HONEY & HEAT: DO NOT MIX
Do you drink hot tea or coffee with honey?
Do you treat your sore throat by adding honey and lemon to piping hot water?
Do you drink hot water, lemon, and honey first thing in the morning as your health ritual?
Do you find yourself using honey as a healthier sugar substitute in your recipes while baking or cooking (cakes, meat glazes, prepared sauces)?
Do you add honey to your overnight oats recipe and microwave it in the morning?
If you answered YES to any of the above, or have ever consumed heated, warmed, or cooked honey, you are not alone! We all want to use healthier options to sweeten our meals and beverages, or have been informed by our family/friends of remedies such as hot water, lemon, and honey as a cough/cold cure. And how can this natural health elixir do anything to our health other than benefit it, right (unless you’re allergic, of course)? Well yes, but only if you consume it in its raw form without cooking, heating, or warming it!
STOP HEATING, WARMING, OR COOKING HONEY!
Shocker, I know! I had the same reaction when I learned this. Let me tell you more.
Yes, we know that honey is THE health and beauty elixir with antioxidant, antibacterial, medicinal properties. It has been used for centuries as a home remedy to heal cough and cold (I’m sure you’ve taken the infamous warm honey lemon water to soothe your sore throat at least once in your lifetime), beautifying our skin and hair, and so much more! Did you know that honey is used in many hospitals for wound dressing? Honey is truly powerful!
As consumers, we know that utmost precaution must be taken while buying honey. Much of the honey on the shelves is already heated and cooked while being processed, so we know to look for honey that is never pasteurized or heated. We want to purchase local, raw, untreated, unheated and unadulterated honey. But what about when we bring it home?
Why do I cringe every time I see someone heating, cooking, or warming honey?
THE WHY
In Ayurveda, it is understood that heating honey above 104°F (40°C) causes a molecular change that alters the way we digest it (for reference, the standard temperature for hot coffee shop drinks is between 150-170°F or 66–76°C). The reason is that when warmed, cooked, or heated, honey turns into a glue-like substance. The molecules then stick to the mucous membranes in our digestive tract producing toxins called ‘ama’ (ama is undigested food/toxins within the digestive tract). Ama is considered to be the root cause of most diseases in Ayurveda. Further research has concluded that heating honey destroys its beneficial medicinal and nutritional properties, and kills the natural enzymes and probiotics. Excessive heat can have detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey.
HONEY IN TEA/COFFEE
I used to LOVE adding honey to my teas. Now no more! There are conflicting theories regarding adding honey to hot beverages such as tea and coffee. Some say warming honey by placing it in tea or coffee does not have the same effect as cooking with it (as long as the water isn’t boiling hot). Others advise against it. The way I see it, when in doubt just take the safer route and don’t do it! Instead, use maple syrup, raw sugar, or jaggery (my favorite!). Jaggery, also known as ‘gud’, is a type of unrefined sugar made from sugar cane or palm. Much of the world’s production takes place in India.
Raw, unfiltered, unheated honey has incredible antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, beautifying properties, and is very, very healing in many ways. To make sure we’re getting the most benefit out of our honey, let’s stay away from heating, cooking, or warming it.
Here are some of the ways I enjoy honey:
Drizzle it on sunflower butter banana toast, pancakes, waffles, cakes after they come out of the toaster/oven
Add it to salad dressing, hummus or dipping sauces
Sweeten drinks, such as teas, lemonades, “sodas” or other beverages while lukewarm (not piping hot)
Mix into oatmeal after it has been cooked and cooled down
Apply it as a face mask for soft and radiant skin
