The catch — if you can call it that — is that not all honey is created equal, and if you’re going to use it in masks to brighten your complexion or as a spot treatment for acne, you’ll probably have to shell out from $7 to $10 for some organic raw honey at your local gourmet or organic foods shop or at your local farmers market.

The good news is that you won’t have to shell out a couple of $20 bills on face wash, moisturizer and spot treatment containing benzoyl peroxide, which might certainly obliterate those annoying zits and pimples but might also strip your skin of its moisture, leaving it dry. And that’s just the stuff you can get at your local chain pharmacy. If you want higher end, top-shelf stuff, you’re looking at a $17 price tag on 1 ounce of acne spot treatment.

Despite raw honey’s higher ticket price than your average dollar-store honey bear bottle, it’s still a bargain in comparison, and you know exactly what you’re putting on your face, which is always a plus.

Recipe: Honey face mask for smooth skin

So you want to pamper yourself with a mask that gives your skin a healthy glow and makes it look bright and feel soft and smooth. In a bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice with 2 teaspoons of raw honey. Take a hot shower and cleanse your face as you typically do, while letting the steam from the shower open up your pores.

When you’re done showering and drying yourself off, apply the honey and lemon mixture on your clean skin, as you would any mask — which means steer clear of your eyes. Leave the mask on for 20 minutes and catch up on that book you should have finished ages ago. Rinse the mixture off with warm water. Splash a bit of cold water on your clean face to close up those pores. This is a good mask to use about once a week.

Recipe: Acne-fighting honey face mask

That’s great, you say, but you need something a bit stronger because you are battling a few pimples and a couple of annoying zits that are overstaying their welcome. No problem. In a bowl, crush two or three uncoated aspirin. If you can’t find uncoated aspirin, just rub the coating off beneath running water until the tablets feel rough. Add a tablespoon of water to the crushed aspirin and mix it until it forms a thick paste. Add 1 teaspoon of raw honey and mix well.

Cleanse your face as you normally do and run the hot water so the steam opens up your pores. Apply the honey and aspirin mixture to your face, and leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse your face with warm water and splash some cold water to close up your pores. Since it does include aspirin and aspirin is a drug, don’t do this mask more than once a week.

IMPORTANT: If you’re allergic to aspirin, you can’t use this mask. Your skin won’t absorb the drug the same way your system absorbs it if you take aspirin orally, but there is still some absorption — so if you are not supposed to be taking aspirin because of heart or other health-related issues, do not ever use this mask.

Recipe: Honey-and-cinnamon acne treatment

Masks are great and all, but you don’t have the time and patience for pampering and you really just want to get rid of that one zit on your chin that’s been driving you crazy for three days. OK, no worries. Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon onto the palm of your hand. Add a bit of honey — about 1/ 4 teaspoon — and mix into a paste. Dab it on that zit. Leave it for 15 minutes and rinse with warm water, or leave it on overnight and rinse it in the morning.

Acne exceptions

Just like all honey isn’t created equal, neither is all acne, unfortunately. Honey works so well because it targets bacteria. So if your pimples and zits are brought on by bacteria, honey is going to help wipe them off your face. But if your acne is triggered or aggravated by hormones, medication or diet, then honey won’t make it disappear for good. It will still help soothe breakouts and improve your complexion.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, or ½ cup all-purpose and ½ whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk or soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted, or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Whisk together the flour and eggs. Slowly add the milk, water, butter or oil, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled pan on medium heat. Pour about a ¼ cup of batter on the pan. Lift the pan from heat and turn it so the batter covers the whole pan evenly.
3. Return to heat and let cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bottom is a light brown. Using a very thin spatula, flip the crepe and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes. Keep warm in the oven if you’re making a big stack.
4. Tip: If you’re new at crepe making, or just not that graceful (like me!), I’ve had success by heating up a second frying pan and flipping the crepe into that when it’s ready to cook on the other side. It’s another dish to wash — and perhaps a sin against Julia Child — but it works quite well!

Makes: 8 crepes, around 125 calories each

Filling ideas:

Dessert

• Sliced strawberries
• Sweetened ricotta with blueberries or jam
• Sliced apples and honey
• Bananas and a tablespoon of peanut butter

Dinner

• Sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and feta cheese
• Scrambled egg and cheddar cheese
• Sunny-side up egg with black forest ham

Photo: Eating Well

Honey almond cake
Rosh Hashana greetings commonly include wishes for a “sweet New Year,” so it’s no surprise that honey shows up in so many holiday dishes.  And while honey may not be the healthiest ingredient in the world, it offers much more in the way of nutrition than ordinary table sugar. With the added bonus of almonds, this cake from Eating Well is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Click here for the recipe.

Photo: Serious Eats

Fish head soup
Rosh Hashana in English translates to “head of the year,” so it makes sense that many adventurous observers will consume the head of a fish to mark the New Year. This fish head soup recipe from Serious Eats calls for the use of salmon, which is known to be a good source of healthy fats, vitamin B12 and selenium. Click here for the recipe.

Photo: All Recipes

Spinach and pomegranate salad
Eating pomegranates has become a popular tradition on Rosh Hashana, as the fruit fulfills the mitzvah or commandment of eating a “new fruit,” or a fruit not yet eaten this season, and is said to contain the same number of seeds, 613, as there are commandments in the Jewish bible. Aside from the religious significance, pomegranates offer quite the nutritional punch; just one fruit provides 58% of your daily vitamin K needs. Click here for the recipe.

Tell us: What are some of your favorite Rosh Hashana recipes? Share them below.

Sadly, bee populations are on the decline, and while the cause hasn’t been proven, scientists and beekeepers believe pathogens, loss of crop diversity and pesticide exposure are all factors.

While the cause of the disappearing bees may be unknown, there’s still a lot we can do to help stave off further declines. Through its Share the Buzz campaign, Whole Foods is doing its part by offering these great tips for saving the bees.

1. Buy organic products.
2. Plant bee-friendly fruits and flowers and make your garden a haven for honeybees.
3. Avoid using pesticides on your lawn and garden.
4. Buy products from such brands as Hain Celestial Group, Amy’s, Blue Diamond and Stonyfield, which have pledged to donate funds for honeybee preservation.
5. Take up beekeeping.

For more information on the bee issue and how you can help, click here.

Tropical Refresher
Think of it as a much healthier, alcohol-free piña colada. That might not sound like much fun, but the combination of pineapple and coconut water is thirst-quenching and tasty. Plus, coconut water contains more potassium than a banana.

Blend together:

• 1 cup of chopped pineapple
• About 6 ice cubes
• 1 cup of coconut water
• 1 cup of Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Just Peachy
Peaches are at peak season right now and are both delicious and full of vitamin C and antioxidants. Greek yogurt gives a boost of creaminess and protein.

Blend together:

• 1 cup of chopped peaches
• About 6 ice cubes
• 1 cup of soymilk
• 1 cup of Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Brain-Boosting Blueberry
A recent study found that blueberries and other purple fruits might help ward off Alzheimer’s. The same has been said of one of the other ingredients in this recipe, like green tea. Put them together and you have an unstoppable team of antioxidant power — or at least just a yummy smoothie.

Blend together:

• 1 cup of blueberries
• 1 cup of brewed green tea, cooled
• About 6 ice cubes
• 1 cup of soymilk
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Nature & More, a Dutch-based international distributor of organic fruits and vegetables, has partnered with several environmental NGO’s to help distribute 400,000 free bags of organic flower seeds for bees in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Already in the Netherlands, a popular 1,000 km long cycle track along farms and countryside called the “Potato trail” is being transformed into a “bee path.”
One of the goals of the campaign is to promote organic farming. In recent months, several studies have come out showing that pesticides are to blame — at least in part — for declining bee populations. And mega seed producer Monsanto has come under fire for purchasing the lead research firm studying bee decline, with critics saying the company did so in order to sway the results in its favor.

Research into declining bee populations is nothing new, and many agree that several factors are to blame.

Still, no matter if it is the cause, or one of several, promoters of organic farming believe pesticide use is no way to support healthy bee populations.

Natute & More founder Volkert Engelsman said, “Since the ’90s of last century we have been trying to get across that ‘organic’ means much more than not using chemical inputs. Farmers in Asia, America and Europe who work with us recognize that the future of agriculture must lie in teaming up with nature, instead of fighting it. The bees are our allies, so let’s support them.”

If you want to learn more about the Nature & More campaign, click here.

The study
Food Safety News hired Vaughn Bryant — director of the Palynology Research Laboratory and one of the nation’s premier melissopalynologists (i.e., investigators of pollen in honey) — to test more than 60 jars, jugs and, yes, even those cute plastic bears of honey purchased from supermarkets, discount warehouses, big-box stores, pharmacies and honey packets served in mini-markets and fast-food restaurants in 10 states and the District of Columbia.

The results

• Groceries: 76% of honey bought at groceries — including TOP Food, Safeway, Giant Eagle, QFC, Kroger, Metro Market, Harris Teeter, A&P, Stop & Shop and King Soopers — had all pollen removed.
• Drug stores: 100% of the honey sampled from such drug stores as Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS had no pollen.
• Big-box stores: 77% of the honey sampled from big-box stores — including Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target and H-E-B — had the pollen filtered out.
• Honey packets: 100% of the honey packaged in the small individual service portions from Smucker, McDonald’s and KFC had the pollen removed.
• Farmers markets, co-ops and “natural” stores: 100% of the samples from these types of stores, such as PCC and Trader Joe’s, had the full anticipated amount of pollen.

What’s the big deal?
So your honey doesn’t have pollen. So what? Well, without pollen, it’s almost impossible to trace the origins of the honey, eliminating the producers’ accountability for low-quality or contaminated products. According to Food Safety News, ultrafiltration is a process used by some honey producers that heats the honey, sometimes waters it down and then forces it at high pressure through extremely small filters to remove the pollen — the only ingredient that can reveal the true source of the honey.

And the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t consider ultrafiltrated honey to be honey. Food Safety News quoted FDA press officer Tamara Ward as saying, “The FDA has sent a letter to [the] industry stating that the FDA does not consider ‘ultra-filtered’ honey to be honey. We have not halted any importation of honey because we have yet to detect ‘ultra-filtered’ honey. If we do detect ‘ultra-filtered’ honey, we will refuse entry.”

Imagine hundreds of people developed some kind of food poisoning from honey — honey that had been ultrafiltered and the pollen completely removed. (Note: There has been no research suggesting that ultrafiltered honey is more likely to contain contaminants.) Sure, the packaging might label the honey as “ValueTime” (Giant Eagle’s brand) or “Great Value” (Walmart’s brand), but according to Food Safety News, where the honey is actually bottled is often a mystery. Without the pollen, there would be no way to track the source of the contamination.

Additionally, allergy sufferers often look to honey to lessen the sensitivity to hay fever (though there is no reliable research confirming its effectiveness). It’s the pollen’s impurities that are believed to have this effect, so most honey bought in U.S. stores won’t help since the pollen has been removed. Ultrafiltration’s heating process also can damage some of the natural products’ disease-fighting properties, according to Prevention magazine.

So … why hasn’t the FDA done something about this?
The industry has been demanding stricter regulation of honey imports for years to no avail. The FDA has taken action against unsafe honey imports before — in 2010, it seized more than $32,000 worth of bulk honey from a Philadelphia distribution center due to its contamination by a potent antibiotic — but the agency has accumulated criticism over the years for what many believe to be negligence in checking the quality of honey entering the country. The results of this Food Safety News study appear to corroborate such criticism.

Why are honey producers ultrafiltrating the honey in the first place?
The Food Safey News study provided three possible answers to this question: First, many consumers want their honey crystal clear. Second, grocery stores appreciate the ultrafiltrated honey’s longer shelf life. However, beekeepers quoted in the article claimed that traditional filtering should do the job of catching bee parts, wax, debris from the hives and other visible contaminants while maintaining the honey’s pollen content. Thus, some sources quoted in the story suggested that the only reason all pollen is filtered out is to hide where it initially came from.

It is, however, important to note that tracking honey through pollen isn’t always simple. As Discovery News explained, “Beekeepers can only estimate where their insects wander off to for the day and might not be able to help it if their honeybees end up pollinating their neighbors’ crops instead of their own.”

For Pooh-Bear-worthy honey …
Stick to local farmers markets or buy directly from the beekeeper. Just “bee” warned — sorry, couldn’t resist the pun — raw honey isn’t crystal clear like what you’re probably used to seeing in stores. But you’re more likely to get the healthful benefits from the natural form of honey.

More info
Food Safety News initiated this study after one of its previous studies found U.S. groceries flooded with Indian honey banned in Europe as unsafe because of contamination with antibiotics and heavy metals.

To read the Food Safety News article and to view the list of tested honey that showed no traces of pollen, click here.

Sore throat? Try … Apple cider vinegar
Recommended by: Health Heroine Allison
She says: Since vinegar is a natural disinfectant, I use apple cider vinegar any time I feel a sore throat coming on. It may be bitter and unpleasant to taste, but it is a natural way to kill germs. For me, a tablespoon twice a day keeps the sickness away.

Bleeding mouth? Try … Tea bags
Recommended by: Raging Ecoist Gail
She says: Using tea bags is a great way to help slow bleeding after wisdom teeth removal or other oral surgery. Just moisten the bag and bite on it. There is something in the tea called tannic acid, which slows the bleeding by clotting the blood. It’s gross but it worked for me!

Mouth/canker sores? Try … Honey
Recommended by: Rozy the Primpetor
She says: My mom always told me to use honey on any kind of canker/mouth sores. It actually works. Just put the honey in your mouth and then work it over on the spot that hurts until it dissolves.

Got a bruise? Try … Olive oil
Recommended by: Fitness Sweatidor Jen
She says: I get bumps and bruises all the time during roller derby. One of the best ways to prevent bruises from getting black and blue is to rub olive oil on them. It’s weird, but it works!

Have the blahs? Try … Chicken soup
Recommended by: Dish Jockey Melissa
She says: It may sound cliché, but chicken soup is a classic go-to and always manages to make me feel better when I’m sick. It is loaded with great vitamins and warms you up! My favorite is the kind that’s sold in Chinese restaurants … yum!

Got bug bites? Try … A baking soda paste
Recommended by: House Honcho Jackie
She says: A good way to beat the itch of bug bites (especially those pesky mosquitoes): Try mixing together water and baking soda, making it into a paste and applying it on the infected area. Toothpaste that contains baking soda also works!

Tell us: What natural remedies do you use? Share your tips below!