Honey is the only food substance that contains all the necessary ingredients to sustain a healthy life, i.e. vitamin, minerals, water and enzymes. Moreover, it also contains a vital antioxidants.

Benefits of honey can be fully realized if it is pure. However currently sugar syrup adulteration in honey is very prevalent. According to the recent test conducted by FSSAI (Food Security & Safety Standards Authority of India) on leading honey brands as posted on the DNA Newspaper, honey can be easily adulterated with corn syrup or Rice Syrup, these are types of sugar syrups artificially made from plants like Rice bran, Corn etc. Furthermore, a lot of honey sold in a market are not 100% pure; they are adulterated with Rice Syrups which requires technical expertise and laboratory equipment to get detected. Home test methods like Water Test, Burn Test etc. can’t detect Rice syrup in honey since both have similar texture & color. The test results of FSSAI are not public yet, however they have proposed some changes in the food norms which implies adulteration might be traced in certain brands.

Honey is helpful and effective only when it’s pure, for whichever health benefit. The benefits of pure honey are as below:

Benefits:

It helps in weight management – Honey when taken with lukewarm water helps in weight management. The presence of several natural vitamins and minerals in honey helps for healthy metabolism and optimizes digestion process.

If honey is adulterated with Rice Syrup, it will not be effective in weight management. To be on a safe side, it’s better to choose honey of good quality that are not cheap and priced in the range of Rs. 500-600 per kilo. Because Pure Honey has become expensive since honey bees population has been decreasing.

I had gone to BigBazar very recently to buy honey, and I came across a person who showed me “no added rice syrup test results” of a honey brand on their website. After seeing the publicly displayed test results, I chose to buy Zandu Honey for my family. It has a really unique taste and feels authentic.

It is an age-old home remedy for a Sore throat – Honey’s anti-bacterial properties help to kill certain bacteria that exaggerates the infection. It’s usually taken with ginger, turmeric for soothing throat.
It builds the immunity system – the presence of natural antioxidants and anti-bacterial properties helps to fight against common diseases by improving immunity system.
Honey is a natural energy booster – Apart from the best in taste, honey is the best source of carbohydrates, which is needed to maintain a sufficient amount of energy in your body. It gives instant energy and strengthens the performance and reduce muscle fatigue.
It prevents cancer – According to many studies and research, honey has carcinogenic properties which prevents the progression of cancer and tumor.

To conclude, no doubt honey is associated with several health benefits, but the unwanted adulteration may bring down the benefits and the value of honey and this really does not justify the amount you pay for the honey. Thus research and choose only good quality honey. It’s better to choose honey that can give proof of no Rice Syrup addition instead of just claims.

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About Akansha Bansal

Post graduate in Masters of Business Administration from Panjab University, Chandigarh. She live with a notion “SIMPLE LIVING, HIGH THINKING” and have an optimistic approach towards life. Always eager to learn new things... She loves to write blogs on parenting. She is the Co-founder of "Budding Star".

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