In the early 1990’s, we were introduced to energy gels. These gels are meant to be consumed right before a rugged endurance event, like a marathon, to help supply you with the carbohydrates and energy you need.

While many people were astounded to realize that such a little packet of sugar could give them enough carbohydrates to finish a race, some of us weren’t surprised. Raw honey has been used for centuries as an energy booster, and even today, raw honey is far better for you than these sugary energy gels.

Carbohydrates: Energy Boosters

Raw honey is extremely high in carbohydrates. In fact, while 17% of honey is water, nearly 82% is made up of carbohydrates! Fructose and glucose are the primary carbohydrates found in honey and are easily absorbed, providing you with the energy you need to carry on with your run.

Fructose is absorbed more slowly than glucose, making it ideal for long distances. Glucose, on the other hand, is absorbed quickly which can give you a quick boost of energy at the beginning of your run. Together, these carbohydrates work to sustain you for miles. Raw honey is so good at providing energy that it has actually saved lives on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

DIY: Raw Honey Energy Drink

Here at Aseda, we sell raw honey energy packets for you to consume on the go. But another great way to get the energy-boosting benefits of raw honey is to make your own energy drink with raw honey as the primary ingredient. Here’s how you do it:

First, mix together one-quarter of a cup of lemon or lime juice and two cups of water. All that’s left to do is add one or two tablespoons of Aseda raw honey to the mixture and stir until it dissolves. This will leave you with a healthy energy drink that is full of vitamins, minerals, and all the carbohydrates you need.

If you are interested in Aseda’s raw honey as an energy booster, you can view our online store here. If you would like more raw honey recipes, you can view our recipe guide here.

Typically, when we have an open wound or a burn we tend to clean it up and put a bandage over top of it. While this does protect the damaged area, it’s not effective at healing the abrasion. Many people apply antibiotics, like Neosporin, to the affected area to clean out any bacteria, but even this cream can have side effects. One alternative that has been well-documented for centuries is applying raw honey to the wound or cut. Here at Aseda Raw Honey, we carry a supply of the finest raw honey on Earth that is both delicious and full of wound healing properties.

Raw Honey Wound Benefits

Raw honey has been used to treat wounds and burns since biblical times. In fact, the healing properties of raw honey have been mentioned in the Bible and Quran. In modern medicine, raw honey has been proven to help heal wounds and burns and has even been administered by doctors in hospitals. Some benefits of using raw honey on wounds and burns are:

• Antibiotics: Raw honey has an abundance of antibiotic properties, which are key to helping your body fight off bacteria. Additionally, the pollen and nectar from flowers used to create the raw honey also contains antibiotic properties.

• Chemical Compounds: Usually chemical compounds mean that the honey is not actually raw, but raw honey contains trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide, which is used to kill bacteria.

• Natural: While raw honey has been shown to have these miraculous healing benefits, commercial-grade honey does not. In fact, using commercial grade honey on an open wound or burn can cause an infection to develop or get progressively worse. This is because commercial-grade honey contains high fructose corn syrup, which can feed bacteria.

Other Health Benefits

Raw honey is a great topical healer, but it has many other far-reaching health benefits. For example, raw honey has been shown to clear up sunburns and acne better than most commercial products. Raw honey does not contain anything except for the honey collected from the hive, so you never have to worry about any harmful ingredients.

If you are interested in Aseda’s raw honey, you can view our online store here.

Now you may be aware that honey is a great alternative to sugar when cooking some of your favorite dishes, but raw honey is an even better choice. Aside from the many health benefits that raw honey presents, when used in preparing meals raw honey offers flavors you won’t be able to find anywhere else. The flavor of raw honey depends on the type of flowers it came from, offering a variety of flavors for plenty of delicious recipes.

When it comes to raw honey, no one makes it better than us here at Aseda Raw Honey. Pesticide, insecticide, and gluten free, our honey will give your more energy and make you feel better throughout the day. It can even assist your body in fighting allergies and illnesses as well as keep your skin healthy. Start reaping the benefits of raw honey today and try some of our amazing recipes.

Delectable Dishes

There’s a plethora of tasty meals you can prepare with raw honey, and they all offer a number of benefits you can’t find elsewhere. For instance, raw honey contains bee pollen, believed to have anti-allergenic properties, and amylase, an enzyme that assists the digestive system in breaking down starches. Do what’s best for your body and take a look at the recipes below:

• Honey Glazed Salmon: Made with a browned butter lime sauce consisting of raw honey, you’ll never want salmon any other way. This great meal can be complete in only 30 minutes!
• Honey Wheat Bread: Providing a tender consistency to your bread, honey wheat loafs can be made in just a short amount of time and can be used as a side for a variety of dishes.
• Honey Candy: It’s time to replace those sugar-filled sweets with our delicious honey candy recipe. Best with grass fed butter, impress your guests with this fantastic treat!

There are so many wonderful raw honey recipes, we could only include a few here. For more delicious and healthy recipes, take a look at our full list here. We’re sure you’ll find something you love.

Benefits

As mentioned, using raw honey not only adds fantastic flavor to your meals, it also presents a variety of health benefits. Below are just a few benefits of raw honey. You can learn more about the beneficial properties on our website.

• Antioxidants: Honey contains polyphenols, which are powerful compounds that decrease inflammation and help prevent damage to your cells.
• Wound Healing: In recent years, even doctors have been treating patients with raw honey for drug-resistant skin infections. It can even be of aid in fading scars.
• Propolis: Bees use propolis to protect their hives from intrusive organisms. In honey, propolis has anti-fungus and anti-bacterial properties.

Give your food a boost of flavor and your body a boost of energy with raw honey today. Take a look at our selection of raw honey products and get cooking! There’s nothing like Aseda Raw Honey.

When it comes to honey bee colonies, the queen bee is often believed to play the most important role within the hive. Though the queen bee does indeed have a key role in a colony and is protected and cared for by the other bees, the worker bees usually decide when a new queen is needed. When a hive becomes overcrowded or a queen bee’s performance decreases with age, it is time for a new queen.

In general, a hive may consist of up to twenty queen bee cells, which are selected by the worker bees. The larvae in these cells are specifically fed by worker bees to become sexually matured, furthermore becoming a queen bee. Because a hive can only have one queen, the new virgin queen kills the remaining queen bee larvae. The new queen’s main purpose is to reproduce within the hive, producing worker and drone bees to carry out daily tasks in order to keep the hive running.

A Queen’s Daily Function

The term “queen bee” can be somewhat misleading as the queen bee doesn’t necessarily run the entire hive. As stated, the queen bee’s main function within the hive is simply to reproduce. healthy and well-fed queen bee can produce close to 2,000 eggs every day, ultimately laying millions in her lifetime. Before a virgin queen bee can reproduce, she, of course, must mate with a male drone.

The mating process takes place outside of the hive, where thousands of male drones await the virgin queen. A queen bee will mate with multiple drones and only needs to mate once in her lifetime, as she will reserve sperm to fertilise eggs the rest of her life. Upon giving the queen their sperm, drone bees die after mating.

Back inside the hive, the queen lays both fertilised and unfertilized eggs. The fertilised eggs become female worker bees while the unfertilized eggs become male drones. Each day, the queen lays thousands of each of these eggs while she is fed and protected by the other bees. Aside from reproducing, there isn’t much a queen bee has to do. In addition to being fed, even her waste is removed by young bees.

Election of a New Queen

There a few ways a queen is replaced within the hive. Often times, when a hive becomes overcrowded, the queen will depart the hive with a number of workers to build a new colony. In other instances, an aging queen is killed as her ability to reproduce begins to diminish. As the queen bee ages and begins laying eggs in a less organized manner, worker bees decide to replace the queen by killing her.

Finally, a queen may also be replaced due to her sudden death. In this case, worker bees select certain larvae capable of becoming queens and feed these larvae with a special food called “royal jelly.” It is this jelly that ultimately produces a queen bee, rather than a worker. Queen’s are fed royal jelly throughout their lives.

Another New Queen

Whether it’s a sudden death or decrease in reproduction, a queen will be replaced in order to maintain a working hive. If a queen is no longer able to efficiently reproduce, workers will determine it is time to replace the queen. As you can see, the queen bee has little responsibility aside from reproducing, and when she can no longer do so, a new queen is born.

If all this bee talk has you craving some honey, be sure to check out our products!

We all have a general idea of the work bees do. We know they are important in pollination and, of course, producing honey. But how many of us actually know what goes on inside the hive or how honey is made? In an effort to understand the importance and benefits to our friendly honey bees, let’s take a look inside.

The Workplace

The community in a beehive is surprisingly complex. There are three types of bees that reside in the hive, and each one has a different job to do. Age is even a factor in terms of the work a bee does. As a bee ages, the jobs it completes vary as each day passes until they leave the hive. In the first three weeks of a bee’s life, it will feed larvae one day and may build comb the next. The tasks a bee completes depends on its role in the hive. Here are the main types of bees and what each does:

• Queen Bee – The main role of the queen bee is to lay eggs. During laying season, a queen may produce up to a thousand eggs a day. Queens only need to mate once, as they can retain the sperm from male bees for 3 to 5 years.
• Worker Bee – As sterile females, the worker bees support the queen. They feed the queen and even remove its waste.
• Drone – The sole purpose of the male drone is to mate with the queen. Unfortunately, drones die after mating, as the queen retains the male’s sexual organs for future use.

As mentioned, bees have a variety of tasks to complete, which change as the bees ages. From birth, a bee begins to work. The first job a bee takes on is cleaning out the cell it was born in. Next, the bee feeds older larvae, then the younger. In the last days before leaving the hive, bees will produce wax, carry food, and protect the hive’s entrance. Finally, after three weeks, the bees begins leaving the hive to pollinate and collect.

How They’re Born

Of course, before any of the work listed above can take place, the different types of bees must be born. Different cells within the hive are used to produce specific bees. For instance, the smallest cells are where the worker bees are born. The queen will lay fertilized eggs in these cells. Secondly, there are the cells for drone bees, in which the queen lays unfertilised eggs. Last and certainly not least, are the cells for queen bees. Generally, a hive will contain twenty hanging cells for queens. Fertilized eggs are also laid in these cells, as it produces females.

There you have it: the inside of the hive. There is much more that goes on inside the hive to produce our beloved honey, but we’ll leave that to the bees! To get a taste of just what a bee does inside the hive, check out our store and get your hands on a jar of raw honey.

As you’ve probably seen from previous blog posts, bees are a necessity for mankind and the disappearance of honey bees may cause a lot of problems to arise. There are plenty of ways to preserve our precious bees, and better yet, our livelihood. No more honey bees means no more humanity. With your help, the honey bee population and be preserved little by little.

How You Can Help

You may think to yourself, “How can I support the increase of the honey bee population? I don’t know anything about bees, but I love honey.” Well, there are a few simple ways you can do your part in saving the population. Here are just a few tips:

• Nectar Plants – There is a variety of plants and flowers you can keep in your garden to supply honey bees with the food they need to do their jobs, which provide us the beneficial raw honey we need.
  • Sunflowers
  • Common yarrow
  • Horsemint
  • Asters
• Reducing Pesticides – Neonicotinoid pesticides are quite the problem for honey bees. These harmful pesticides cause the bees to reproduce less, further debilitating the honey bee population. Some pesticides even instantly kill honey bees, while others may kill them after returning to the hive.
• Support the Supporters – You can do your part by donating to established research programs so they can continue on in their strive to support the bee population. So whether you have a garden or not, you can leave it to the professionals and help them help the bees!

Do It Yourself

If you’re old-fashioned and like to DIY, there are plenty of ways you can provide some first-hand help to the honey bee world. Now is a perfect time to protect the bee population and save humanity by becoming a beekeeper! Not only can you provide yourself with delicious raw honey, your bees will also help pollinate nearby crops. Go ahead and do your part by researching the necessary resources and get your beehive up and running! After the initial steps, maintaining a beehive can be a simple and low-maintenance task.

Not Yet Convinced?

If we haven’t convinced you about the importance of honeybees and the great taste and use of honey take a look at our products and try some for yourself! Do some research. Find out how honey is made and the benefits of raw honey. Most importantly, save the bees!

The vintage of raw honey will vary year to year due to the natural process of pollen collection by the magnificent bee.  Like a fine wine, the same label can change year to year due to the ecology of the grapes.  Was it a drier year?  Wetter? Nutrients replaced in soil?  Long winter? Or short?  Whatever happens over the life of the grape, you still end up with a grape, made into wine.

Raw honey reacts the same way.  What plants did the bee collect from?  Did one species thrive over another one in any given year?  Was there less water? Less flowers?  More?  The factors in natural consistently create variables.  In the case of Aseda Wild Honey, the pollen collected to create this unique honey is from the calabash fruit, shay tree, and other plants found in the ancient forest.  The variables from year to year will be determined by nature.  One year, shay tree blossoms may be more prevalent, tempting the bees to collect more from that source.  Other years, the calabash fruit may take front stage.  There may be years that an explosion of another native flower will be the abundance, which will slightly change the look and taste of Aseda honey.

Part of what makes raw honey amazing, is that it is straight from the hive.  An essence of mother earth…as she is…at any given year.  Nature is consistent, despite the human realization of these variables.  The plants in the region will keep growing in a nature ebb and flow of abundance and lack.  The bees will continue to collect from the flowers and create this precious resource.  The consistency of honey will always be the same.  Since the first human hand found itself digging into a comb of honey, this has been a constant.  Raw honey will always be alive with the enzymes and the characteristics it possesses.  It will be consistent in the way it reacts to heat and cold.  If left in its natural state, it will crystallize, every time.  

True Raw honey is very consistent, including the promise of nature’s variables.  Thus, we have the beauty of the vintage of honey.  The 2009 vintage of Aseda Wild Honey produced a dark, bold, rich, somewhat astringent taste.  The 2011 vintage of Aseda Wild Honey produced a slightly lighter, still bold, still rich, less astringent, and more palatable taste.  The 2013 vintage seemed a tad bit sweeter. 2014 hinted to the perfect balance thus far. The consistencies are those of nature.  Every vintage contains the pollens of the calabash fruit and the shay tree.  The ratios are just different.

When raw honey crystallizes, it appears to be lighter than the liquid honey in the jar.  Aseda 2009 vintage was incredible dark, yet when it crystallized; it appeared to be much lighter.  Aseda 2011 vintage is slightly lighter in color, and yet, when it crystallizes, it is lighter than itself.  When you compare a crystallized 2011 vintage to a liquefied 2009 vintage, it looks as if there is no consistency.  Yet the honey is being consistent with the behavior honey has possessed since ancient times.

That is part of what makes raw honey special.  It follows the rules of the natural world, unlike the “honey” the modern world is use to.  Which is heated, killed, pollen removed, some cases not even real honey…More of a liquid sugar.  Bees are feed sugar water… That consistency is man made, unnatural. To see what the hand of man has done to honey, please google “fake” honey, or honey processing. 

The first stages of the organic movement experienced the same displacement.  People didn’t understand why organic oranges were not the bright orange color they were used to seeing. They didn’t know that commercial oranges are dyed orange to look more appealing. They didn’t understand why organic produce didn’t consistently look perfect, be the same size, not have any blemishes or why it wasn’t super shiny, like what they were accustomed to seeing in the market. It was not common knowledge that commercial produce was sprayed with chemicals, pumped with miracle grow and covered with wax to look appealing.  Now, people know and understand that food doesn’t really look that way.  To know raw honey, or shall we say real honey, is to know how honey is produced. Honey is not the man fed bee excrement that is filled into a plastic bear labeled as “honey food”.  It is the knowledge of nature, bees, health, vintage, wild, raw, pristine…….Honey. The movement back to real food, like a primal need calling from our ancient world has already emerged and is growing at an incredible rate.

The path to pollen is part of the calling.  Enjoy the honey Aseda offers.  Honey straight from the hive. 

It seems that those 3 words cannot live in the same sentence.  Only a true lover of honey would know otherwise.  Raw honey has a tendency to crystallize when it becomes cold. During crystallization, glucose sugar separates from water and become crystals, while fructose remains as a liquid. That is why crystallized honey thickens, becomes more viscous and sets a lighter colour than when liquid.  This is the most obvious sign of a honey being truly raw, unprocessed, and in the form that nature intended.  You can easily re-liquefy it by running your honey jar under warm, not hot, water, (remember to never warm your honey in a microwave; this will kill the vital enzymes that make raw honey so miraculous).  Crystallized honey is easily used in baking because of the firm texture. It is the same honey, just in a different form.  Like water and ice.  Try it as a spread on your toast or pancake.  Try it as an au-natural facial.  Try a spoon full of it and enjoy the same delicious, unique taste that delivers a new experience-with texture.

Aseda Wild Honey is a truly raw honey and behaves in the same manner.  Snowboarding and skiing friends of Aseda will tell you how to use the Aseda Wild Energy Packs.   First, you put a few in your pocket.  On the snow-capped mountains your packet will begin to crystallize.  If you enjoy your Aseda liquid, place your Energy Pack in an inside pocket close to your body.  The heat from your body will warm the Energy Pack and it will be ready for the second step.  Pull the tab, suck it down, and have the energy for your next killer run down the mountain.  Or, as many Aseda “Bees” have said, they like to chew the yummy, gooey, crystallized Aseda Honey.  If this is your cup of tea….Chewy chew on that.

      Bees are usually not the first creatures that pops into one’s mind when one is thinking about humanity.  Perhaps bees should be at the forefront of our thoughts around humanity.  After all, without bees, there would be no humanity. Albert Einstein once said; “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.  No more bees, no more pollination…no more men!” He wasn’t an entomologist, but entomologists around today agree that the sudden and mysterious disappearance of bees from their hives poses serious problems.

     This is heavy, I know.  These are some of the thoughts that keep me up at night.  Simply put, without these tiny creatures the buzz around, enjoying their plot in life…  Moving flower to flower, tasting pollen, collecting pollen, and inadvertently pollinating each and every bud on every plant, flower, and tree they happen upon; a beautiful necessity transpires.  Food.  Without the bee, doing what they do best, we, humanity, have a BIG problem. 

     Hanyuan County is China’s biggest pear producers.  Like many species of plants on Mother Earth, pear trees must cross pollinate with other varieties of pear trees.  What do we do as humans if the bees have disappeared from a region like Hanyuan County?  We resort to hand pollination.  Pear farmers in this region of the world must spend hours and hours of painstaking labor to pollinate each and every budding flower, on each and every pear tree, throughout their entire orchards, by hand.  They accomplish this by carefully hand collecting pollen from one variety of pear trees, collecting the pollen in a container, then, gently using a feather to place the pollen on the buds of the pear tree they are cross pollinating.  The pear farmers in this region of China have needed to use this form of pollination for over a decade now. 

     The bee population is declining at a seriously alarming rate in most industrial regions in the world.  Who will be humanities pollinators in the future if this trend continues?  What would happen to the cost of food?  Would humanity survive this devastating disaster?  I don’t know?  I don’t have the answers, and at this point no one does. 

    I am not sure why the bees are disappearing in large regions of the world.  I do, however, care and what to be part of the solution.

    There are many misconceptions about bees.  The one that confuses me the most and I observe often; is a child running away from a bee, waving their hands and screaming, as if the tiny insect was a huge threat.  Where did this thought come from?  Bees are docile unless provoked.  I teach my children that bees are our friends.  Our little partners in life.  Our problem may start with the way each of us thinks about bees.  My feeling is by changing our personal feeling about bees is the perfect place to start.  The second practice we can easily live by; is supporting the one thing everybody loves about bees, honey.  This highly visible gift given to humanity, created by the bees, is a way to support the growth of healthy bee populations. 

     The first step is to know where your honey comes from and how it is processed.  Is it from a commercial farmer who feeds the bees high fructose corn syrup and them pasteurized the honey?  Is it from a source that practices sustainable beekeeping?  Collects pollen from natural sources that are not contaminated with pesticides and industrial pollutants?  Is the honey in your jar raw and pure the way nature intended it to be?  Does it still possess all of its vital nutrients and enzymes?  Is the bee population from which your honey comes from strong, healthy and thriving?  Most bee keepers who practice sustainable bee keeping and provide raw honey fit the ideal criteria.  I completely feel like we can help the bees repopulate, by supporting honey companies that are keeping the process the way nature intended.  If we can satisfy our demand of honey from conscious companies like Aseda Wild Honey, we will see the remaining healthy bee populations thrive, lending time to the scientific communities to find a solution to the disappearance of the bees.

You are asked to join us…..Aseda* for you!!!

*The word aseda, means gratitude, spoken by the Ashanti-Twi people of Ghana, Africa.

Original Post Aug 27, 2014

Photograph by Sean Gallup

My family and I returned from a camping trip yesterday. We ventured to the mountains of southern Idaho. To pay homage, to our traditional exploration camping trip, we picked an area on the map and went. We do this at least once a year. Instead of planning, we drive up and down remote roads, exploring, until we find the wild camping spot that is perfect. A place that seems to call to us, a place we can relax, be awed in the beauty of our surroundings and let the kids run wild, the teenagers not worrying about cute boys, and the little men not worrying about the dirt that becomes caked on faces and clothes… a place to just be and feel free. We use our sense of intuition on these jaunts. We usually arrive at camp when the sun is going down. Making me wonder….did we find the perfect spot? Or did we run out of light.

On the way we came across a fork in the road. We stopped and noticed one of the roads was one we once traveled years ago, on one these exploration trips. Interestingly, in the dusk of the evening, the road we had not traveled seemed to be lit up, inviting us to follow and learn its secrets. The road followed a stream. We saw a few campgrounds snuggled up against the stream waiting for someone to visit. Our truck climbed in elevation, tall pines on either side of the road, looking for a place to set up camp. The terrain started to flatten into beautiful mountain meadows. Surprisingly, the meadows were filled with a variety of wildflowers. I didn’t expect such a colorful welcome this time of year. Usually, it is too dry in August to have entire mountaintops filled with wildflowers. This is where we found our temporary home.

The clean air, the pines, the fire, the tent hidden in a patch of trees, the stars, the sunrise and sunset, and the natives were present. We were allowed to share this pristine mountain space with all the usual suspects. Curious squirrels-bravely running in to check us out, a few bunnies-hopping here and there, then running when the boys tried to catch them, a deer-cautiously making its way on its own journey, a mama moose and her baby-on either side of a trail that lead up to a clear, crisp mountain lake, (this encounter was a little scary-never get between a wild mama and her baby), and wild mountain bees.

The bees were adorable. Really! They looked like miniature bumblebees. Happily buzzing from flower to flower, collecting the pollen and returning to their hive. Our camp was up against one of the never-ending mountain meadows. I sat for a while, in the mist of these little magnificent creatures, in the middle of the meadow. I watched them work and marveled at how they paid me no attention. Here I was, a stranger to their meadow, and they continued doing what they do.They must have sensed my curiosity and the fact that I was not there to harm them, just observe. After a while, my son came to me and wanted to know what I was doing. I showed him the little mini-bumblebees. He decided we should follow them, to try and find their hive and their honey. He and I went on our own exploration adventure…..to find the bee hive.

We searched for a good hour. Following random bees to see where they would lead us. They were kind of tricky. In our game of cat and mouse, we found a small grove of trees, surrounded by a dense brush. My son and I were sure the hive was hidden in the thicket. Bees were flying in and out, with a pattern that my son said looks like planes taking off and landing at an airport.The extend of effort that the bees had undertaken, to make their home in a protected sanctuary, made us think about the consequences- to the bees and possibly us- if we continued with our endeavor to try some of their wild honey. We decided it was best to leave the bush and the hive alone. We decided, the bees must of build their hive in that place to protect their precious home from the other natives in the area. If we disturbed their home, they may not be able to rebuild before the winter. We let it be. As we walked back to camp, all we could talk about was how great the honey would have been-the golden treasure, of the wild mountain bees, hidden in a protective thicket.

I am grateful to find bees on that mountain in Idaho. With more than 70% of our natural bee population gone in the US, these Wild Mountain Bees are a rarity, special and extremely important. My hope is that their hive splits, over and over again….replenishing all the mountain meadows. I am grateful that the Aseda co-operative is tending to the Wild Forrest Bees in Ghana, ensuring the bees thrive and survive. We loved this camping spot. It will go on our little map of favorites. We will be back in a year or so. I hope to find our little neighbors still busily buzzing their days away went we return.

Original post August 15, 2014

Photograph by Tricksy Weasel

Bee— pleasantly surprised by some of these amazing honey properties — antimicrobial, antioxidant, and hygroscopic which makes honey, not just a popular food, but a powerful medicine as well! Honey has a hygroscopic nature, which means when exposed to air, it naturally absorbs moisture. This makes honey great for treating open wounds. Honey could help prevent scarring by keeping the skin moist, encourage the growth of new tissues, and allow easy removal of any dressing by preventing dressing from becoming stuck to the skin. Honey’s hygroscopic properties also make it an ideal ingredient in cosmetics, because it helps keep skin hydrated, fresh and prevents drying. Honey has been called a natural “humectant”, due to the fact it attracts and retains moisture. It is perfect to use in skin and hair treatments. Honey traps and seals moisture leaving skin soft and supple, and hair, glossy and healthy.

QUICK FIND ME A JAR OF HONEY!! 

Honey is antimicrobial. Researchers began to document the healing properties of honey in the early part of the 20th century. The money for research was put to an end with the development of antibiotics. Recently the development of the resistance to antibiotics, has led to a resurgence of interest into the healing properties of honey. The effective antimicrobial agent in honey prohibits the growth of certain bacteria. It contains an enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide, which is believed to be the main reason for the antimicrobial activity of honey. This makes honey a useful treatment for wounds and scalds. Cuts, abrasions and scalds can be covered in honey to prevent bacteria from entering the wound and promote healing. Another added benefit for the little ones in our lives is that honey on a wound does not sting like the Bactine our moms use to use.

Honey can also be used to treat minor acne, by attacking the bacteria that cause the outbreaks while moisturizing the skin to aid rejuvenation. Types of honey differ greatly in their antimicrobial potency, varying as much as a hundred fold. Commercial honey will not work. This is like putting sugar water on your skin. Be sure the honey you choose is raw and organic. The color of honey you choose is an indication of the potency. The darker the honey….the better. Raw, dark honeys claim the highest potency of such antimicrobial properties.

Honey contains natural antioxidant properties that can destroy biologically destructive chemical agents. These biologically destructive chemical agents have been linked to many diseases, such as cancer. Studies also found that dark-color honeys, such as Aseda Wild Honey, seem to possess more antioxidants than light-color varieties. Not only could honey’s antioxidants help to eliminate free radicals in the body, they are also part of the nutrient supply for growth of new tissue. These precious honey properties help protect the skin under the sun and help the skin to rejuvenate, keeping the skin young-looking. Due to these facts, there have been an increasing number of manufacturers using honey in skincare products, including sunscreens, lip balms, body care products and facial cleansing products for treating damaged or dry skin.

We know you love enjoying Aseda honey in your teas and your recipes. Now, you may want to start experimenting in other ways with your Aseda Wild Honey. When you do, please share your experience with us here on the blog, or on our facebook page. Aseda-means gratitude!

Art by Dre Day

Once upon a time…a little honey company had visions of grandeur with stardust sprinkled in the eyes of its co-creators. They wanted one thing, more than anything. They wanted to see their products be available for all the people in the land. They wanted their honey, which provides revenue for their friends, tribal beekeepers, who reside in an ancient forest in Ghana, to be on the shelves of Wholefoods Market. Some would say, “What a task! It cannot be done! Why is it taking so long?” The starry eyed co-creators would say with a tone of assurance, “Of course it will happen, you must all have patience!”

This journey to the shelves of the nation’s most recognized health food store started about 23 months ago, with a simple meeting and a taste of raw honey. Aseda’s Wild Honey had intrigued Lydia Martinez, the Store Marketing Specialist and the seeker of new local products for Wholefoods in Utah. She is known as the one who brings the best local Utah products to the national retailer! Hence, the lengthy paperwork had begun. The Bee Chief and the Buzz Director spend countless hours writing and networking in the foreign landscape that is Wholefoods. The applications and interviews were many.

Soon, the highly respected Cheese Buyer, Andy Fitzgerrell, joined forces with the three. With the health benefits and the gourmet flavors of Aseda Raw Honey, Andy paired our fantastic honey with cheesesfrom natural farms near and far, to create mouth watering sensations. Aseda’s honey was buzzing.

Then, it happened….The first order of the Aseda’s Raw Honey Energy Packs! A large milestone for Aseda had been crossed. You may now find Aseda Wild Honey Energy Packs in the Utah Wholefoods locations. Jars will soon be available. Huge Aseda “THANK YOU” for the support we have had along the way. Thank you for making what could have been a fairytale, become a reality.

What next? These two passionate creators’ dreams, aspirations and desires have grown. Stay tuned to see what is around the next bend, in this journey named Aseda.

Original Post November 7, 2012

Ragnie, Rad, Ragnar, Nar, Gnarly, Nar, Ragnar. After experiencing the most high endurance relay-run in all the land, these are the words that came pouring out of my mouth. You may be sounding like this too after you and your 11 teammates relay 191 miles over the beautiful mountaintops of northeastern Utah!

Team Snow Hunnies killed it, with the help of our friends from Aseda. Our team rode in two trucks…..winding through canyons, and dirt roads, while one runner at a time powered up and down these paths. The Aseda Wild Honey Energy Packs were perfect for this adventure. Instead of slurping the typical energy goos you usually run across in a race such as the Ragnar, our team enjoyed a gift from nature. The Aseda Energy Pack is the perfect size. It travels well and fits in a small pocket, readily available when an extra energy boost is needed. 

Raw honey is a high anti-oxidant-rich, functional food, providing sustainable energy that burns even and slow, unlike sugars that burn quick and leave you feeling like you hit a wall. Studies have shown raw honey possesses an anti-inflammatory effect, which is perfect for the joints of a runner or any other athlete. The enzymes and pre/pro biotics found in honey aid with digestion. Given Aseda Wild Honey’s dark color and mineral rich taste, it is possible that the qualities listed here, are more concentrated than with lighter raw honeys.

My favorite run of my three legs was the 5.5 miles around Rockport Lake. I ran this at 2 am, with the almost full moon beaming down and reflecting off the lake. It was chilly, but I didn’t notice. I was busy taking in the moment. My music playing in my ears and cheering me on…The dark outline of the mountain against the black sky…The stars shining brightly down on me…The moon, shining in the lake, lighting up the valley, yet keeping its promise to not reveal any secrets…My breath, showing little ice crystals in the air and just how cold it really was…All while sipping on my Aseda Energy Pack…This was an excellent run!

Watching my teammates nail these runs was exciting to say the least. Our team of 12 was joined by over 1100 teams from all over the World. The energy was high…the air was saturated with it……because of this, our team only squeezed in 1-3 hours of sleep each over the 34 hour relay. We definitely had something to celebrate when we were done.

All and all, Team Snow Hunnies rocked the Wasatch Back! Thanks to Aseda, we had natural, healthy energy booster, to help us do what we do best……Kick Butt!

Original Post June 27, 2011 

Look around… You know them… Almost every family, every neighborhood, and every circle of friends has a least one. If you are lucky, your community has more than can be counted. What do you get when you mix a co-operative mentality with the need to change the world around you, a dash of activism and the unwillingness to conform? A hippie! That’s right. You may be one yourself without even knowing. In the 60’s and 70’s, it was easy to spot a hippie. Free loving, tie-died t-shirt wearing, music listening, idealist. In the 80’s…I agree, harder to spot. In the 90’s it was easy because the hippies of this day and age, were their children, copying the attire, the attitude of mind expansion and music, yet no one took them seriously.

Now, hippies are undercover, they are in disguise. These kids are all grown up and some of the people from their parents’ generation are taking the ideas of these “kids” seriously. Together, they are creating businesses, sharing ideas, mentoring and learning from each other. We are all surrounded by hippies! No need to hide away your children or your checkbooks. These people are modern day pioneers, like all the “hippies” before the. At the forefront of changing the way America works. We have developed into a global economy. Our young people are competing in the world market for jobs. The fact that we are all connected is becoming more prevalent every day. A new form of capitalism is emerging. One that focuses on the whole of humanity, treading lightly on Earth, the betterment of everyone, the idea of co-operative first…yet still profitably. Yes, it can be done and is being done right now! You can have an extremely successful business without harm. Socially, environmentally, and ethically responsible, this is the new capitalism.

Next time you see a sharp looking business woman or man in a suit, or a totally creative guy or gal that is dressed like they just made their way back from Burning Man, send some thoughts of gratitude their way. They may be hippies in disguise, working feverishly to enhance our human experience.  

Bee Creative, Bee Proactive, Bee*Aseda.

Go ahead, embrace your inner hippie and proudly join the ranks of the “Hippies in Disguise.”

*Aseda means gratitude.

Original Post Jan 4, 2012

Art by Lacking Luster

Aseda’s participation at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival is coming to a close. Aseda applied a unique layer of sweetness to the parties in Park City this year. We were enthusiastically received by many. We shared our gift of Aseda with the media, stars, producers, insiders, and spectators. We are already seeing the effects of the buzz we created. It is spreading across the country, growing the Aseda Tribe like a bee colony because of this festive gathering.

We would like to give a special thanks to Geralyn Dreyfous, maker of many movies and the master connector who invited Aseda to sponsor a dozen or so Sundance Events. We feel blessed to have been an exciting and intricate part of the experience that is Sun-dancing. The private celebrity parties in honor of Ethel Kennedy and the movie Ethel, the premiere parties for Invisible War and Chasing Ice, and the Mary J Blige talkback were incredible! A spontaneous connection sparked at Wholefoods, with the

lovely ladies of Elevate led us to the Skullcandy Mansion. We were featured and treated like Queen Bees! Check out their hilarious video on YouTube called “the Sh** New Age Girls Say”.

Our video featuring Sundance is right around the corner. In the meantime, check out our facebook page for pictures and glimpses of the busy bees of Aseda.

Original Post January 26, 2012

Art by Indie Wire

Aseda is grateful for the art of film-making. Every year, the world converges upon a well known mountain town in Utah for the world renowned Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Institute was founded in 1981 by Robert Redford. Sundance is dedicated to actively advancing the work of risk-taking storytellers worldwide. The Institute has always provided a space for independent artists to explore their stories free from commercial and political pressures.

This year the festivities are from January 19th through January 29th and held throughout the streets of Park City.  Every space on Main Street will be bustling with film makers, celebrities, media, and spectators. Aseda will be front and center at several events, including a few high profile film premieres. The progressive spirit at the core of the Sundance Film Festival speaks directly to the social missions of the Aseda Tribe. This festival brings Aseda Wild Honey and the Aseda Tribes Social Missions to the world stage. 

We are proud to be aligned with such films as CHASING ICE, THE INVISIBLE WAR, ETHEL, and READY TO FLY.  We feel these projects represent a dedication to fostering awareness and diversity through the art of storytelling. What better way to express our gratitude than by sharing Aseda Raw Honey with Sundance, while carrying Aseda’s message of social responsibility and sustainability. Keep checking back with us for all of the latest news as we kick off 2012 in a big way, at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Our participation includes partnering with Wholefoods and Tony Caputos. We are excited to offer the taste of Aseda Wild Honey, paired with some of the finest cheeses around.

Original Post January 19, 2012

The Dagomba live in central Ghana in western Africa surrounding the Molé National Forest. These tribal people are known for their long tradition of bee keeping in the Molé National Forest. They are a major ethnic group of the Akans, and speak the Twi language. Ghana, previously the Gold Coast, was a British colony until 1957. Now, Ghana is an independent, democratic and beautiful country.
 

Dagomba Artistic Expressions

The Dagomba have a wide variety of arts. Bark cloth was used for clothing before weaving was introduced using cotton and silk. Women usually pick the cotton and spin materials into thread, while men take on the responsibilities of weaving the cloth. Different patterns in weaving are used to represent social status, a clan, a saying, or the gender of the one wearing it.

Pottery is a skill that is taught to a daughter by the mother. There are many stages to making pots and there are many colors of clay available. The Dagomba also excel at woodcarving and metal casting.
 

Family Structure

To the Dagomba, the family and the mother’s clan are most important. A child is said to inherit the father’s soul or spirit (ntoro) and from the mother a child receives flesh and blood (mogya). This relates them more closely to the mother’s clan. The Dagomba live in an extended family. The family lives in various homes or huts that are set up around a courtyard. The head of the household is usually the oldest brother that resides in the individual courtyard. He is chosen by the elders. He is called either Father or Housefather and is obeyed by everyone.

Boys are trained by their fathers at the age of eight and nine. They are taught a skill of the fathers’ choice. Boys are taught to use the talking drums. Talking drums are extremely important to the Dagomba. They are used for learning the Dagomba language, in ceremonies, rituals, and spreading news. Girls are taught cooking and housekeeping skills by their mothers, including control of the household budget. They also work the fields and bring in necessary items, such as water, for the family. Wild bee keeping is also practiced by the people of the Dagomba.

Marriage is very important to Dagomba communal life. Women in the Dagomba culture will not marry without the consent of their parents. Many women do not meet their husbands until they are married. Interestingly, divorce is very rare in the Dagomba culture and it is a duty of parents on both sides to keep a marriage going.
 

Tribal Organization

The government of the Dagomba people is democratic in its own right. The Council is made up of a group of paramount chiefs. The paramount chiefs preside over district chiefs. The district chiefs preside over a District Council of Elders. The Council of Elders is made up of subchiefs. The subchiefs are the head of the Village Councils, which are made up of all the heads of households. This unique system ensures all voices are heard.
 

Spirituality and Religion

The Dagomba religion is a mixture of spiritual and supernatural powers. They believe that plants, animals, and trees have souls. There are a variety of religious beliefs involving ancestors, higher gods, or abosom, and ‘Nyame’, the Supreme Being of Dagomba. The Dagomba also practice many rites for marriage, death, puberty, and birth. The golden stool is sacred to the Dagomba. There is an elaborate legend surrounding it that is told by the old men of Dagomba. The golden stool is very carefully protected. As an Dagomba symbol, the golden stool represents the worship of ancestors, well-being, and the nation of Dagomba.

The Dagomba are a peaceful people who live with a respect for nature most of us have yet to experience. A beautiful and proud people, who are willing to share their culture and their wild Molé honey with the world.