Which Honey Is Best for Health?

If you’ve ever typed “Which honey is best for health?” into a search bar, you’re not alone.

There are supermarket honeys, local farmer’s market honeys, famous names like Manuka, and then an entire hidden world of wild rainforest honeys: Tualang, Stingless Bee, Gelam and more.

So which one is actually best?

The honest answer: there is no single magic jar that fits every body and every situation.
But some honeys stand out clearly when you look at:

how they’re produced
how minimally processed they are
the plants the bees are visiting
and what early scientific research and traditional use are telling us.

In this guide, we’ll walk through those questions and help you decide which honey might be best for you.

Important note: Nothing here is medical advice or a treatment claim. Honey is a food, not a drug. Always talk with your healthcare provider about your own situation, especially if you live with diabetes, are pregnant, or are going through medical treatment.

What actually makes a honey “healthy”?

You’ll see a lot of claims online about “medicinal honey.” Some are grounded in research. Some are marketing.

When we talk about a honey being good for health, we look first at:

Raw and minimally processed
- Not pasteurized
- No added sugars, flavors, or colorants
- Only lightly strained and gently handled, so the natural compounds in the honey are preserved
- At ApisLux, our honeys are minimally processed and gently de-moisturized at low temperatures to protect their natural character.
Floral and pollen diversity
- Wild bees in rainforest ecosystems visit a wide variety of trees, shrubs and herbs.
- Each plant contributes its own polyphenols, flavonoids and organic acids to the honey.
Bee species and environment
- Giant wild bees like Apis dorsata (Tualang bees)
- Tiny stingless bees (Kelulut / Trigona)
- Trees like the Tualang (Koompassia excelsa) and Gelam (Melaleuca cajuputi)
  These combinations create honeys that look and behave very differently from typical table honeys.
Emerging research + long traditional use
- Many of the honeys we work with sit at the intersection of traditional use and modern research on antioxidants, antimicrobial activity and other properties.
- That doesn’t make them cures. It does make them very interesting as part of a thoughtful wellness routine.

With that in mind, let’s look at the honeys most often asked about when people are searching for “the healthiest honey.”

Tualang honey: wild rainforest giant with a serious profile

If we had to choose a single honey that repeatedly shows up in both traditional medicine and modern research, Tualang would be near the top of the list.

What it is

A wild, multifloral honey taken from the towering Tualang trees (Koompassia excelsa) in the Malaysian rainforest.
Made by Apis dorsata, the giant honeybee that builds huge open combs high in the canopy.
Bees forage across a wide radius, touching many rainforest blossoms.

Why people look at it for health

Naturally rich in polyphenols and flavonoids
Frequently studied for its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties
Used traditionally as a tonic, a wound dressing, and a general “strengthening” food

What it’s like in the jar

Deep, layered flavors – think dark florals, forest notes, sometimes dried fruits and spice
A little lighter in texture than some thick honeys because of its higher natural moisture

At Apis Lux, our Tualang jars (like An Hour’s Walk, Twixt Two Trees and Wisdom’s Bough, and Nirwana’s Morning Root) are single-harvest, minimally processed honeys traced to specific honey-hunting teams and regions. If you’re looking for a truly serious, “medicinal-feeling” honey, this is where many of our customers begin.

Stingless bee honey (Kelulut / Trigona): tangy, complex and low-GI in research

Stingless bee honey is made by tiny Meliponini bees that nest in hollow logs and tree cavities instead of exposed combs.

What makes it different

Naturally more fluid and tangy
Often higher in certain organic acids and polyphenols
Stored by the bees in resin-lined pots, which can add herbal, slightly balsamic notes
Contains a unique sugar called trehalulose, which has shown a low glycemic index in research settings

Some people discover stingless bee honey when they’re:

watching blood sugar
looking for a more “medicinal” honey
or simply wanting a brighter, more tangy flavor experience.

We bottle several wild stingless bee honeys, including Peninsular Jazz, Among the Greens, Up Hill Forest and Nirwana’s Bright Tang — each one a slightly different expression of the forest.

A reality check on blood sugar:
Even when trehalulose-rich honey behaves more gently in studies, it is still sugar. If you live with diabetes or pre-diabetes, any honey should be used carefully and in partnership with your care team.

Gelam honey: tea-tree cousin with a golden, soothing character

Gelam honey comes from bees working the Gelam tree (Melaleuca cajuputi), a relative of the tea tree and paperbark.

In the jar, Gelam honey often shows:

Soft citrus and tea-tree florals
Gentle herbal notes
A clean, lingering finish

It can be produced by:

Apis dorsata (wild giant bees) – like our ApisLux Gelam jars
or stingless bees – like some of our Among the Greens harvests

Nirwana’s Golden Soothe is a Gelam-forward wild bee honey: aromatic, golden and a little brighter than the deepest Tualang jars. Many people reach for Gelam when they want something that feels:

soothing
versatile in tea and warm water
but still part of the “medicinal honey” family.

How do these compare to common honeys?

Most supermarket honeys:

are highly blended from many sources
may be heated or filtered enough that much of the original floral fingerprint is blurred
may not be traceable to specific regions or beekeeping practices

Local raw honeys from small beekeepers can be wonderful—especially for connection to place. But they still tend to draw on a relatively limited set of blossoms compared with a 130-million-year-old rainforest.

That’s why we see Tualang, stingless bee and Gelam honeys as a bit of a different category:

wild or semi-wild systems
complex forest ecologies
minimally processed, single-harvest jars
and a growing body of research looking specifically at their bioactive profiles.

So… which honey is best for health?

If we’re being honest and precise:

There is no universal “best” honey that fits every human body.
There are honeys that sit consistently at the top when you combine traditional use + emerging science.

From years of working with these jars, here’s how we’d summarize:

Looking for the most “serious,” research-visible honey?
→ Start with Tualang honey (for example, An Hour’s Walk or Morning Root).
Watching blood sugar and curious about low-GI research?
→ Explore stingless bee honeys like Peninsular Jazz, Among the Greens, Up Hill Forest or Nirwana’s Bright Tang — but always together with good medical guidance.
Want something gentle, aromatic and versatile for daily rituals?
→ Try a Gelam-forward honey like Golden Soothe.
Want to compare everything side-by-side?
→ Our Tualang, Stingless Bee and Gelam collections let you taste the differences directly.

Rather than chasing a single “healthiest honey,” we encourage you to find the jar that:

aligns with your body and medical context,
fits your daily rituals, and
gives you genuine pleasure when you open the jar and breathe in.

How to choose your first jar

If you’re standing at the edge of this world and wondering where to begin, here’s a simple guide:

“I love deep, dark, serious flavors.”
→ Choose a Tualang jar such as An Hour’s Walk, Twixt Two Trees or Morning Root.
“I like bright, citrusy, almost fruit-acid notes.”
→ Choose a stingless bee jar like Peninsular Jazz, Up Hill Forest or Bright Tang.
“I want something soothing, golden and aromatic for daily tea.”
→ Choose a Gelam-forward honey like Golden Soothe or Among the Greens.

Many of our customers eventually keep:

one jar for daily tea,
one for “medicine-cabinet mood” (that special spoon when you’re run-down),
and one just for pure tasting pleasure.

Frequently asked questions about the healthiest honey

Which honey is best for overall health?
There isn’t a single winner for everyone, but wild rainforest honeys like Tualang, Stingless Bee and Gelam often sit near the top of our list. They are raw, minimally processed, and naturally rich in plant-based compounds that are being actively studied for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

Is stingless bee honey healthier than regular honey?
Stingless bee honeys can have distinctive polyphenol profiles and, in some studies, a lower glycemic index than many common honeys. That makes them very interesting for people watching blood sugar, but they are still sugar and should be used thoughtfully, especially if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Is Tualang honey better than Manuka?
They’re different, rather than strictly “better” or “worse.” Manuka is well known and heavily studied. Tualang is a wild rainforest honey with its own strong research trail and a different flavor and floral footprint. Many people who already know Manuka fall in love with Tualang when they taste it and see how it fits into their wellness rituals.

How much honey should I take each day for health?
There’s no universal dose. For many people, 1–2 small teaspoons a day, used as part of a balanced diet, feels like a reasonable starting place. If you’re managing blood sugar, weight, or a medical condition, talk with your clinician about whether and how honey fits into your plan.

Can your honey treat or cure disease?
No. Our honeys are foods, not medicines. We’re careful not to promise what honest science hasn’t proven. Our role is to source, bottle and share these rare honeys with care, so you and your healthcare team can decide how (and if) they belong in your life.