Hold on, there’s fake honey at the store? Yeah, there sure is.

Honey is one of my favorite foods. It’s a superfood full of numerous vitamins and minerals and a safer way to sweeten foods and drinks than sugar. But did you know that most of the honey you see in the grocery store is treated with a process called “Ultra-Filtration?” Why is that?

Food Safety News conducted an investigation into the honey you see on the shelves of your grocery store and found that about 76% of honey there was ultra-filtered. Ultra-filtration is a process that filters out irregularities like wax, but it also filters out pollen. Generic brands were the most likely to be ultra-filtered. So what’s the big deal? Why does it matter?

Ultra-filtration is a problem because the ‘impurities’ that it’s filtering are actually some of the most beneficial parts of the honey. This filtration does not provide any benefits to you whatsoever and makes no improvement to the quality of the honey. So why do they do it?

FSN found that the likely reason for this ultra-filtration is to prevent people from tracing the honey to is geographical location via the pollen. That way you can’t figure out if your honey was made from bees collecting pollen next to, say, a coal plant in China.

So FSN sent samples of honey to Texas A&M University’s premier melissopalynologist (pollen scientist), professor Vaughn Bryant. He found that about 75% of the honey had little or no pollen in it at all. Additionally:

• 100% of honey used in McDonald’s and KFC had all pollen removed.
• 100% of Winnie the Pooh honey sold in Walmart had all of its pollen removed.
• 100% of honey sold in drug stores like CVS and Walgreen’s had the pollen filtered out.
• 77% of big box stores like Sam’s Club, Costco and Target had no traces of pollen either.

According to Organic Health:

There are approximately 16 minerals, 18 amino acids, 21 vitamins, and a ton of phytonutrients and antioxidants in one ounce of raw honey. Raw honey has many antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial substances, and it is highly nutritious.It contains significant amounts of vitamin C, B6,B5,B3,B2, potassium, sulfur, magnesium, phosphate, calcium and sodium chlorine.

The solution? Look for raw, organic, locally made honey at your grocery store or at the local farmer’s market. It may cost more, but it’s worth it in the end.

Image credit: Siona Karen, Flickr

These days, they’re an over the counter drug for every little ailment. Constipated? Take a pill. Stressed out? Take a pill. What would happen if we suddenly didn’t have these things? What would we do? It’s important to know some natural ways to take care of yourself, and these are some things bananas can help us cure.

Constipation

Bananas contain a nutrient called pectin, which speeds up and assists digestion, as well as promotes the removal of toxins from the body. Overall, bananas stimulate the intestines. These impacts reduce flatulence and work as a natural laxative. I have a banana in a smoothie every morning, and I’m smooth as can be.

Stress

One thing stress does to us is speed up our metabolism, which can leave us feeling worse. When stressed out, potassium levels drop in the body, which means you can suffer hypertension and an abnormal heart beat. Bananas do contain potassium, and in conjunction with them, consider adding foods like spinach and cantaloupe. All three foods contain impressive amounts of potassium.

High blood pressure

High blood pressure is a very serious condition and if you have it, or think you have it, you should seriously consider visiting a physician. One of the reasons we have high blood pressure is because in a standard American diet, the intake of sodium is high while potassium is low. Consuming more potassium and less sodium is key to good cardiovascular health. Again, look to foods like spinach and cantaloupe to help get the potassium you need.

PMS

Bananas are rich in vitamin B6, which has a positive effect on glucose levels. This reduces pain in the abdomen and chest, reduces mood changes and water retention. Sounds like the perfect fix for PMS symptoms.

Depression

Typtophan is a protein found in the banana that stimulates the secretion of the hormone serotonin. Eating a banana might just make you feel better. But again, depression is a serious condition. Consult a physician if you’re feeling depressed.

Image credit: Fernando Stankuns, Flickr

Did you know that the nutritional properties of those bananas hanging in your kitchen change as they grow riper. As they ripen, they become sweeter. Why? Because there are enzymes in the banana that begin to break down starches, which aren’t generally sweet, into sugar. This also makes the banana easier to digest for your gut.

Additionally, Japanese researchers recently discovered something fascinating about bananas; as a banana ripens, it produces more antioxidants than its fresher brethren contain. When the banana has dark spots on the peel, it produces what’s called TNF, or Tumor Necrosis Factor, a substance that combats cancer and abnormal cells. The darker the spots, the more powerful the banana at killing cancer cells. A ripe banana is eight times more effective in boosting the body’s immune system than a fresh banana is.

So the best time to eat a banana? When it’s fully ripe. But it’s worth noting, if you suffer type 2 diabetes, you may want to eat a ripe banana with nut butter. The fats in the nut butter will slow down sugar absorption in your blood stream so it doesn’t hit you all at once, making it easier for your body to break down.

When it comes to vegetables, broccoli is one of the healthiest. But the plant’s nutrients aren’t stored only in their tops, but the stems and leaves are actually more nutrient dense than the flowers. It’s abundant in antioxidants, vitamin A, C, E, calcium, and magnesium.

30 grams of broccoli leaves contain 90% of the vitamin A your body needs in a day. Vitamin A is crucial for eyesight and proper immune function. The same amount of leaves contains 43% of your daily dose of vitamin C. Next time you cook a broccoli flower, chop some leaves up and throw it in too.

The stalks are incredibly good for you too. They have a fairly sweet taste and contain a ton of fiber – more than the flower itself. Chop the stalks smaller and cook a bit longer than the tops and you’ll have perfectly cooked, tender broccoli.