Stone Family Farms

This wonderfully rich golden liquid is the miraculous product of honey bees and a naturally delicious alternative to white sugar. Although it is available throughout the year, it is an exceptional treat in the summer and fall when it has just been harvested and is at its freshest.

The fascinating process of making honey begins when the bees feast on flowers, collecting the flower nectar in their mouths. This nectar then mixes with special enzymes in the bees' saliva, an alchemical process that turns it into honey. The bees carry the honey back to the hive where they deposit it into the cells of the hive's walls. The fluttering of their wings provides the necessary ventilation to reduce the moisture's content making it ready for consumption.

Honey is a mix of natural sugars (80%), water (18%) and minerals, vitamins, pollen, protein and amino acids (2%). Around 70% of honey's natural sugar content is made up of fructose and glucose.

Honey and allergies

Ada, Oklahoma (AP)-An Oklahoma allergist told a meeting of 150 beekeepers that raw honey is an effective treatment for 90 per cent of all allergies.  Dr. William G. Peterson, an allergist from Ada in the 1950's, said he now has 22,000 patients across the nation who are using raw honey along with more customary medications to relieve allergy symptoms.

"It must be raw honey because raw honey contains all the pollen, dust and molds that cause 90 per cent of all allergies," he told a meeting of the Oklahoma Beekeepers Association. "What happens is that the patient builds up an immunity to pollen, dust or mold that is causing his trouble in the first place. The raw honey must "not be strained, not even through a cloth." he added. "I know the customer wants good, clear strained honey, and that's fine, but for health reasons, raw honey is what we need."

Dr. Peterson said he and the 20 doctors at his clinic at Ada normally prescribe a daily teaspoon of raw honey. The honey treatment continues even after the allergy is under control.

Information excerpt from "Bee Hive Product Bible" (pages 127-130)

Much of the effectiveness of raw honey to help treat respiratory problems has been traced to the bee pollen and propolis suspended within it. According to a research report from Bulgria, they found the honey has anti-allergic, anti-imflammatory, and expectorant properties that insure the body has an immunobiological defense and give it the capacity to regenerate its attacked cells. Research on using raw honey to treat respiratory problems shows the following results: Of the 17,862 patients treated with honey, 8,836 were men and 9,026 were women. Most of the patients ranged in age from 21 to 60 years old. After treatmetn the results were: