Walk into almost any grocery store and you'll find shelves filled with honey. But not all honey is processed the same way, and the differences can matter when you're choosing what to put on your table.
So what are the actual raw honey benefits? Research has examined honey for its antioxidant activity, antimicrobial properties, and potential role in soothing coughs. Raw honey also contains naturally occurring compounds such as phenolic compounds and enzymes that can be affected by processing and heat.
But it's important to separate what research actually supports from exaggerated claims you may see online.
In this guide, we'll look at the potential benefits of raw honey, what makes raw honey different from more heavily processed honey, how to choose a quality product, and what you should know about honey safety.
What Is Raw Honey?
Raw honey is honey that has undergone minimal processing and has not been intentionally heated to high temperatures or finely filtered to remove naturally occurring particles.
Because honey is a natural agricultural product, its color, aroma, texture, and flavor can vary depending on the flowers the bees visited and the environment where the honey was produced.
Raw honey can contain naturally occurring pollen, enzymes, phenolic compounds, and other minor components. The exact composition varies considerably from one honey to another.
That variation is part of what makes honey interesting. A wildflower honey from one region can taste completely different from honey produced somewhere else.
What Pasteurization Actually Does to Honey
Before the benefits can land with any credibility, you need to understand what's at stake when honey gets processed. Pasteurization inactivates the living enzymes in honey and degrades heat-sensitive phenolic compounds like flavonoids and phenolic acids.
Fine mechanical filtration, often performed alongside heat treatment, removes pollen. In one controlled study, processing buckwheat honey reduced antioxidant capacity by 33.4% on an ORAC assay. The size of the loss varies by honey variety and processing intensity, but the direction is consistent: heat takes away.
What a genuinely raw, cold-extracted honey retains is a different story. Propolis, pollen, and a full spectrum of polyphenols stay in the jar. Natural enzymes remain intact, including glucose oxidase, which produces hydrogen peroxide and is responsible for much of honey's antimicrobial activity.
1. Honey Has Naturally Occurring Antimicrobial Properties
Honey has been studied for its antimicrobial activity.
One reason is glucose oxidase, an enzyme naturally present in honey that can contribute to the production of hydrogen peroxide under certain conditions. Honey's high sugar concentration and acidity also contribute to its ability to inhibit the growth of some microorganisms.
However, antimicrobial activity varies significantly between honeys.
This is an important distinction: the fact that honey has antimicrobial properties does not mean eating raw honey treats an infection or replaces medical treatment.
Medical-grade honey is a separate category of product specifically manufactured and regulated for medical applications. It should not be confused with ordinary food-grade honey sold for consumption.
2. Raw Honey Contains Antioxidant Compounds
One of the most studied characteristics of raw honey is its antioxidant activity.
High-altitudes stress plants, and a number of assay studies report that high-altitude honey contains measurably higher concentrations of bioactive compounds than lowland varieties, though results vary by geographical region and botanical source.
Research has also found that processing and storage can influence honey's antioxidant characteristics. Importantly, the effect of heating isn't identical for every honey, so broad claims about exactly how much antioxidant activity is lost through processing aren't appropriate for every jar.
In other words, raw honey can be a source of naturally occurring antioxidant compounds, but it shouldn't be treated as a replacement for a varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other whole foods.
3. Honey May Help Soothe a Cough
Of the commonly discussed health benefits of honey, cough relief has some of the clearest clinical evidence.
Research has found that honey can help reduce cough frequency and severity in children with upper respiratory infections, particularly when compared with no treatment or placebo. This doesn't mean honey cures the underlying infection, but it may help make a cough more manageable.
Honey should never be given to children under 12 months of age because of the risk of infant botulism. The CDC specifically recommends avoiding honey for infants younger than one year.
For older children and adults, honey can be enjoyed on its own or added to foods and beverages as part of a normal diet.
4. Raw Honey Contains Naturally Occurring Enzymes
Honey contains several naturally occurring enzymes, including glucose oxidase, diastase, and invertase.
These enzymes are part of honey's natural composition, and some can be affected by heat and processing. The activity of these enzymes is also one of the characteristics researchers use when evaluating honey quality and processing.
However, it would be misleading to say that eating raw honey provides a proven digestive or health benefit simply because these enzymes are present.
The more accurate takeaway is simple: raw honey retains more of its naturally occurring components because it undergoes less processing.
5. Raw Honey Contains Pollen and Other Natural Components
Depending on how it is produced and filtered, raw honey may retain naturally occurring pollen and other tiny particles from the hive and surrounding environment.
These components can contribute to honey's character and can also provide information about its botanical and geographical origin.
This is one reason the appearance of raw honey can vary. Some raw honeys are crystal clear, while others may appear cloudy or contain visible particles.
6. Honey's Flavor and Composition Depend on Where It Comes From
One of the most overlooked aspects of honey is where it comes from.
Bees collect nectar from the plants flowering around their hives, meaning the surrounding landscape can influence the resulting honey's flavor, aroma, color, and chemical composition.
Research has found relationships between honey's phenolic composition, antioxidant activity, botanical origin, geographical origin, and color.
That means honey isn't simply "sweet."
Two honeys can have completely different sensory profiles depending on the flowers available to the bees.
What Makes Andes Honey Different?
Andes Honey comes from our family's honey operation in the Ecuadorian Andes, where our bees forage in a high-elevation mountain environment.
Our honey is single-origin, raw, and unfiltered, with no intentional heating during our extraction process.
The environment surrounding the hives is part of what gives our honey its character. The bees forage among native Andean plants, including lemon verbena (cedrón), lemongrass (hierba luisa), chuquiragua, matico, chilca, and Andean agave.
Rather than trying to make our honey taste the same from one harvest to the next, we embrace the natural character that comes from its origin.
That means the color, texture, aroma, and flavor of honey can naturally vary between harvests.
Does Raw Honey Have More Benefits Than Regular Honey?
This is where the answer requires some nuance.
Raw honey can retain naturally occurring compounds that may be reduced or altered during certain processing methods. Research has documented changes to honey's enzymes, phenolic compounds, antioxidant characteristics, and other properties following thermal processing.
But it would be inaccurate to say that every raw honey is automatically more nutritious than every processed honey.
Honey varies by floral source, geography, processing method, storage conditions, and other factors.
The most accurate reason to choose raw honey is that it is minimally processed and retains more of the natural characteristics of the honey as it came from the hive.
How to Choose Good Raw Honey
If you're shopping for raw honey, don't rely on words like "natural" or "pure" alone. Look for information that tells you how the honey was produced.
Consider looking for:
- Raw — indicates minimal processing.
- Unfiltered — indicates that the honey hasn't been finely filtered to remove naturally occurring particles.
- Single-origin or traceable sourcing — tells you where the honey came from.
- Clear producer information — reputable producers should be able to explain where their honey comes from.
- Transparent processing information — look for brands willing to explain how their honey is harvested and bottled.
You may also notice that raw honey can crystallize over time.
That's normal.
Crystallization is a natural process caused by the glucose in honey forming crystals. It doesn't mean the honey has spoiled, and different types of honey crystallize at different rates.
A honey that stays liquid isn't necessarily processed, either. Floral source, glucose-to-fructose ratio, temperature, and storage conditions all influence crystallization.
Is Raw Honey Safe?
For most healthy adults, honey can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet.
But there is one important rule that applies to all honey, whether raw or pasteurized:
Never give honey to a child under 12 months old.
Honey can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum, which can cause infant botulism. The CDC recommends that children younger than one year should not consume honey.
People with allergies to pollen or bee products should also be aware that honey can contain pollen and other naturally occurring components.
And because honey is primarily a source of carbohydrates and sugars, it should be enjoyed in reasonable amounts as part of an overall balanced diet.
The Bottom Line on Raw Honey Benefits
The research surrounding honey is interesting, but the strongest claims are not always the ones you see repeated online.
Raw honey contains naturally occurring enzymes, phenolic compounds, and other components that contribute to its unique composition. Research has also shown that processing and heating can alter some of these characteristics.
Honey also has some clinical evidence for helping soothe coughs, while its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties continue to be studied.
But raw honey isn't a medicine, and it shouldn't be marketed as a treatment for disease.
For us, the appeal of raw honey goes beyond a list of supposed health benefits.
It's about where the honey comes from, how it's harvested, how little it's processed, and what makes that particular honey taste like the place it came from.
Andes Honey comes from a single origin in the Ecuadorian Andes, where our family harvests raw, unfiltered honey from mountain hives.
A taste of the Andes in every drop.