Honey--Checking Sources

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone:

Just got back from the Farmer's Market (I encourage you to support

your local one), and had a nice long chat with a beekeeper selling

local honey. I'll try to distill what I learned in as concise a

manner as I can :-).

In Canada, if you see a jar of honey labelled " Canada No. 1 Honey "

this doesn't mean that it was produced in Canada. It refers to the

grade of honey. Kind of deceiving isn't it? Many producers (including

Kidd Bros. which was where I got my honey until today) import honey

from Asia and Argentina and other places, where they regularly add

corn syrup to their honey. They mix it in with some local honey,

sometimes 30/70 local/imported and say " made in Canada " .

Now I don't know what all the labelling laws are, but I think when it

comes to our sources of honey, it would probably be a good idea to

question the source, and as we do for juices, get a written assurance

that at no point during the process was any syrup or sugar added.

Then we could share " legal " sources once we get the written

assurances.

I can say, having talked to the " producer " that Vlad's Apiary honey

is okay (I don't know where he distributes his honey outside of the

farmer's market).

I'm beginning to wonder whether part of my problem © has been

caused by using " illegal " honey? Local honey is more expensive, but

in the long run, as with this diet, the expense is definitely worth

it. So I'm going to go back to a few carbs and a bit of Vlad's honey.

Another few points I learned:

- honey can have between 3-7% sucrose in it naturally. Raw or

unpasturized honey still retains the natural enzymes which, over

time, " digest " the sucrose even further. So older honey will have a

lower sucrose content. The enzymes are destroyed by

heating/pasteurization. So from now on, I will cook without honey and

add it later. I made pecan muffins without honey, and then cut them

partly open, spread butter and honey on the inside, and served them.

- creamed honey is just honey that is stirred as it is cooled to

encourage crystallization and make it creamier, mostly for spreading

on things kids like to walk around with and drip all over the

place . It generally does not contain pollen, as these larger

chunks would encourage too-large crystals, and not work in the

creaming process, but you may want to check to be sure.

- bee pollen is not legal on SCD, so make sure if you're buying local

honey that the pollen has been removed (if the honey in the jar is

clear, there is no pollen in it).

- I bought some honey sticks (plastic straws filled with honey and

sealed) to put in the goody bags for my son's birthday party next

week. He's not SCD (none of my kids are, just GF), but it's a

healthier alternative and it's " cool " .

- buckwheat honey is one of the healthiest honeys, if you can stomach

the strong flavour.

It's amazing what you learn from the local producers. Cherries are

supposed to be ready next week. Did I say I was giving up carbs? Nah!

Now can you see how my lack of resolve had led me to re-do the intro

after one year on SCD?

Theresa (in Vancouver, BC, Canada)

SCD one year, but back on intro for C.

have had every test in the book, all negative, diagnosis

was " irritible bowel syndrome " (that was a year ago)