What are honey benefits and side effects? Is honey low fodmap? Gluten free? Acidic or alkaline? Is honey vegan? Good for you? Healthy? Sustainable? Here are honey pros and cons: all the info on honey that every ethical consumer wants to know…
Food is something we consume every day. If you’re like me, you do all the research you can to make sure you don’t hurt yourself, the planet, animals or others when shopping. As an ethical consumer myself, I am giving you all the info I’ve found on honey benefits and side effects.
You are going to learn all about honey benefits and side effects. This will include honey benefits for your health and potential risks, honey water footprint and carbon footprint, sustainability, if honey is vegan or impacts animals in other ways, and much more.
After learning if honey is good or bad for you, the environment, animals and human rights, you will be able to make the best choices you can the next time you buy food.
This post is all about honey benefits and side effects that every ethical consumer should know.
Honey Benefits And Side Effects
HEALTH
Honey benefits for health may include:
- eye health
- suppress coughs in children
- detoxification
- heart health
- improved cholesterol
- increased HDL (good) cholesterol
- lower blood pressure
- reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol
- reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and some types of cancer
- helps burn and wound healing and treat diabetic foot ulcers (when applied topically to the skin)
Honey side effects (when consumed excessively) may include:
- risk of inflammation
- insulin resistance
- heart disease
- liver issues
- obesity
- weight gain
Additionally, honey is…
- Acidic pH level if processed once digested
- Neutral 7.0 pH level if raw once digested
- Gluten Free
- Not a common Food Allergen
- High-FODMAP (may cause gas, bloating & pain for some)
ENVIRONMENT
Water footprint: likely low
Carbon footprint: low, 1.0 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of honey, a car driving equivalent of 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers
Destruction: high, honey production is relatively destructive, bee diseases from honey production disrupts nature’s pollination systems critical to sustaining flora and fauna, bees are a vital component in ecological networks, unsustainable agriculture, diseases and habitat degradation have placed significant pressures on many species of bees, causing widespread declines
Honey is…
ANIMALS
Kills: none, no bees must die to produce honey
Harms: bees, honey is the energy source of bees, without their honey they would starve, when honey farmers remove honey from hives they replace it with sugar substitutes which are very bad for bees’ health, bee diseases spread when beekeepers mix and selectively breed different species of bees, queen bees commonly have their wings clipped by beekeepers to prevent them leaving the hive
Indirectly kills or harms: wildlife and ecosystems, bees and other vital pollinators, the unintentional spread of diseases is inevitable and spread when producing honey, threatening and killing various bee populations as well as other vital pollinators such as birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, the mass breeding of honeybees impacts the populations of other competing nectar-foraging insects, including un-farmed “wild” bees, since the quantities of farmed bees is inflated, native bumblebees are threatened and their numbers continue to decline
Honey is…
- Not Vegan
- Harmful to wildlife and ecosystems
LABORERS
Health and safety: varies, overall, agriculture continues to be one of the most dangerous industries, farmworkers may be subject to dehydration, heat stroke, unprotected exposure to harmful, toxic chemicals and pesticides, unsafe machinery and clean drinking water may not always accessible
Living conditions: varies, laborers are often exploited, they may face tough working conditions including long hours in the sun and heat performing physically exhausting tasks, labor laws and rights may or may not be in place, even if worker protection exists, employer violations may go unreported, refugees and migrant workers are especially vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment, fearing consequences of job loss or deportation
Wages: varies, generally farmworkers earn meager wages, there are many cases of underpaid agricultural workers, wage theft and no overtime payment or benefits
Honey is…
Where does most honey come from?
The world’s top honey producing country is China, followed by Turkey and Canada. The world’s top honey exporting country is New Zealand, followed by Argentina, Germany, China, Spain, Brazil, Vietnam, Ukraine, India and Mexico.
Is honey nutritious?
Honey is low in vitamins and minerals but contains a number of antioxidants, including phenolic compounds like flavonoids.
What is a substitute for honey?
To substitute honey you can use maple syrup, agave nectar, black strap molasses or vegan honey (commonly made with stevia).
Is honey alkaline or acidic?
Honey is acidic when processed (most common) and neutral when raw. What is the pH level of honey? Honey has a 7.0 pH level when raw, once digested.
When you eat food, it breaks down to an ash residue that can be neutral, acidic or alkaline. Minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, silver, copper and iron produce an alkaline ash; whereas sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine and iodine, which are in meat, coffee, dairy and alcohol, leave an acid ash.
Going alkaline easier than ever with this: Acidic and Alkaline Foods List
Is honey gluten free?
Yes, honey is gluten free. Honey does not contain gluten and is a naturally gluten free food.
While celiac disease may not be as rampant as many marketing trends lead us to believe, you may have a gluten sensitivity…
Celiac and gluten sensitivity symptoms are similar and may include:
- recurring abdominal pain
- chronic diarrhea
- constipation
- tingling
- numbness in hands and feet
- chronic fatigue
- joint pain
- unexplained infertility
- low bone density (osteopenia or osteoporosis)
There are hundreds of potential symptoms, many of which are also symptoms of other conditions.
Going gluten-free easier than ever with this: Gluten and Gluten Free Foods List
Is honey a common food allergen?
No, honey is not a common food allergen. Some people may experience allergic reactions to honey but it is relatively rare by comparison.
A group of the eight major allergenic foods, AKA the Big-8, include:
- milk
- eggs
- fish
- crustacean shellfish
- tree nuts
- peanuts
- wheat
- soybeans
These foods account for about 90% of all food allergies in the United States.
Severe food allergies can be life threatening. Following ingestion of a food allergen, a person with food allergies can experience a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
Persons may still be allergic to and have serious reactions to foods other than the eight foods identified by the law.
Be aware of common dietary restrictions and food allergens with this: The Big 8 Most Common Food Allergens List
Is honey low FODMAP?
No, honey is high FODMAP, a food you should limit or eliminate if on a low-FODMAP diet.
A low FODMAP diet may help those with bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
It’s all about knowing your body. Observe what works and what doesn’t. You body might even react negatively to a low-FODMAP food simply due to intolerance. Everyone is different! Be mindful and patient. Take time to get to know what’s best for your physical health and overall wellbeing.
Carbon footprint of honey?
Honey has a relatively low carbon footprint compared to other foods.
It takes around 1.0 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of honey, a car driving equivalent of 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers.
Food not only has a water footprint but also a carbon footprint, known as CO2e, which stands for carbon dioxide equivalent. Since carbon measurements are a bit more difficult to comprehend, it is common to equate CO2e to the distance which a car drives in miles or kilometers.
When calculating carbon emissions, some factors may include…
- farm equipment
- animal feed production
- hothouses (greenhouses)
- food processing
- packaging
- transport
- refrigeration
- freezing
- package waste and more
There are a number of steps we can take to reduce energy output. According to Oxford Martin School researchers, if the world went vegan, eliminating animal-derived products, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds and avoid climate damages of $1.5 trillion.
But that’s not all!
It’s best to keep the following in mind when grocery shopping:
- shopping locally reduces transportation emissions
- food without packaging reduces waste as well as the carbon footprint
- refrigerated and frozen foods increase carbon emissions
- seasonal foods reduce carbon emissions from hothouses (greenhouses)
- growing plant-based foods at home is the most environmentally sustainable method with zero carbon footprint
Find out how much carbon your food emits with this: Carbon Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
Is honey sustainable?
Honey production is relatively unsustainable…
- Bee diseases from honey production disrupt nature’s pollination systems critical to sustaining flora and fauna
- Bees are a vital component in ecological networks but diseases and habitat degradation have placed significant pressures on many species of bees, causing widespread declines
A 2018 Oxford University study – which is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet – found that ‘avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’ as animal farming provides just 18% of calories but takes up 83% of our farmland.
Consuming animal products and byproducts is not environmentally friendly and is one of the worst things for the Earth. Not only is meat production wasteful, it causes enormous amounts of pollution. The industry is one of the biggest causes of climate change.
A 2010 United Nations report said that a global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world the worst impacts of climate change.
Read more about ‘What Makes Food Sustainable Or Unsustainable?’
Is honey vegan?
No, honey is not vegan. Honey is the byproduct of a worker honeybee therefore making it an animal-derived food. Honey is the viscous food substance from honey bees, the primary food source for the hive.
Because we cannot see for ourselves how these animals live and what they endure does not mean it isn’t happening. The meat, poultry and dairy industries do everything they can to distance us from knowing how our food comes to be in order to keep us in the dark about what we support each time we buy animal derived products and byproducts.
Go vegan for animals!
It’s the best way to help animals and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Speak for animals with your actions, for they cannot speak at all.
Going vegan is easier than ever, at a glance with this: Vegan and Non-Vegan Foods List
Does honey have human rights issues?
At this time there are no major concerns with honey production but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening!
It’s important to stay aware of human rights concerns and worker exploitation that may come with specific brands.
Did you know the single largest employer in the world is agriculture? The labor involved behind each and every product cannot go unrecognized.
Sadly, many labor concerns exist around the world in both developed and developing countries. We must be vigilant to ensure what we buy is not contributing to industries that are unfair to their valuable workers. Some known problems include workplace health and safety, child labor, gender inequality, inadequate pay, wage theft and exploitation. Workers can even experience harassment, humiliation and violence and unfair employers often fail to provide laborers with access to shade, drinking water, restrooms and breaks. Consequently, laborers can face nausea, dizziness, heat exhaustion, dehydration and heat stroke -the leading cause of farmworker death!
Such mistreatment is like modern day slavery. Workers are often afraid to report issues because they fear it will result in losing their jobs or deportation.
Fair trade organizations fight to ensure better social, environmental and economic standards.
We can improve people’s lives with foods we eat every day simply by buying products that are certified fair trade.
Be sure to read up on this list of ‘Foods You Should Always Buy Fair Trade‘
This post was all about honey benefits and side effects.
Sources:
University of Reading: The Decline of England’s Bees
Honey – FoodData Central – USDA
Honey Bee Surveys and Reports – USDA NASS
