Unpasteurized raw honey has a host of health benefits, but is this the kind of honey that is found in most grocery stores? Not quite.

Typically, honey is heated and processed before it finds its way to the shelf on the grocery store. This form of honey, known as pasteurized honey, does have some health benefits, but it has lost some of its grandeur in the heating process.

The reason honey is heated is to prevent it from granulating as quickly, in order to lengthen shelf life. Also, heating honey turns it into a very runny form, which makes it easier to filter and process. But the heating process also destroys some of the healthy components of the honey, making it less than ideal.

Unpasteurized (also known as "raw") honey is the way to go. It is pure, natural, and healthy, just the way God made it. With all the health benefits it offers, it's amazing more people are not more aware of this "normal" health food.

First of all, honey offers a natural source of usable energy. White sugar is so processed that the body has a hard time understanding what to use it for. But honey is naturally in form that the body can accept. So when you consume honey, you get plenty of energy without the negative side-effects that white sugar carries with it.

Honey also helps to improve digestion. It does this by enabling the stomach to produce healthy bacteria, which in turn digests food. If your goal is to improve digestion, try using honey instead of white sugar in your recipes, or mix a teaspoon of honey with some water, and drink it before or during a meal.

Try gargling honey-water if your throat is sore. And if you're dealing with a cold, mix a spoon of honey and a squeeze of lemon juice with some water. This combination can help to not only prove soreness, but may also eliminate the harmful bacteria that caused the cold or the sore throat.

Ultimately, honey is healthy whether it is raw or pasteurized, but if you are taking honey to obtain its health benefits, you are better off choosing raw honey. Plus, most people find that they appreciate the taste of raw honey better than pasteurized.

It's difficult to find raw honey in the grocery store, but many health food stores sell honey. You can also search around your area to see if there are any local honey farmers. Lastly, there are plenty of websites online that sell pure, unpasteurized honey.

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Source by Jonathan Hostetler