How Is Honey Produced?

Honey starts with flowers that have nectar. This attracts insects, including bees. Apart from sugars, nectar contains several minerals vital to human health. After the bees drink deeply of this sweet juice, their bodies add to it enzymes and formic acid. These digest and change the sugars. Further handling back at the hive helps to evaporate water.
The final product, mature honey, is composed of approximately 41 percent fruit sugar (levulose), the sweetest sugar known. It also includes 35 percent grape sugar (dextrose), 17 percent water, 2 percent sucrose and small amounts of mineral salts and amino acids. One authority says that up to 450 different amino acids have been found in honey. Honey also has almost all the trace elements that the human body needs. All these factors make honey a most pleasant and healthful food. Honey is especially good for little ones. It is a gentle laxative and can be used safely for babies, starting with a half teaspoonful a day.