Honeydew Honey - A Premier Honey and Functional Food
Bees generally forage for plant nectar, but they also can take the sweet secretions of aphids, known as honeydew. Honeydew nectar is produced from a small scale insect (Ultracoelostoma assimile) living in the bark of two species of tree in New Zealand’s beech forests, mainly the black beech (black from the sooty mold growing on the surplus nectar covering the trunks and branches), and, to a lesser extent, the red beech. In the early morning sunlight, the droplets of nectar glisten like the morning dew, giving it the name honeydew. The aphids dine on the nectar and the honeybees collect their excretions to make a rich, flavorful honey that remains naturally liquid. Honeydew is a remarkable “functional food” that is rich in minerals, antioxidants, antibacterial properties, and oligosaccharides, which are known to maintain and enhance the body’s digestive system.
Rich in Minerals
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, honey contains many minerals in very small quantities, potassium (11 mg per tablespoon) being the most abundant. Dark honeys, particularly honeydew, are the richest in minerals. Other minerals found in honeydew include calcium, zinc, magnesium, copper, manganese, iron, phosphorus, selenium, chromium, and sodium.
Antioxidant Power
The main group of antioxidants in honey are the bioflavonoids pinocembrin, chrysin, pinobanksin, and galagin. Pinocembrin is found only in honey and bee propolis. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), catalase, and selenium are also found in honey. In general, the darker honeys, such as honeydew, have stronger antioxidant potential. Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals, which may damage cells.
Active Wound Healing
Some regions of South Island in New Zealand produce “active honeydew. “Active” refers to the antibacterial activity of the honey, which is unaffected by enzymes in the body that destroy the other healing factors. This antibacterial activity is also unaffected by light, heat, and time. In fact, experience has shown that some active honey actually increases its level of activity over time.
When used in wound healing, active honey maintains its potency even when diluted over 50 times (as will happen when used on or in the body). It will also diffuse deeper into skin tissue than the enzymes of other honeys. All honey will stop the growth of bacteria because of its high sugar content, but when the sugars are diluted by body fluids, this antibacterial action is lost. The additional antibacterial component found in active honey then becomes important.
Active honey has proven to be a powerful antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal agent, killing bugs such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Helicobacter pylori. Active manuka honey is highly effective against antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” and is often used when traditional methods fail to heal persistent wounds.
A Sweet Prebiotic
Honeydew has been used in folk medicine as a treatment for heartburn, acid reflux, sour stomach, and other intestinal distress. Perhaps the reason it is so effective is that some honeys (especially honeydew) contain significant levels of oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides are complex sugars that encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria (specifically, Bifidobacterium bifidum and lactobacilli) in the digestive tract. Oligosaccharides are known as “prebiotics” because they help promote the growth of “probiotics,” the “friendly” bacteria that help balance microflora in the human gastrointestinal tract. Honeydew honey contains larger amounts of oligosaccharides (about 5%) than nectar honey. The oligosaccharides present include erlose, theanderose, ketose, raffinose, melezitose, maltotriose, and panose.
Scientists from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University investigated the growth and viability of commercial Bifidobacterium in honey-sweetened milk. The results revealed that growth promotion and acid production were greatest when Bf-1 and Bf-6 were grown in the presence of honey (Journal of Food Science Protection; 64(11): 1775-1779).
Clinical studies have shown the following benefits of oligosaccharides:
- Increase in the growth, activity, and viability of beneficial bacteria in the colon
- Improved colon function
- Increase in the production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate
- Increased absorption of calcium and magnesium
- Inhibited growth of harmful bacteria—as pathogenic bacteria are eliminated, mineral absorption is improved
- Improved elimination of toxic compounds
- Aid in restoring the intestinal flora after a course of antibiotics
Honeydew honey is a must in the kitchen, as it retains its rich flavor during cooking. As an added bonus, honeydew honey can be used as a cancer-preventing marinade. The National Honey Board has documented that marinating meat for four hours in marinades containing 30% honey significantly reduces the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines (potential cancer-causing compounds) in meat that begins to char or blacken when cooked at high temperatures. Honeydew has long been the choice of chefs in New Zealand for glazes and in baking.
Honeydew honey has a strong, full flavor, a malty, almost pungent aroma, and a thick red amber color.
