The next time you buy honey – pick the ugly honey...

In order for honey to truly be honey – it needs to have pollen in there...

Did you know that most honey sold in grocery stores, big box stores and drug stores is not actually honey? According to the testers with Food Safety News, anywhere from 70 to 100% of the bottles, jars and bears they tested contained no pollen. Unfortunately, manufacturers go to great lengths to remove the healthy pollen because it makes the honey look prettier and also makes it impossible to detect the country of origin.

Dr. Ronald Fessenden, honey expert and author of “The Honey Revelution,” says honey without pollen is pointless. It’s missing all the good stuff, including amino acids, antioxidants and other super-healthy compounds.

To be sure you’re getting the real thing, look for honey that is labelled “raw and unfiltered.” It will probably look cloudy and start to crystallize – and that’s okay. Real honey lasts forever. Store it in a glass container at room temperature and soak that in warm water to dissolve the crystals and loosen everything up. Don’t ever microwave honey – that will compromise quality.