Raw honey is best described as honey “as it exists in the beehive”.
On the other hand, the production of regular honey involves several more steps before it is bottled — such as pasteurization and filtration.
Willow Run is proud to sell only raw honey, in it's most natural form. This provides you with the most health benefits and it keeps our process are close to nature as possible.
Raw honey contains a wide variety of nutrients. It has approximately 22 amino acids, 31 different minerals and a wide range of vitamins and enzymes.
What’s most impressive about raw honey is that it contains nearly 30 types of bioactive plant compounds. These are called polyphenols, and they act as antioxidants.
Many studies have linked these antioxidants with impressive health benefits, including reduced inflammation and a lower risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
" Source, Healthline.com"
Commercial Honey's are known to contain fewer antioxidants due to processing methods.
Processing methods like heat treatment and ultrafiltration can remove bee pollen and other nutrients.
Raw honey is only strained before it’s bottled, which means it retains most of the beneficial nutrients and antioxidants that it naturally contains.
Bee pollen is surprisingly nutritious and contains over 250 substances, including vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids, micronutrients and antioxidants.
Bee pollen has been linked to many impressive health benefits. Studies have found that it may help fight inflammation and improve liver function. It also has properties that may help fight against heart disease and stroke.
Approximately 70% of the honey consumed in the US is imported.
There is serious concern worldwide about regular honey being contaminated with sugar or other sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup. Even with fancy labeling, it's hard to tell what's really in your store bought honey.
Local honey can also help seasonal allergies. The same allergens that trigger a reaction in you are present in local, raw honey. By ingesting the honey regularly, you are, in effect, taking “shots” of the allergen in small, manageable doses. The bee's are foraging on local plants!
Buying local is better and not just because it reduces pollution and saves resources. Bees shipped from elsewhere pollinating one crop is how commercial honey is made. This is completely unnatural and hard on bees. Let’s keep the bees home and pollinating as nature intended!
" Source - https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org"
Willow Run is ran by a husband and wife, Dalton and Brooke Wilson. From the moment they laid their roots on their homestead, they knew beekeeping would not only positively impact their land, but also their community.
They quickly dove into beekeeping and started with two hives and a world of learning ahead of them.
Willow Run is currently adding hives, and providing our bees with organic and seasonal vegetation.
We are two humans who love nature and work everyday to keep Willow Run growing and flourishing with sustainability and love in mind!