Whether you like it blended in your tea or drizzled over your favorite dessert, honey is a delicious and fascinating condiment. Bees go through a meticulous process to create it. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of this process, as well as the benefits you’ll get from eating pure honey.

How Is Honey Made?

Bees create honey to store food for times when they’re unsuccessful in foraging. This helps them survive during droughts and long, cold winters. They gather nectar from flowers within a few miles of the hive. Using a straw-like tongue, called the proboscis, they store nectar in a second stomach and return to the hive.

Next, the worker bee will digest the nectar to add enzymes and form a thicker consistency of nectar, which is then stored throughout the hive’s combs. As water evaporates from the nectar, it will reach the desired sugar concentration and become honey. Once this happens, the bee will cap the honeycomb with beeswax to preserve it for consumption later.

Because beekeepers protect them against the elements, these bees don’t need the entirety of their honey storage, so everyday consumers are able to partake in this sweet treat.

What Are the Health Benefits?

Honey has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Today, it is used by people alongside new-age medicine because of its range of health benefits. Honey is loaded with antioxidants, which can lower blood pressure and protect cells from damage. Certain types of honey have even been shown to lower triglyceride levels associated with type 2 diabetes and other blood sugar-related complications. It also reduces harmful LDL cholesterol, which improves heart health, and its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties can assist with burn and wound healing.

For the best health results, enjoy pure honey from a reputable supplier in small amounts, as it’s high in sugar and calories.

If you want to enjoy delicious Hawaiian honey, turn to Manoa Honey. These Wahiawa, HI beekeepers have sourced honey since 1989 and offer a number of products direct from their bee farm. You can order locally or have their products shipped to you by placing an order on their website. Call (808) 927-0501 to speak with a representative.