Dear Tssundaram,

Yes, you were right, I do not like garlic with my honey.

I have tried honey from India and Nepal.  The honey from India tasted just like Jaggery, whereas the honey from Nepal, tasted like Neem.  It was somewhat bitter tasting due to the flowers and trees that were blooming when this honey was made.

This is the reason I do my own beekeeping.  I want 'pure' honey, not sugar honey, and definitely not jaggery honey.  In China and some parts of India, they are have very poor beekeeping practices.  They also cheat when they add sugar to the colony, this is a very bad practice and it is SO UNHEALTHY for the bees.  In the future, they will loose all their bees because they will die from diseases and from bad apiary management.  They also treat these colonies with chemicals and antibiotics that are dangerous for the bees and for human consumption, in the long run.  In fact, recently, Honey from China was banned in the United States for this reason.  Bee careful.

Honey has some really interesting qualities.  In my experience and observations, there are many different types of trees and flowers that bees go for.  They also can be very selective and they pretty much do what bees do, they have a mind of their own when it comes to what type of nectar they choose.  In my region, we have a Sourwood tree that blooms in the Summer.  This honey is called Sourwood Honey.  It has a very warm and heating nature.  Then we have Tupelo Honey from Florida, which is also heating.  Then of course Orange Flour, heating.  These honey's are very light in color and are usually thicker, with the exception of Sourwood, which can usually vary, because it is the "white" honey.  Now, the other types of honey, such as here we have "Wildflower".  This honey is a very dark amber color, and is very cooling.  I consider this the spring honey, which should be eaten in the summer months to help cool the body down or when there is excessive heat in the body.  Then of course there is the Summer Sourwood and the Summer Honey (which could be Tupelo, Clover, Orange Blossom, Sage, etc).  These honey's are good for warming and in the wintertime.  It really depends on the individual person's consitution.  Then, we have Mesquite Honey which is made out West towards Arizona, Texas and Nevada.  This is very White Honey and is also good.  

As a beekeeper, I make notice of everything that is blooming, and I watch the bees to see which flowers they are taking in.  Then when I see they are finished, they cap the honey and then we are able to remove it from the hive and start again.  I always leave the late summer and fall harvest on the hive/colony, so they will have food for winter. 

Also, either way, honey is actually 'neutral' to the human body, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine.  According to Ayurvedic, it is heating.  Honey that is raw is more heating than honey that has been cooked, according to TCM theory. Heated honey moistens dryness and treats dry or hoarse throat and dry cough.  In TCM, both honey's are considered and used medicinally, whereas, Ayurvedically, you should NEVER heat honey above 110 degrees, then it becomes toxic to the human body - which could produce constipation and other health problems.  I personally find that raw honey acts the same as cooked honey and do not accept the TCM method of heating honey.  I find that the various flowers and nectar have more of an inpact on the various medical uses of honey, due to the flowers having their own medicinal value.  Here in America, we don't have much information about the Sourwood, the Tupelo trees etc.  The Native Americans did rely on this, and it is a lost art unfortunately, with little if any documentation.  Hmm?? Perhaps I need to put on my science hat and start documenting huh??

Ya'll have a great day!

Actually, there are some tribal "natives" in Nepal, that live on Honey alone.  They claim that honey has everything they need to survive.  I have also heard of these kinds of people still in India today as well.

I eat honey every day because it is available to me.  I have never experienced problems with honey, in fact, I do believe that is what keeps me healthy.  I once read in one of my Ayurvedic manuals that persons that kept bees did not have cancer.  I believe that to be true since honey is anti-viral, aids in cell rejuvination inside and outside the human body, provides minerals that you cannot get from other outside sources, I could go on and on about this.  Although, you can eat too much of anything and have problems.

Ystan, are bees stinging you??? I have several different remedies for bee stings.  My first recommendation is to apply a wet paste of baking soda to draw out the poison and reduce the pain.  A poultice of coffee grounds is also good. (Coffee grounds help aid in bruising, that is if the bee hits you,   just kidding).  Juice compresses of Onion and/or raw onion packs are also good for drawing out the swelling and pain. Then Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is good too.  All of these things are great to have on hand.  Sometimes I may not have access to all of it.  If you're out in the wilderness, I pretty much stay in back country half of my time.  I keep a bottle of Chinese Herbs on hand as well.  Its a Scute formula that not only works internally and externally to resolve the toxins, but it removes pain.  This is my first choice...the others are secondary.  Once I was backpacking with my daughter and Doberman.  We once got stung over 30 times by yellow jackets, because Dog, was sniffing around the ground where he should not have been!  We took the Chinese Herbal Formula, due to our extreme condition.  I gave this to the dog too.  This saved our lives, because it neutralized the blood and reduced the pain almost instantly, and better than any Western medicine product on the market today.  We were no where near civilization.  My TCMD gave me this remedy.  The others are good and work too, especially for minor stings.  Most of the time, I do not treat bee stings, because I WANT bee stings..it helps build up your immunity to the bees.  Also, there are some people who like to do Apitherapy, this is where you use the bees to sting you in various places on your body.  Bee stings also aids your body in Arthritis conditions.  IF, you are highly allergic to bees, or think you might be, then you should carry around an Epi-pen.  I've known beekeepers who discovered this too late and they ended up in a hospital with severe swelling.  Anaphylactic shock is not something to play with. 

Sooo, that is my bee/honey post for today.  Yes, it is great fun being in nature.  Beekeeping is a wonderful hobby for me.  The first time I ever opened up the hive and saw what they did, I was amazed.  They are such unique little creatures.  There is nothing like being able to open up the hive and smell the bee pollen, the propolis, the wax and the honey.  Then to eat honey directly from the hive is like being in heaven.   I know how Pooh bear feels,

Thanks Cindy for the advice! The other tips I read on bees is if there is one bee circling me, I should stay very still so I don't agitate it, it will fly away after finding nothing sweet about me; and if there is a swarm of bees, cover my head & run for my life towards a dark place, as bees apparently can't see well in darkness, and if I can run fast for about 50m, I should outrun/outfly the bees...J  Namaste

Yashoda,

In Nepal, there are still "real" beekeepers.  I know this because of my husband being Nepalis, and I just received some Nepalis honey from my friend's Grandmother...who keeps bees in the countryside.  Another friend has bees in the walls of his house, which in their culture, they consider that to be very lucky.