This is a honey that is unique to the mountainous Greek Island of Ikaria, located in the Aegean Sea. It is, without any question of doubt a high quality product. This is all thanks to the exceptional geographical and natural attributes of Ikaria.  Ikaria is also known as the Island of Youth, and there's a very good reason for this.

My Notes:

Whenever there's a population that gets to live longer than most others, the question on everybody's lips is: What's your secret? There's never a straight or an obvious answer. Though most people will agree that there will usually be three contributing factors:

• Active lifestyle
• Healthy Diet
• Good luck

Most nutritionists will look to the food source. It's something of a cliché, but it's also true that a lot of who we are is a result of what we eat. Food is fuel for the body, mind and spirit. Diet can affect our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing more than most people realize.

For thousands of years humans have looked at pure honey as a product that's as valuable as life itself. Honey gives us nutrition and also serves as an excellent all-round medicine. Modern science has yet to prove many of the medicinal claims of honey. Despite that, science takes this superfood very seriously, and studies are ongoing all the time.

Ikaria honey is one of nature's darker honeys, which makes it more beneficial to health than its lighter cousins. This medium to dark brown blend derives from the pine trees, herbs and other flora of this beautiful island. Its taste is quite rich and it's certainly distinct from that of other honeys.

On average, Ikarians outlive just about everyone else on the planet, including the Japanese. These people have fascinated scientists so much so that they have been the subjects of numerous studies. In fact, AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), and National Geographic, funded a research team. Their mission was to go and look into this fountain of youth and uncover the longevity secret of the Ikarian people. Could their honey have something to do with it?

They found that one in three Ikarians reached the age of 90. Compare that to the baby boomer generation in the USA, which is just one in nine. Longevity aside, the Ikarians also suffer from fewer diseases compared to those in the US. Perhaps this is no surprise considering the differences in diet and lifestyle.

OK, here's a quick rundown on the key points of the team's main findings.

On average, Ikarians experience:

• 20 percent fewer cases of cancer
• Half the rate of heart disease
• One-ninth the rate of diabetes
• One third of the population 90 and older
• Almost no cases of Alzheimer's disease or other dementia

It's all in the Honey

The above study didn't draw any firm conclusions to the reason behind the longevity of the Ikarian people. They did seem happy, unhurried, and ate plenty of healthy foods though. Then again, these are things which are already known to contribute toward good health and wellbeing, and don't need too much study. But the Ikarians excel all other people when it comes to living longer and healthier lives. Again, could there be something in the honey perhaps?

The indigenous bees of the Island get to forage freely. They feed off flowering plants, bushes, and trees that grow naturally on Ikaria, without any intervention from man. This means that the nectar the bees collect is 100 percent pure. It's also free from chemicals or pesticides and herbicides. This is because there is no agricultural farming on this mountainous, rocky landscape.

The trees and bushes on Ikaria blossom in the spring and the fall. This means the bees can stay active, producing their honey throughout the year. It also means the bees can survive throughout the winter without any help from man. The honey bees of Ikaria can gather their honey in almost perfect conditions. There aren't too many places around the world where this happens.

Here's a breakdown of the highlights of this fine honey.

• Perhaps the best honey in the world
• 100% pure and natural
• Unpasteurized and free of any chemicals or pesticides/herbicides
• Thicker and darker than most other honeys (more nutritious)
• Healing
• Anti-cancer
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antibacterial

Scientists continue to look into all the health claims and medicinal benefits of pure honeys. The research seems never-ending and it's rarely conclusive. But despite this, the scientific community knows that they're onto something. This is why they haven't given up and the trials and tests are ongoing.  Below is just one abstract of many such tests that are being conducted globally.

Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial activity
Manisha Deb Mandal and Shyamapada Mandal
Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2011 Apr; 1(2): 154–160.

Summary

Whether Ikaria honey has anything to do with the longevity of its people remains a mystery. Even so, knowing what we do know about honey in general, one can't help but wonder. We also know that this is a fine honey nonetheless, and one that is pure, nutritious, and at least touts many health claims. This is a rare honey and not easy to source away from the ancient healing island of Ikaria.