What do almonds and honey have in common?  First, both require hard-working honey bees to produce a crop.  Secondly, both are a natural source of important nutrients.    

According to Dr. Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman at the Tucson Bee Lab, bees can visit up to 100 blossoms per hour during peak flight time in optimum weather conditions at almond bloom.  Figuring an almond tree might have 30,000 blossoms per tree, it would take 300 bee-hours to pollinate a tree.  If a tree produces 30 lb nuts, that equates to 10 bee-hours per pound of almonds.  Bees work hard to produce almonds.

Bees also work hard to produce honey.  The National Honey Board tells us that bees must travel up to 55,000 miles (1 ½ times around the world) and visit two million flowers to make one pound of honey.  Figuring a bee might visit 1,000 flowers per day, that’s 2,000 bee-hours per pound of honey. 

Prices fluctuate quite a bit depending on the market and quantity sold, but at a couple dollars a pound for almonds or honey, honey is a good buy simply considering honey bee labor. 

Honey holds the distinction of being the only food produced by insects that is consumed by humans.  Honey contains fructose, glucose and water. It also contains enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and minerals.  The B vitamins - niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid are found in honey.  Minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc are present in honey.  Like almonds, honey contains phytochemicals that play a beneficial role in human health as antioxidants – helping prevent against oxidative cellular damage by scavenging and eliminating free radicals.  Honey contains a variety of flavonoids and phenolic acids and, depending on the floral source, these can be rather significant.  In general, darker honeys are higher in antioxidant value than lighter honeys.

Both almonds and honey have been victims of dietary shifts, but fortunately the pendulum is swinging back to basics and moderation.  Americans altered their dietary habits markedly beginning 40 or 50 years ago.  Fats and sugars were reported to be unhealthy.  Americans shifted their diet from fats to high–carbohydrate, with high fructose corn syrup consumption sky-rocketing.  And Americans got fatter.  More recent studies, including almond nutrition studies, prove a balanced diet should include a portion of healthy fats, like the type almonds can provide.  Likewise, honey nutrition studies are yielding results highlighting honey’s role as a source of antioxidants, in enhancing calcium absorption in the body, and as the perfect natural source of readily available carbohydrate.  Honey’s unique blend of equal amounts of fructose and glucose is nature’s answer to providing fuel to meet human energy needs.   At a recent meeting of the Western Apicultural Society (WAS), Dr. Liz Applegate of UC Davis cited two research studies indicating honey to be a superior carbohydrate source for cyclists.

Without delving deeply into trade issues, one final commonality between almonds and honey is the influence of poor quality imports competing in the market.  Just like buyers worldwide know USA (California) almonds to be of superior quality, USA-produced honey is 100% natural honey – not adulterated or watered down.

A final factoid about honey; a honey bee makes just 1/12 teaspoon of honey during her lifetime.

Ask your beekeeper for a couple pounds of honey next time you talk.  And give your beekeeper a can of Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Almonds!

Chris Heintz is Executive Director for Project Apis m. a non-profit bee research organization.  Should you have questions about bees, they can be answered via this column for the benefit of other Blue Diamond almond growers.   Submit your questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .