sour honey hoax

Sour Honey is Sour Honey Hoax or Cancer Cure?

Since last November (2016), almost every other day, someone would ask through our website where they could buy sour honey. It was mentioned as a cancer cure in some of these queries. I stopped replying to these posts when I realised there was no way to ascertain if these questions were really genuine or made up by the people who were attempting to snowball the effect of their fake content.

sour honey poster

I have no idea how this search for sour honey started, but when I googled “sour honey”, the first video link that returned was “Sour Honey, the Cancer Cure”, which was probably the source of this viral message. (I suggest that you don’t google for it and click on this video as this would only increase the views of the video and help these unsavory characters make more money online from Google ads.)

This 22-min long YouTube video by End Times Prophecy News (see screen-shot above) turned out to be about the exposure of Hilary Clinton’s evil Cartel. And the video went on to claim how this Cartel and the FDA have tried to push for deadly pharmaceutical drugs, discredit natural cures such as this cancer-curing sour honey and ensure that they stay a secret.

The video ended abruptly, making no mention of where to purchase this sour honey. The only detail in this brief statement seems to suggest there is sour honey in Brazil:

“In the heart of the Brazilian jungle, a tiny, remote area exists where the special bees create one of the rarest substances on earth.”

Apparently, this sour honey is intended as a viral hoax.

sour honey fake news image

The message is incredibly vague. What special bees? Which bees produce sour honey? What about source of nectar? No specific floral nectar? What is so special about this sour honey in Brazil? If the video’s aim is to benefit the people, where to buy sour honey, why make no mention of the way or the place to get it?

As many of you know, sour honey could refer to fermented honey, otherwise could it be sourwood honey, which probably has the closest name to sour honey? But all these possibilities have got nothing to do with the “special bees” in “Brazilian jungle”.

So, if you are one of those who have fallen for this miracle sour honey cure, forget it. It looks it’s been fabricated by some fake news writers who are trying to make their video go viral and generate some money from Google AdSense advertisements.

But, if you feel I have got it all wrong here and sour honey is really real, drop me a comment below. But please do tell us what sour honey is and where you could get it – the very question that got this page started. Appreciate it!.

Ruth Tan

Postscript. Mystery Solved. “Sour Honey” is Propolis

We have closed the discussion forum below.

We are receiving too many posts from people who are apparently helping to push the sales of the so-called “sour honey” and other health products by the Health Sciences Institute (HSI). Mystery revealed. As it turns out, this “sour honey” that they have been “brandishing” is actually bee propolis. These HSI people, pretending to be happy customers (It’s too obvious not to see through their pretense), pointed out to me that the sour honey was actually propolis.

One of them even provided all the details on where one could buy the Brazilian propolis. And when I replied that propolis is NOT honey and it is a totally different bee product from honey, one of them had this to say – “at least you know where and who started the sour honey for cancer… that is what your question was, wasn’t it?”.

Well, one last thing I would like to say to these HSI people. It’s appalling that one could just gloss over the fact that deceptive tactics such as these (making use of a more familiar product, honey, politics and trolling) are used to mislead and lure desperate people to buy cures for themselves or their loved ones. There is absolutely no need to resort to such low means if the product is truly what you claim it to be. You just lost credibility, HSI.

End of “Sour Honey as Cancer Cure?”. Back to “Anti-Cancer Propolis”.

Postings on Sour Honey Hoax

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Note: Only posts relevant to the topic will be published. This platform is not for you if you are trying to sell or advertise any miracle oil, cream, pill, drink, fruit, etc. for cancer or any terminal illness, or if you are one of those involved in selling this so-called sour honey, trying to write fake reviews or curse and swear the one who started these enquiries on sour honey.

Many such angry posts have been received (saying the author of this page is part of Hilary Clinton’s conspiracy and is against using natural remedies) but none are relevant to what we are discussing here and none would tell us what on earth this sour honey is, where or how one could get it!

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     24/08/2018 @08:52:10

Del, how does getting to subscribe to the said magazine constitute thorough investigative reporting in this case where we are exposing that there is no such thing as “sour honey”? You seem to be hinting that there is really sour honey and people should subscribe to the magazine to get to the source of the sour honey. I’m not sure what your agenda is but please stop spreading fake news.        

Del, United States     23/08/2018 @14:37:31

I am responding to your article on sour honey. If you had watched the entire video you would have realized the purpose of the video was to get you to subscribe to their magazine. The source of the sour honey was to be included as a bonus for subscribing. If the rest of your investigative reporting is as thorough as it was for this one, then I not willing to believe any of your articles.        

Toby, United States     27/03/2017 @15:31:33

The “sour honey” video from Health Sciences Institute has been around for a number of months now. A somewhat intensive online search doesn’t reveal the true product. If you want to know what it is you need to get the book with the info for free with a $74 one year subscription to their newsletter ($37) for senior citizens. In the search I did come across the Soursop tree (also known as graviola, guanavana, and others depending where it is grown in the world. Primarily Mexico, Brazil, other parts of South America, and parts of Asia it seems.

The whole plant from its’ bark to its’ leaves and fruit are used and known to have many health benefits. Anti-cancer is one of them shown with mostly animal studies. Thus, based on speculation here it could be that they are referring to a honey made from the tree since they mention brazilian bees in the video. The testing and distribution seems to be a tight secrete if this is the case. A web search for soupsop honey did find a product from Borneo (enlarge the image).

Another product from BossBobyworks on Etsy offers a product that combines the leaf/powder of the soursop/graviola tree with honey.

Thus, considering the anti-cancer potential of these two products one might simply make their own combination with the two products from a quality source (as well as ginger and garlic in my opinion). Anyway, some speculative insight to start your own research and decide for yourself. Thanks.        

Robert, United States     27/03/2017 @15:21:12

There are people that believe anything produced by a bee is called honey, the author in this case was no exception. What he meant by sour honey is in actuality a substance known as Propolis, which is a by-product produced by bees to coat the inside of the hive and fill gaps and cracks. It prevents the spreading of microbes and fungi and protects the colony over the winter.

The Propolis (Sour Honey because it has a sour taste) the author is referring to is found in Brazil (there are many different types) – the red propolis contains naphthoquinone epoxide and prenylated acids such as 4-hydroxy-3,5-diprenyl cinnamic acid.

This red propolis is largely derived from the resin of Dalbergia ecastaphyllum and has high relative percentages of the isoflavonoids 3-hydroxy-8,9-dimethoxypterocarpan and medicarpin. It has been used to treat several types of cancer (my research was limited to pancreatic cancer). Hope this may shed some light, but I believe the word honey, as misleading as it is, was used to attract more readers.        

Lori, United States     27/03/2017 @10:33:40

My brother suffers from stage 4 bone cancer which is metastatic from his prostate cancer and is also in his lymph nodes and has run out of options. He has had cancer for almost 17 years from agent orange. Chemo radiation and all these so called cures are just nothing but billion dollar businesses. We are desperate but we also are aware of all these scams and cancer is $1 billion industry so they do not find a cure for cancer or will not let it be known, that is how I feel!

God be with my brother as I have put him in God’s hands. We have lost two brothers years ago to pancreatic cancer and colon cancer and the chemo they took did absolutely nothing except make them so sick and no quality-of-life before they died! Thank you, please look into any kind of cure or even just a quality-of-life and prolonging whatever time he has left! It’s heartbreaking that people would give hope to families with all the scams just to make money! Thank you!        

Wesley, United States     27/03/2017 @09:35:59

I do believe that there are cures for different types of cancers. What do you think would happen to the medical institutions of that was to come to light. The amount of clinics, doctors, nurses and other employees would lose their jobs. It would throw the medical field upside down along with our economy.

The video that I watched was interesting at first but the way the author kept going on should make you wonder what he is after. He is willing to send you a free booklet that sells for $12.95 on the internet but says it is a bonus offer. In other words buy my junk and I’ll kiss you later. There are believers out there that think this is their only hope of survival and those that think it will keep them healthy. Do your own research and make the final decision for yourself.        

Tom Grubbs, United States     25/03/2017 @15:53:55

Thanks for the info; I almost fell for it, too. I looked the video for a while and all its rabbit trails; I don’t know if Hillary can file suit on this or not. Maybe she should. Thanks.        

B.R., United States     24/03/2017 @18:59:59

I have friends and family recently afflicted with cancer so I took the bait and watched about half the video. When I got to the “special bees” in Brazil I stopped watching and checked some medical sites. The sour honey “cure for cancer” is nothing but a hoax from what I read. However, I would suspect that honey (as advertised here) is a good natural food. Makes sense.        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     22/03/2017 @23:01:13

Becky, we will allow just one more of such irrelevant post in this forum. Please read what this page is all about before jumping in so quickly to say your piece. We are not against natural remedies. And we are not for pharmaceutical drugs. Far from these! Because we so love honey and its benefits, we only have one single objective for this page – we want to know what sour honey is. So, Becky, what is sour honey?        

Becky, Canada     22/03/2017 @19:00:56

How do you know that sour honey is a hoax? There’s a lot of natural homegrown things that God allowed us to find with our God-given brains in order to fight against diseases such as cancer… why are you so quick to call it a hoax? …and how much are you getting paid to say that? It’s very clear that a lot of the genetically modified medicines and the pharmaceutical companies have a gazillion side effects that do end up killing a lot of patients more than helping them!        

J, United States     22/03/2017 @13:36:04

Of course honey ferments, Elle. Being a registered nurse doesn’t make you an expert on fermentation. Why people feel it’s necessary to state their profession to bolster their credentials about something they know nothing about is beyond me. Mead is a wine made from honey and water and yeast. The sugars in the honey ferment and create wine. It’s been around for millennia. So yes, honey ferments, it just needs a little water and some yeast.        

Teri, United States     21/03/2017 @07:17:19

I got this video in my email today. 68 minutes of rubbish. All they want is your $.        

Todd Limpert, United States     17/03/2017 @11:44:21

Not sure about honey curing cancer but I’m sure it certainly couldn’t hurt! We all no chemo does nothing but burn holes in your pocket. And yes big pharma and doctors have been ripping off Americans for the last 25 years they cure nothing and have a ton of side effects! I been taking bee pollen for the last 2 years and have had one cold in that time so yes I believe there is something to all natural remedies.        

Betty Somers, United States     16/03/2017 @04:12:05

I lived in Colombia for 6 years and every person I knew had honey in their house. It cured everything.        

Donna, United States     15/03/2017 @23:31:32

Tell me again what was the reason this was done as a hoax, they generate money from the google adsense advertsements, that’s awful, just awful.        

James, United States     14/03/2017 @22:08:23

I don’t know… This guy says Clinton is crooked and is backed by a cartel that doesn’t want people to find a cure for anything so they can keep profiting of of medications. The first part he was telling the truth…Clinton is as crooked as Al Capone if not worse. After she lost the election, she was going ballistic and throwing things at people. She physically assaulted John Padesta and a couple other people. She was so drunk and out of control that she couldn’t even come out and make a concession speech.

The sour honey part is a money making scam…Period..Even Ray Charles can see that…(Special Bees) What a con man trying to get money from cancer patients. But the Clinton part is true. So he mixed truth with lies. Horrible. My girl died from breast cancer. It’s bad. My prayers are going up for all right now who have cancer.        

Gary, United States     13/03/2017 @19:27:38

I encountered the same issue — what is it and where can I get some. So instead of searching for the honey, I Googled Dr. Allan Spreen. Apparently, he is associated with Northstar Nutirionals. So I went to Northstar Nutritionals website and searched for sour honey and received zero results.

I then checked the link to “Shop by Health Concern” and Cancer–which was one of the disease’s sour honey was supposed to either cure or stop its growth–and couldn’t find anything. Unfortunately, I already signed up for the membership. Hopefully, I will be able to cancel the membership and get a full refund as the video indicated.        

Laura, United States     12/03/2017 @14:55:46

I BELIEVE it is a hoax. These web sites try to target the folks who are so desperate to find HELP, including myself. I have some knowledge in natural healing and the wonderful world of natural nutrition. My first real job at 16 yrs. old was in a healthfood store. From that time until now at 56, I’ve tried to keep up with all new studies about Natural, homeopathic remedies in order to maintain good health. Thank You for your website. Honey and bee pollen is truly a complete food source. Keep up the great work and Thank You again!!!!        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     12/03/2017 @13:10:34

Vlada Trump, I just had a look at your link to the ebook, Insider’s Book of Secrets. The Real Cures Buried by Clinton’s Cartel by Health Sciences Institute. There is no mention of sour honey at all. The closest thing mentioned is in the first chapter – Brazilian red propolis that has been shown “to defeat several cancers… both in lab and and animal studies (there haven’t yet been any published human trials)”. If the cure is Brazil’s red propolis , why is sour honey mentioned instead?        

Vlada Trump, Albania     12/03/2017 @06:47:16

Link to the book is here (free): http://fliphtml5.com/wnsa/ihql        

Agaba, Uganda     09/03/2017 @12:10:48

Thanks for the post, I also ask myself the origin of sour honey, let them come up and tell us the type of bees which make sour honey and the hectors from which its made.        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     08/03/2017 @15:16:05

Thanks, Vanessa. The strawberry tree honey is also known as Arbutus honey, a name that comes from the scientific name of the strawberry plant and carries the meaning, “sour” (and probably this could be why some people call it sour honey). Found in Portugal, Sardinia, Corsica and Greece, the strawberry tree honey is a rather rare unifloral honey that possesses high antioxidant activity and strong antibacterial properties and has been compared side by side with Manuka Honey for its cancer curative abilities in clinical studies.

And its taste? Most people would describe as strong bitter and pungent, so it’s not a honey for everyone. I still have no idea if this sour honey we have been talking about has anything to do with the strawberry tree honey. Brazil has been mentioned in the video as the place where sour honey is found, so the strawberry tree honey is probably not the said cure, if it even exists at all.        

Vanessa, Netherlands     08/03/2017 @11:03:02

Hi there! I just returned from a holiday in Portugal, specifically the al garve region. There I bought a jar of sour honey which comes from a tree which they call the strawberry tree. It starts sour and leaves a bitter after taste. It was at the farmer’s market that I bought this. And the lady who sold it to me explained that this honey is harvested locally. Hope this broadens your horizon.        

Wanda, United States     07/03/2017 @09:38:50

I have bee hives. Honey is good for diabetics, the bee stings lessen arthritis pains; honey is mentioned in the Bible… But I don’t think any people group benefits from natural products from geographic locations far removed. Natural cures that are effective are LOCAL. (I.e., people that live in mountains don’t need sea kelp, whereas an old-fashioned redneck like me can get help from poke salad growing in my back yard.)        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     02/03/2017 @10:12:18

Jason, the debate is not about honey per se, but specifically “sour honey”. Yes, honey is clinically proven to possess anti-cancer properties, but to claim that it is a cancer cure is quite another thing. Ref: Honey is Anti-Cancer!        

Jason Gregg, United States     01/03/2017 @02:11:21

I don’t know about that video, but it does look like honey has some promising results in scientific studies. So, I don’t think its a “hoax” as much as its being sensationally capitalized on for profit. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3865795/        

Johnf, United States     01/03/2017 @01:55:01

There is a lot of fake honey at the grocery store, cut with syrup and says it is pure. Best to buy raw honey that is from a bee keeper or if it has bee pollen in it it, most likely is pure. It might be more than the supermarket in price, it is also said to help allergies to pollen. Forget the sour stuff, just get farm stand honey.        

Deb, United States     27/02/2017 @22:18:05

I was just conned with a e-mail from Health Science Institute. After listening to 22 plus minutes of BS for lack of better words, only to be led to believe I would be receiving 3 books. But then found out that I was only getting 1 book (The one they wanted to purchase) and the others would be downloaded. I wasn’t able to do, because the volume of content was not to be downloaded. HELP, another AMERICAN trouble.        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     27/02/2017 @14:18:20

Elle, actually honey can ferment and turn sour, if it contains a high level of moisture. This happens when the honey is harvested prematurely. Honey from Asia where humidity levels are high also tends to have a high moisture content, thus tends to be runny and ferments more easily over time.        

Elle, United States     26/02/2017 @01:33:38

This is a hoax. In the first place, honey does not “ferment”. It crystallizes, over time, but will with a little heat, will go back to it’s original form. I have found a few good answers to some of my physical problems in a good health food store, and really believe in natural cures. I go to a Dr. only as a last resort. BTW, I am a Reg. Nurse.        

Steve, United States     20/02/2017 @17:48:04

Thanks for your extra effort, explaining in depth about the so-called sour honey, it saves a lot of time and money for me and others.        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     19/02/2017 @20:12:35

Jonathan, graviola is known as soursop in Asia and is commonly found in the markets. (It’s actually quite a delicious fruit. Coincidentally, it also has “sour” in its name.) This fruit is known to possess high levels of antioxidants and anti-cancer properties. But so far we haven’t come across any reports that it is a cancer cure.       

 Jonathan, United States     19/02/2017 @19:33:34

There is a fruit from brazil in the amazon called graviola that some doctors says cure cancer and other doctors say no but I believe somewhere in the world there is a herb that does cure disease no one has found it yet.        

Peter PhD, Australia     19/02/2017 @17:45:07

Thank you, Some of my patients asked about this miracle cure. I sent them your link.        

Annie, Canada     17/02/2017 @18:03:40

This all started with the book selling “the Vault” stating that these are cures the government is keeping away from the public. These people are making the money and taking advantage of desperate ill people. Do Not buy the “insider’s book of secrets” the real cures buried by clinton’s cartel.        

Mark, United States      16/02/2017 @08:55:40

In disclaimers I have read that you cannot guarantee a cure for anything without the likelihood of being charged with a criminal offense or sued at the least. How can hoaxer get away with this?        

Helen, United States      14/02/2017 @19:46:34

Perpetrated by Ultra Right “health newsletter”. HOWEVER, Manuka Honey #20 from N. Zealand is a remarkable healer. Gov’t rates its Manuka according to healing qualities. #20= strongest.        

Muhamed, United States      14/02/2017 @10:56:10

Sour honey is a complete hoax. Govt. should catch these people and put them in prison at their cost w/o trial for a long time.        

Linn, United States      12/02/2017 @14:28:14

I too almost fell prey to this claim and the 3 free books with the Clinton Cartel spiel….. almost. But my quests led me here. Thank you for all the input…. I don’t have much money, and the money I would have spent on a false cure I can use towards a real one.        

Steve, United States      12/02/2017 @09:14:30

I ordered the books from this ad, I’ll let you know if they mention where to get sour honey, I’ll remain sceptical, and decide for myself if it’s a hoax or any merit to the claims.        

Frank, Australia      11/02/2017 @17:04:36

I maintain after watching the video on which has been posted on News Max that it is a scam ,like all scams the video just goes on and on like it is never going to finish it would be risky to even use your credit card to even pay for the postage , to obtain copies , most of these so called cures are just snake oil . Scammers never get to the point straight away because they believe a good serving of hogwash is needed to suck you in , fake reviews etc.        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     11/02/2017 @08:34:15

Why use politics as a troll to sell health products? By the way, Joe, plumber, not everyone is from the US.       

Joe plumber, United States      11/02/2017 @09:18:12

You sound like a Hillary voter.        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     11/02/2017 @08:34:15

Manuka honey is specifically sourced from the nectar of the Manuka bushes flowers in New Zealand. Recently new species of the medicinal honey also have been found in Australia. More details in: The Miraculous Manuka Honey .        

Sue, United States      11/02/2017 @02:44:56

There are special kinds of medicinal plants that bees harvest honey from. Have you ever heard of Manuka Honey which comes from Australia and New Zealand? Physicians who specialize in wound care prescribe Medihoney which contains Manuka honey. This kind of honey has many wound healing benefits including antibacterial, antimicrobial that actually protects wounds from germs, viruses and bacteria as well as give the wound a moist environment which is ideal for wound healing.

It doesn’t have the many side effects of antibiotics and can be just as effective. BTW-don’t put regular store-bought honey in a wound; it can cause an infection. I don’t know if sour honey can do what they purport but don’t mock the benefits of special kinds of plants harvested in certain regions by bees. I’m an RN and I use Medihoney and it’s excellent!        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     07/02/2017 @20:30:11

Thanks, Suzanne. Yes, the video link is the same as the one on YouTube (but with a different voice-over). I did a search for these books on the web and found a long sales page by the Health Sciences Institute, HSI (https://pro.hsionlineorders.net/HSI161005A/WHSISB01/Full). The three books are The Insider’s Book of Secrets: The REAL Cures Buried By Clinton’s Cartel, Miracles from the Vault: An Anthology of Underground Cures, The Independent Patriot’s Guide to Staying in YOUR Home.

It seems that they are selling their books on countless platforms, including Amazon. I don’t know how good these books are and if they contain any information on this so called sour honey – what it is and where it is sold, but this page by pissedconsumer.com has published pages and pages of complaints about HSI, which has been accused of lying, scamming, unscrupulous charging of credit card, etc. Here is the link to the pages: The Health Sciences Institute Complaints and Reviews        

Suzanne, United States      07/02/2017 @20:19:08

The link to a video/transcropt is in an email I received from ‘Daily Reckoning’ on Jan 1, 2017.

The link to the video/transcript: http://click2.dailyreckoning.com/t/DQ/rQA/w00/AGGftw/AAGiJg/NDQwODM1fGh0dHBz
Oi8vcHJvMS5oc2lvbmxpbmVvcmRlcnMubmV0LzYwOTExMy8- YT0xMyZvPTQ0Mjg4JnM9NDk5OTcmdT02Mzk3ODc5Jmw9NDQwODM1JnI9TUMy JnZpZD02ZVRCZ2MmZz0w./AQ/4M7t. I didn’t watch the video, but did read through the report (vaguely) and they are actually trying to sell a book about this cartel hiding healings for cancer, Alzheimer’s, etc. That’s when I searched ‘sour honey’ and ran into your post. Thank you.        

Ruth, Benefits of Honey     07/02/2017 @18:22:34

Dave York, your post makes me wonder if you are from HSI. My article did not even mention or question about HSI products. What is HSI? (I will do a check on this). The video I encountered did not even suggest how I could buy the products or what these products are! I was just only tracing and questioning the source of this sour honey which a massive number of people are looking for, and that was all! It would help if you could then tell us what this sour honey is and where one could get it – the purpose of this page.        

Dave York, United States      07/02/2017 @18:15:28

I wonder just how much the drugs cartel are paying your company for this information. Because I do some the the products that HSI has recommended and after years of pain, I almost pain free at least 95%. Now all I can say to you readers if try it if you have cancer what the hell do you have to lose?.        

Annie, United States      04/02/2017 @20:36:00

I fell for it and they said they send me 3 books for 34.95, so I did my 17 nice things for cancer patients, so it was all, I was looking for something else. I hate people doing this.        

Doc D, United States      04/02/2017 @13:35:56

Glad you put this online because I also have found absolutely no where to find this nebulous “sour honey”!        

Rbell, United States      27/01/2017 @19:42:30

The people with the sour honey cancer cure are real and have a real product, or rather, many of them. I deeply distrust the value of their products. Take a look at hsionline.com to see their methods. They use half-truths and political innuendo to attack big pharma (which is hardly innocent) to produce sales pressure. They sell a “membership” and then send you free books to sell a cure for everything.

I recognize value in some homeopathic methods, but their approach is execrable. They are very willing to extract money from the scared and vulnerable. There are no representations of clinical trials, only anecdotal hyperbole. These people are not good representatives of the honey industry, homeopathy, or the moral high ground they claim. I have no idea whether their products are quality, legitimately sourced, or good. Their business methodology is sufficient testimony for me.

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End of “Sour Honey is Sour Honey Hoax or Cancer Cure?” Back to “Puzzling Wild Honey Questions. Need Your Help!”