh metric tons of honey, 50% of which is exported to earn millions in exports.
As for the honey left for Indian consumers, the situation worsens with the highly expensive Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) test, a gold standard for testing the purity of honey.
This test is mandatory for all the honey exported out of India, but not for domestic sale of pure and raw honey.
Impact of Adulterated Honey on Blood Sugar
Adulterated honey can have severe effects on blood sugar levels. While pure honey contains natural sugars that are digested more slowly than refined sugars, adulterated honey often contains added sugars, such as high fructose corn syrup, which can spike your blood sugar.
Here's how adulterated honey can affect blood sugar:
The added sugars in adulterated honey can quickly raise blood sugar levels, making it difficult to manage for individuals with diabetes or insulin resistance.
While natural honey is revered for its anti-oxidant properties, the addition of corn and rice syrups reduces the protein content in honey, leaving negligible anti-oxidant properties.
Pure honey is also characterized by anti-bacterial effects, used to treat colds, coughs, and sore throats. However, the mixture of inverted sugar or jaggery, to make adulterated honey can restrict these quintessential properties and lead to stomach disorders.
Consuming excessive amounts of adulterated honey can contribute to weight gain, which can further exacerbate blood sugar control issues.
Honey filled with cheap syrups can decrease renal perfusion, causing long-term kidney damage. It can also increase the lipid profile file, a symptom of liver problems.
While raw honey has an antibacterial effect, helping to fight the common cold and some digestive problems, the mixture of inverted sugar or jaggery can sometimes restrict the antibacterial properties of honey and lead to stomach disorders
Adulterated honey may interfere with the effectiveness of blood sugar medications, making it harder to control blood sugar levels.
Consumption of glucose from sugar-adulterated honey can elevate insulin secretion, which boosts the production of uric acid in the body. Uric acid is a danger signal for increasing risk of inflammation and osteoarthritis.
Pure honey contains natural sugars that are digested more slowly and may have additional health benefits, such as improving insulin sensitivity and reducing inflammation.
Natural Honey is essentially pure sugar, containing 80% fructose and glucose, which are readily broken down by the digestive system. It is directly absorbed into our bloodstream and converted into energy.
Raw honey, which is the purest form of honey is the most beneficial choice for your health. Whereas, Pure honey is heated for pasteurization and filtered at least once.
Look for certifications: Check for certifications like USDA Organic, EU Organic, or Jaivik Bharat to identify pure and organic honey.
Re:fresh, one of India’s leading organic and natural marketplaces, sources the purest raw, pure, and organic Honey, from a top certified organic brand in India.
Check the label: Pure honey should only contain “Honey” and no added sugars, or artificial sweeteners.
Look for the color and texture: Natural honey can vary in color from pale yellow to amber. It should have a thick, syrupy texture.
Taste test: Pure honey should have a natural sweetness and a distinct flavor profile.
Check the source: Look for fresh honey that is produced locally or from reputable beekeepers.
Avoid overly cheap honey: Honey is a natural product that requires time and effort to produce. If a honey product seems too cheap, it may be adulterated or of poor quality.
Summing up
The widespread adulteration of honey in India poses a significant threat to public health, particularly for individuals with diabetes or blood sugar issues.
By choosing pure, organic honey, you can avoid the harmful effects of adulterated products and reap the benefits of this natural sweetener.
It is pivotal to support better earnings for Indian beekeepers and for that, crucial testing methods like the NMR test should be mandated, to assure Indian consumers that the honey they are buying is free from adulteration.
Let’s make for a safer, more informed honey market in India, for the world.
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October 15th, 2024
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