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By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

We’ve all heard the importance of consuming “raw” foods, or in other words, foods that are completely or mostly unprocessed. Consuming foods in tier raw or natural state means that they maintain most of if not all of their nutritional benefits.  One food that is especially important to consume in its raw state is honey.

Raw honey is honey that has come straight from the honeycomb. Besides being filtered and bottled, there is no processing that raw honey undergoes. According to registered dietician Amber Gorin, this allows the honey to retain most of its naturally occurring probiotics, antioxidants, iron, zinc, and potassium.

Due to its nutrient content, raw honey is:

• Good for your gut
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antibacterial
• A nutritive alternative to table sugar

Another benefit to raw honey is that it is free from any additives such as added sugars, preservatives, and excess water which is added to change the consistency. And, if local raw honey is purchased, it also contains bee pollen, which can help to alleviate seasonal allergies.

While raw honey can be purchased at your local grocery store, there are also many local beekeepers here in Arizona who produce and sell their own raw honey. Check out this page from Fill Your Plate for a list of places you can get local raw honey. Or check out my personal favorite here!