The Benefits of Local Honey, as Explained by Beekeepers

By Beth Rush

Why buy local honey? From supporting your health to the local economy, there are plenty of reasons. Honey is an amazing superfood with oodles of beneficial qualities. Best of all, its production nurtures the earth and other living things — it’s an all-around win. Here’s what to know.

The Many Health Benefits of Honey 

Few substances on earth qualify as miracles, but honey may well meet that definition. It’s fabulous for multiple uses that nurture human health. Consider the following impressive benefits. 

1. Antimicrobial 

Doctors have documented the use of honey in the earliest medical literature. For example, the Rigveda, one of the world’s oldest Ayurvedic medical texts, advises using honey for balancing the doshas or body energies. Traditional Chinese medicine uses it to treat wounds and infections, as do African and indigenous cultures.

Honey is particularly effective in treating burns and wound injuries when applied topically. You can find adhesive bandages coated with manuka honey at many popular drug stores. 

The type of honey you choose matters. Research shows that medical-grade honey has superior antimicrobial properties, as demonstrated in one study exploring the veterinary use of this substance for treating dogs and cats.

Finding medical-grade honey is easier than it once was. However, keeping a fresh stock of local honey on hand is the next best thing. Another 2024 study demonstrated that fresh honey has higher antimicrobial properties than darker, more aged honey. Use your prep stash and see your local beekeeper regularly. 

2. Anti-Inflammatory 

Honey’s anti-inflammatory effects can ease red, swollen areas around wounds when used externally. It also demonstrates these qualities when you add it to your diet.

It’s particularly beneficial for heart health, and the disease of this organ remains the number one cause of death worldwide. A recent review found that honey modulates blood pressure, decreases cardiac cell damage and death, improves fat metabolism and acts as an antioxidant. 

Another University of Toronto study found that honey improves critical measures of cardiometabolic health, including cholesterol levels and blood sugar. It discovered that honey lowered LDL and triglycerides while raising HDL or “good” cholesterol. 

Even though honey is famously sweet, it may protect against type 2 diabetes. Studies show that those who ingest honey have lower blood glucose levels than those who consume other forms of sugar, whether or not they have diabetes. Scientists ascribe the differences to how honey affects the gut flora and its antioxidant properties. 

3. Anti-Cancer

Honey’s antioxidant properties may also help it fight cancer. Preliminary research from UCLA shows that honey may be an effective natural option for treating breast cancer. Manuka honey decreased tumor growth in mice with ER-positive breast cancer cells by 84%. This form of breast cancer accounts for 70% to 80% of all cases. It may be used alone, although it also increases the efficacy of existing treatments, like tamoxifen. 

4. Superfood 

What makes something a superfood? It imparts superior health benefits beyond what you’d expect from the individual ingredients. It’s the symbiotic sum that works together to produce magic in your body. If you look at a honey nutritional label, you’ll see that it’s mostly sugar. However, the trace amounts of protein and other nutrients provided work together in beautiful harmony. 

One thing that makes honey such a superfood may be its impact on your gut microbiome. The powers of these healthy bacteria colonies extend beyond digestion, influencing immunity and mood.

Another UCLA study showed that honey helped the beneficial bacteria in yogurt survive the journey through your digestive tract into your intestines, where they can replenish your existing colonies. 

Why Buy Local Honey? 4 Excellent Reasons

You already know one reason to buy local honey. Doing so ensures you get it at peak freshness, as opposed to time spent in storage moving from store to store. However, patronizing your local beekeepers also imparts these perks. 

1. Support Your Local Beekeepers

Beekeepers are among the 30.7 million small businesses in the U.S., and buying local honey supports their livelihoods and your local economy. When you find a favorite beekeeper at your farmers market or even a roadside stand, you aren’t making a multimillion-dollar corporation richer.

You’re helping your neighbors send their kids to ballet practice or soccer camp. 

2. Ease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

First, a caveat. To date, the scientific evidence on honey’s effectiveness for seasonal allergies is scant and mixed. Although one 2020 study found that it didn’t help with hay fever, other earlier studies showed promising results. 

However, many users remain convinced that an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and swear by the efficacy of local honey for easing their seasonal allergy symptoms. The good news is that this folk remedy can’t hurt and helps in other ways.

For example, switching from sugar to honey in your morning cuppa could improve your blood sugar management, as seen in studies on honey and diabetes. There’s little harm in testing the theory for yourself. 

3. Encourage Pollinators and a Healthy Environment

Perhaps the best reason to buy local honey amid the climate crisis is to support pollinators. Albert Einstein once said that should bees go extinct, humanity would follow in a few short years.

While that statement may be hyperbolic, over 80% of flowering plants rely on pollinators like bees to reproduce. Humanity would have a very hard time getting enough to eat without these creatures. 

Visit your local beekeeper and learn from them. Ask about the trends they have observed, and pick their brain to inform your decision-making. 

4. Improve Your Health 

You now know the impressive health benefits of honey. Keep a stash on hand. Begin using it to replace other sugars and improve your overall health. You need less honey than sugar when substituting in recipes. For example, use one and a half to two teaspoons of honey for each tablespoon of table sugar. 

Why You Should Buy Local Honey 

Buying local honey is an affordable prep to keep on hand with scores of survival uses in a pinch. Additionally, using it in your daily diet imparts significant health benefits. Get to know your local beekeeper today and stock up on this pantry staple. 

About the author: Beth Rush is the green wellness editor at Body+Mind, where she covers topics like the power of climate consciousness at all stages of education. You can find Beth on Twitter @bodymindmag. Subscribe to Body+Mind for more posts by Beth!

Innovative Materials Paving the Way for Eco-Friendly Construction

The movement toward greener construction has allowed for innovative solutions to emerge. Sustainability is now at the forefront of building decisions, and the industry is making strides to offset its carbon footprint. Experts in the sector are exploring some of the most advanced technologies to make construction more eco-friendly.

Make Way for Mass Timber

Mass timber is rapidly gaining recognition as a low-carbon alternative to the ubiquitous use of concrete and steel. It’s a relatively new category of wood products produced by mechanically nailing or gluing multiple solid wood panels to create larger structural building components. 

Unlike traditional high-carbon materials such as concrete and steel, mass timber is a carbon sink that captures carbon in the atmosphere and stores it in the wood. Mass timber buildings are reported to have up to 94% lower global warming potential (GWP) than concrete buildings and 91% lower GWP than steel structures. These buildings can be constructed faster and with less waste, significantly reducing carbon emissions.

Mycelium-Composite Insulation

Mushrooms and construction don’t always go together, but advancements in insulation using mycelium are starting to change that. The fungal mycelium is the root-like structure of a mushroom. When dried, it becomes durable and shows mold-, water- and fire-resistant properties. Mixed with lignocellulosic materials like sawdust, the two create a lightweight, hydrophobic and thermally insulating composite — an excellent alternative for traditional petroleum-based plastics like expanded polystyrene (EPS).

Highly porous mycelium composites demonstrate an impressive energy absorption of 32 kJm−3 — this, along with its cushioning effect and thermal conductivity, make it a flexible material that can be used in various industrial applications. Mycelium-based biocomposite materials aren’t used at a massive scale yet, but they are gaining popularity and will likely become a preferred alternative.

Advancements in Concrete

Concrete has long been a construction staple, but massive environmental impact forces the industry to rethink how to improve it. Cement production generates a staggering 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, making up 8% of the world’s emissions. Fortunately, innovations are helping mitigate this impact.

Kaolin Mineral White Cement

Kaolin is a naturally occurring clay mineral used to produce heat-resistant materials without breaking down. This material is perfect for creating refractory bricks and insulation. Minerals found in kaolin can improve its refractory performance — a higher aluminum content enhances fire resistance, while iron, titanium and potassium maintain durability. 

3D Printed Concrete

3D printing usually benefits industries with manufacturing and prototyping needs. However, 3D-printed concrete is making waves in construction. The technology allows experts to design components as massive printers print them to life, making building more productive. 

The building value chain contributes as much as 37% of global carbon emissions. 3D printing can help reduce that as builders will no longer have to transport materials. They can create structures faster, reducing carbon emissions and producing less waste in the process.

Self-Healing Concrete

Another exciting development is the advent of self-healing concrete. Capsules containing healing agents are mixed into the concrete to repair cracks as they occur over time. Since they’re porous, the capsules react with moisture and air to form a new material that fills the cracks and restores the concrete’s structural integrity. This adds to its impermeability, lengthens the life of structures and reduces maintenance costs.

Precast Concrete

This type of concrete is produced off-site by pouring concrete into a mold, curing it in the manufacturer’s facility and transporting the precast product to the construction site. It’s a more sustainable option to site-cast concrete because manufacturing requires significantly less energy and materials. The molds used in precast concrete production can also be reused, thereby reducing the waste associated with construction. 

Bendable Concrete

Bendable concrete sounds impossible, as the material is known to be brittle and breakable. However, mixing polymer-derived fibers into the concrete forms a microstructure that withstands bending and enhances ductility. Also known as Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC), bendable concrete is shock-absorbent and resistant to cracking, reducing the need for maintenance and repairs.

Green Construction Materials Is Key to Building an Eco-Friendly Tomorrow

As the construction industry continues pursuing green initiatives, new materials will emerge to solve the sector’s most pressing needs. From enhancing traditional staples like concrete to creating new products from the most unexpected matters, these sustainable innovations help lower the industry’s carbon footprint while also creating safer, more resilient structures. The future of eco-friendly construction hinges on adopting these groundbreaking materials, which pave the way for a greener, more sustainable tomorrow.