Are You Eating "Mystery" Honey--Or the Pure Golden Food?

To Be 100 Percent Pure Honey--Or Not?
--By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

News headlines continue to show us that the honey we buy may not be pure. In my new book The Healing Powers of Honey: A Complete Guide to Nature's Remarkable Nectar! (Kensington, October 2011), I note that people in the honey bee world, know that the honey they see in some grocery stores and dollar stores may not be 100 percent pure but instead be "adulterated" (contaminated with tainted elements).
This fact is upsetting to people because not only are we not getting what we pay for, but we also are being duped, as often the honey is tainted with unhealthful, cheaper ingredients. This ordeal is making the nes more rather than less and it's causing concern for both consumers and beekeeers.
All-natural, 100 percent pure honey will have one ingredients listed on the nutrition label: honey. Imitation honeys, much like quality imitation dark chocolate, are not a laughing matter in the real world. Honey-flavored syrups, or honey that's diluted with other ingredients, are becoming more commonplace and being sold to the unaware consumer. To be sure you get the pure golden food of the gods, check the label.  Don't get stung! Find out all you want to know and more in The Healing Powers of Honey.  (Source: National Honey Board.)

Author Unveils Sweet Secrets Behind New Honey Book

Superfood honey can be used to sweeten up a homemade
pumpkin or sweet potato pie for the upcoming holidays.
--Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

1.    Cal tell us a little bit about your background? I'm an author-Intuitive…known for the internationally popular Healing Powers book series.
2.    When did you get interested in the healing power of foods? Since a teen back in the 70s I was a “granola girl.” I ate fruits/vegetables/yogurt. It was “in” to be lean and fit. So I was and still am a “health nut.” I was going to be a nutritionist but ended up getting my master’s degree in English (Creative Writing).
3.  I understand you have written several other healing power books? The Healing Powers Book Series began back in 1999 when I penned The Healing Powers of Vinegar. The rest is history. Several years later, the book was a success. Olive oil, chocolate, and honey followed.
4.    Your book draws on interviews with medical doctors, beekeepers, and researchers about the positive effects of honey? Yes, I did go to the “experts” who know about how honey and honey bees…and they told me how this superfood which has been used since biblical times can heal via health improvements to home cures. Also, I met a  beekeeper and his queen Italian bees…and I spoke with beekeepers around the globe.  I interviewed the editor of Bee Culture Magazine (The Healing Powers of Honey received a positive review in the October issue) about trends of city hobbyist bee keepers to CCD—the mysterious vanishing and die-off of bees with an unknown cause. And I got to taste straight from the hive… honeycomb. A hexagon structure made from beeswax by honey bees to hold honey.
5.    Tell us what makes honey so healthy? It’s got vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting antioxidants (molecules in superfoods like fruits/vegetables) that can stall Father Time and enhance the immune system and  keep our cells healthy.
6.    How many honey varieties are there? Hundreds…more than 300 in U.S. from different floral sources. I got up close and  intimate with more than 30…we’re talking different flavors from different sources.The darker varieties are the healthiest…a bit of a challenge for the palate: manuka to buckwheat---which are commonly used in health and honey studies. My faves are sage, wildflower, white honey from Hawaii, pumpkin, blackberry--and orange blossom. Once you taste the varietals there's no going back to one honey flavor.
7.    Are there major differences between raw honey and the commercial varieties? Yes, raw is healthier but mass market varieties still have benefits, too.  The real, raw, unprocessed, unheated, unfiltered kind of honey that you get straight from the hive—honeycomb—is the real deal with the good for you antioxidants. Think pure ACV, quality dark cocoa.
8.    What are some short-term health benefits of consuming honey? Home cures: I've turned to honey for sore throat, allergies, cough, cuts, anxiety, stress, fatigue, and it can even boost libido! What's more, manuka honey--found in Australia and New Zealand--is simply amazing for its healing perks. If you have a cut, like I did on my foot, it can heal it in days, thanks to honey's super amazing antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits.
9.    You say honey can help lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, increase longevity and even reduce boy fat and unwanted weight? Indeed… If you stay clear of the big diseases…you’ll up the odds of living longer. And honey can help stave off the major life-threatening diseases because of its different compounds. I show studies with humans (not just lab rats) in my honey book how it works to back up this fact.
10.   You say pure, raw, unprocessed honey is a healthier sweetener than table sugar and high fructose corn syrup? You get only empty nutrition with white table sugar…HFCS is controversial but I stay clear from it--found in fruit juice drinks to processed foods. Honey contains dozens of different substances (minerals, vitamins, antioxidants) which makes it more like a fruit than sugar. Sugar and HFCS are simpler compounds containing only glucose and fructose, honey is more of a “functional or superfood”—because of its compounds.
11. How many calories typically per teaspoon? 21--a dieter's dream. And just a spoonful will provide energy to get a move on and boost your metabolism as well as curb that sweet tooth so you're not tempted to overeat sweets that are laden with saturated fat, calories, and added sugar. 
12. How much Honey do you recommend people eat daily or weekly? 5 teaspoons/8teaspoons women/men. (None for babies younger than one year old.)
13. How can you use honey in your beauty routine? It’s used in DIY recipes/store bought beauty products/top-notch spa treatments. I use all types to help keep my hair and skin healthy. I was treated to a honey bath at a plush European-style hotel and the story is unforgettable. My skin felt so smooth.
14.   What kind of recipes are there in your book? Scrumptious recipes that'll wow you. The book was purchased by The Good Cook Book Club. Spa chefs/honey companies (big and small) provided many recipes including Honey Biscotti, Bee Breakfast Smoothie, Honey Poppy Seed Salad Dressing, Honey Glazed Hen, Honey Berries with Lime Pound Cake, and Sweet Potato Pie. Wholesome, down-to-earth ingredients are used--mostly from the Mediterranean diet--are used. I'm talking whole grains, nuts, fresh fruit and vegetables, dark chocolate, and olive oil as a primary fat.
 15. What easy ways can our listeners use honey in their everyday lives? Use a teaspoon of honey in tea/coffee daily and/or drizzle on fresh fruit or whole grain bread to get a double punch of antioxidants.
The Healing Powers of Honey (Kensington, October 2011) by Cal Orey is available at  online bookstores including www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com , local bookstores, OneSpirit bookclubs, and other popular grocery stores including Walmart, Smiths, and Target.

Going Abroad Sierra-Style

By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

It snowed yesterday in the Sierra. I have this love-hate relationship with the cold weather. It really wasn't much of a storm, perhaps foreshadow of the white powder to come. Still, my weather forecast for the Fall till late December is nothing to write home about. We may get a few more storms but that will mean slush and rain with temperatures in the low digits at lake level. I can do that. (See Callie in hooded turtleneck sweater, hooded sweatshirt, jeans, mittens, Sorels, neck scarf, ski hat...like the character by the fireplace in the library in the film "The Day After Tomorrow.")

As a city girl, I have to say I miss the culture, people, malls, bistros, and weather of the SF Bay Area. Ah, the fog and overcast. Not sure why I get the moving bug during this time of year--but I do.

Also, it seems like everyone I know is going to Europe: Geologist Jim Berkland is in Portugal (or in the process of getting there); another acquaintance is talking abroad; and someone just got back from Spain.

Meanwhile, I go to the resort pool/hot tub and talk to the straggling tourists (it's off season) and get a bit of culture vicariously through them. And there is the Psychic Power Network  and Psychics Forever where I can read the callers calling from different countries. It's a quick fix of going abroad, sort of. (It helps if I'm sipping exotic tea or coffee.)

Perhaps I am meant to stay in my Tahoe rustic cabin, making a crackling fire (I did it last night; my first one of the season), cuddle up with Zen (my Siamese love kitty) and my Brittany duo, and watch Julia in "Eat, Pray, Love".... This lifestyle is in the stars for me, for now. So, chilling and creating articles about Earth Changes, food, and honey to being a guest on radio shows to spread the word about my new book The Healing Powers of Honey (Kensington)--next week I will be doing it in Italy--is as good as it gets. Maybe I should learn Spanish. Or not. Hola. 

Author Cal Orey is a Spokeshuman for Honey Bees

Honey bees pollinate our favorite superfoods--strawberries; and alfalfa--what cows eat. Imagine a world without berries and organic milk... --Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

I have a strange bond with the hardworking honey bee. Yep, the honey bee works double shift: This insect makes honey and pollinates our crops--one third of the food we eat. Recently, and in the upcoming weeks, I like the honey bee, am working during the days promoting my books and nights I put on my phone psychic hat and dish out readings for two-leggers.
As an author of the new book The Healing Powers of Honey (Kensington, October 2011) I've been spreading the word about honey. Yesterday morning I was up at 7:30 AM and a guest on KSFO Bob Tanem In the Garden Show.  (He noted I am "Type A"--like a worker bee.) Callers called in to talk about the honey bee, its well being to its demise, thanks to colony collapse disorder (CCD) -- a mystery when bees leave their hives and vanish. Speaking of disappearing, my article "The Vanishing Honey Bee" (online, page 26) was published today in the November issue of Oracle 20/20 Magazine. What's more, come November 12, I'm flying to Italy (via phone) to carry on the buzz about the bees. I'll be the beelady on Beyond the Matrix.

Oddly, while my book is about the health perks of honey, it's the honey bee that's upstaging the liquid gold. Why? Because the bee pollinates our grub. We're talking fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts, and cocoa--yes, chocolate!  And me, now a self-professed spokeshumanoid for my kindred spirits, the honey bees, is spreading the word about the importance of this creature. Oh, and on November 26, I will be at Barnes and Noble bookstore in Reno--for more talk about the amazing bee-healthy benefits of the honey bee. Still pondering if I should wear my honey bee garb. Or not. I feel like I'm morphing into a bee the way Seth did in the unforgettable film The Fly. 
Whew! I need a cup of chamomile tea and honey to chill. It's a task working night and day. As I sit here in my study with a hive-like feel to it--solo--I'm sensing I was a queen bee in a past life. But hey, I can live with that. Winter is coming. (Honey bees huddle up to keep warm and share honey amongst them. Like the bees, I'll cozy up and enjoy two dog/one cat nights throughout the colder months ahead. And the pantry is stocked with honeys--all kinds.)

The Buzzworthys Cure for Springtime Allergies

Cures From Your Kitchen:
Seasonal Allergies Bee-Gone!

'Tis the season when allergies, colds, coughs and flus hit households around the globe. Living at Lake Tahoe is a treat during autumn but...this year while Indian Summer is welcomed, the ups and downs of temperatures are wreaking havoc on my body. Walking in a snow flurry last week and gardening in the sunshine this afternoon is enough to make anyone feel a bit out of whack. But honey comes to the rescue!
As the author of the book The Healing Powers of Honey (October 2011, Kensington Publishing Corp., ) I forgot about this sweet home remedy that is good for the body and spirit --as I note in both The Healing Powers of Chocolate and The Healing Powers of Honey books.  That's right, by turning to immune-boosting, antioxidant-rich chocolate, you may find your own allergy symptoms, from hay fever to seasonal-change woes, may stop in their tracks--rain, slush, snow or shine.
The truth is, I've been too busy fighting allergy symptoms that I forgot about home sweet cures like chocolate and honey Blame it on the new season and oh, oh, oh--the two shedding dogs and cat. Hairs, hairs, hairs everywhere. My black T-shirts and sweaters look like a white bunny rabbit's fur. Two weeks ago, I paid a visit to my doctor. My eyes were red, itchy, runny, and oh-so puffy! Not to forget the post-nasal drip and sneezing--not fun. And today, my throat is sore and voice is raspy. It's time for this honey book author to practice what she preaches and take her own sweet ancient cure, straight from the hive.
Allergies (Stop Seasonal Misery): Dealing with a runny nose, and coughing can ruin an indoor and outdoor event, thanks to seasononal pollen. Every year when the yellow pollen arrives in the spring like an uninvited visitor at Lake Tahoe I hold a tissue in one hand and am on the phone to a pharmacist with the other. I am always on a mission to find the natural remedy to stop my sniffles.
What Honey Rx to Use: Try eating a tablsepoon of locally produced honey. Proponents of honey tell me that your immune system will get used to the local pollen in it (it should be withing a 50-mile radius from where you live).
Why You'll Bee Happy: If you have mild allergies, honey may enhance the immune system to build up a better arsenal against airborne allergens. Honey enthusiasts like D.C. Jarvis, M.D., believe honeycomb is excellent for treating breathing problems. The honey prescription, according to him, was chewing honeycomb, which may line the entire breathing tract... "Vermont folk medicine uses honeycomb as a desensitizing agent; from the results obtained by its use it appears to be anti-allergic in its action," notes the good doctor who gives credit to the honey bees.
Beekeepers tell me that honey may help allergies linked to trees and ragweed--the culprit in hay fever and its irritating symptoms during spring and autumn months. So, as beekeepers are workerbee busy at work selling local honey to allergy sufferers, like me (and maybe you, too), I am busy including all types of honey in my diet becasue I want to be covered. And if honey can help me cope with congestion and pesky sniffles, I'm in. While further research is needed, I'm not going to wait for scientists to go to their lab rats for a go-ahead. More honey, please.

The Honey Bee Decline: Is The Honeymoon Over?

"The honey bee population is declining."

In my new book The Healing Powers of Honey (October 2011, Kensington Publishing Corp.), I noted in chapter 1, bees make honey and work double shift as key pollinators for mankind. Did you know that our crops depend on the beekeepers and small honey bee in a big way? Millions of acres of U.S. Fruit, vegetable, oilseed, and legume crops depend on insect pollination--and that includes the sacred honey bees. This little insect gives humans gifts (from health to beauty and eco-friendly uses) from the hive but also helps pollinate our crops, home gardens, and wildlife habitat.
But despite the need for the honey bee--there is a megaglitch that is becoming a growing problem: The honey bee population is declining... In the upcoming weeks, I'll be a guest on talks shows such as Michael Quinsey's Connecting the Light in the UK,  a program in Italy, and KSFO in the SF Bay Area (October 30, Sunday at 7:30 AM, PST) to dish out what's going on with our honey bees gone AWOL.
It's no secret. Beekeepers across America are witnessing the mysterious die-offs of bee colonies. Back in 2006, an apiary owner in Pennsylvania, made the problem known. Penn State rsearchers took notes of the bee colony numbers' decline, due to a condition now known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). This deadly disorder causes honey bee colonies (50,000 to 60,000 bees in one) to vanish without a trace--leading to The Happening and I Am Legend images of thriller sci-fi films of human and animal extinction.
And in my book on honey and the honey bee I devote  an entire chapter to this intriguing topic and I will continue to expound on the frightening phenomenon about the latest theories behind CCD--and what's happening today. Top scientists to beekeepers shared with me their take on the spooky demise of the little honey bee and what it may mean for us in the big picture.
Update: Millions of Floridian honey bees die. Pesticides? Poison?  CCD is not suspected to be the cause.
[Excerpt The Healing Powers of Honey]; By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

New Charming and Enlightening Honey Book Hits Mainstream America

My first encounter with honey was when I was five years old.

By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

As a child, in my dreams I lived in a cottage with my father, a dedicated beekeeper, and my mom, who did all cooking, canning, and baking with honey. In our garden I'd watch my father experiment with hives and establish an apiary on 10 acres. He shipped Italian queen bees across the United States and around the world. But my home was normal, because in reality I grew up in a middle-class suburb of south San Jose, California, a place once touted for its nectar sources--a honey bee's dreamworld.
My first encounter with honey was when I was five years old. In kindergarten I remember drawing a giant honey bee on a wildflower. (It didn't hold a beeswax candle to beekeeper Prince Cesi's microscopic drawing of the insect.) After art time, Mrs. Berry dished out graham crackers (sweetened with honey and developed by Sylvester Graham in 1829), milk cartons, and Mr. Bee-Good notes (little square papers with special kudos to three good students once a week). When I wasn't one of the chosen few, my mind wandered; What would life be like as a bee? My imagination soared with images of me morphing into an insect and flying from flower to flower to fill up on sweet nectar.
That was decades ago, and today I can look back at my life experiences and see how the honey bee and honey played a role in my real world. I wasn't raised by a beekeeper and his wife, nor as a kid did I put on bee veil and visit bees. But I got a taste of honey and its healing powers  through the years of growing up and traveling like a wayward bee... The best part is, I have discovered the healing magic of honey, and a world I've called Honeyland that I want to share with you.
[Excerpt from The Healing Powers of Honey (Kensington Publishing Corp.)]

Bee Culture Magazine Unveils New Book: The Healing Powers of Honey

"This is a good book to
 give someone who doesn't want to know all about bees and beekeeping--but just honey."
--Kim Flottum
By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

I was pleasantly surprised today when I received a copy of Bee Culture: The Magazine Of American Beekeeping. On page 12, my new book The Healing Powers of Honey (published by Kensington Publishing Corp.) is scrutinized like a honey bee found on an orange blossom. And the review penned by editor Kim Flottum--is sweet and enlightening like being in a field with gentle honey bees.

He gets it. Flottum writes, "It does cover a bit of beekeeping history, and mentions some well known authors in our field. But, it does cover a lot of topics, none of them in enough depth to become boring, or dull. It is a good starting place for someone very interested in knowing more about honey, sources, flavors, colors and what's good to eat with each kind." And that's not all...

"Each chapter leads off with a bit of her history," the editor continues on, "as she roamed the U.S. and Canada in her youth, looking for adventure [like a wild honey bee gone AWOL], and good food...actually, any food sometimes, and she always has a dog with her."

The fact is, Flottum  (a fellow busy author) dishes out praise to my workerbee's work: "...The healing chapters cover honey and cinnamon, teas, home remedies, creams and lotions from beeswax, beauty aids, and lists and charts and graphs and more lists and more lists of things to use honey, things to use honey for, things honey can cure, and more."

Whew! I'm exhausted just reading what the magazine editor caught and that I captured and infused in 302 pages.  Good job, Kim Flottum. Thank you for including The Healing Powers of Honey in the "Good Reading" column of your October issue. I'm buzzed!

News Flash! Groundbreaking Honey (Bee) Book Has Landed on Earth!

THE HEALING POWERS OF HONEY:
A COMPLETE GUIDE TO NATURE'S REMARKABLE NECTAR!
BY CAL OREY (KENSINGTON BOOKS)

Today, September 27--the day of the New Moon--the new honey book The Healing Powers of Honey has been published and is available at all bookstores. On the back of the cover you will read: Drawing on the latest honey buzz and interviews with medical doctors, beekeepers, and researchers, this charming and enlightening book (sweetened with stories about honey bees and humans) reveals 30 healing honey varieties paired with cinnamon and teas, tells you haw to incorporate honey into Mediterranean-style, heart-healthy recipes such as Honey Custard French Toast and Filo Pear and Honey Tarts.
The author's dedication is heartfelt and original: This book is dedicated to the honey bees--especially the persevering workers and queens--whom I feel are my kindred spirits. I feel a strong and moving bond to this small but remarkable hardworking creature with big efforts--nature's greatest gift.  And that's not all...
This landmark book has been featured by a buzz-worthy Youtube, NewsMax, will be reviewed in the October issue of Bee Culture Magazine, and graces the homepage in an interview on Red Room: Where the Writers Are.  And this is the new beginning of the workerbee author's work spreading the news of the groundbreaking honey (bee) book.

What's the Most Buzzworthy Ice Cream?

By Cal Orey,

The Writing Gourmet

It's hard being a worker bee and paying the rent. Read: Writer's Block has hit once again. Lifetime is not making me smile. It's too late to swim. The dogs have been walked. But the book, the big book in the works--The Healing Powers of Honey (Kensington, October 2011)--in the study is calling my name: "Callie. Callie. Callie." I am trying to tune it out but the buzzing...the noise...it's not working...

So, here I sit rereading an ice cream blog post that I penned last July. Translation: The block is bad. The post was a ranking of the best chocolate ice cream. Today, I'm into chocolate and vanilla--a special kind, that is. So this year's winner, according to me the chocolatarian, is...

Vanilla Honey Bee. The carton reads: "Help the honey bees at the http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/ web site. After all, my worker friends pollinate one third of natural foods. That's the stuff I and you eat. The good stuff.

And, of course, as the author of The Healing Powers of Chocolate (Kensington, 2010), I'm sitting here with a pint of Dark Chocolate Haagen Dazs and Vanilla Honey Bee--also by Haagen Dazs--and their awesome job of helping the honey bee. As a Libra, which do I indulge in is the question or do I go into the oh so l-o-n-e-l-y study and work, work, work. Such a decision. No wonder bees work in colonies.

Gosh, to think that last year this time I was in my worker bee mode and did a chocolate ice cream ranking test. This is a must read. Meanwhile, I think I'll ponder how I can relate to the sacred honey bee and/or nibble on both ice creams.