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Many traditional practitioners eat beeswax in moderation along with comb honey for its health benefits. And they advise periodically using a healing product, storing it in the summer for several months. Although the use of wax is contraindicated in large quantities and in case of serious diseases.
Is it possible to eat honeycombs
Most people who do not have an allergy or intolerance to eat honey can also consume other bee products, including fresh honeycomb wax. Such a valuable product is purchased in specialized stores or markets. The cost of honeycombs is high, but it is believed that this honey is very healing. This is ready-made food for the young generation of the bee family, and wax is a kind of jar with blanks. When a person eats honeycombs, the following substances enter the body:
- honey;
- wax;
- propolis;
- pollen;
- Perga.
There is evidence that scientists have identified more than three hundred of its active components. Some substances are similar in their action to vitamin A.
Honeycombs are built by organized insects themselves, creating them from a substance secreted by the corresponding glands that are located on their abdomens. Young, spring and early summer wax is light yellow, by the end of July, in August it grows old, acquires a darker shade. Up to 2-3 kg of wax is taken from one bee family per year, without compromising the quality of life of winged workers. When a frame with constructed cells full of honey is taken out of the hive, it is clear that the top of the bee “blanks” is covered with the so-called zabrus. This is a thin layer of light wax mixed with propolis. Usually, beekeepers cut off this layer, and sell open honeycombs, from which liquid honey flows. Combs with zabrus can contain up to 8-10% of propolis.
Building cells, the bee colony covers the inside of each closet with propolis for disinfection. A substance with antiseptic properties is also produced by the body of the bee. If the wax is sold melted, in the form of bars, and not in honeycombs, there is no propolis in it. It is separated during processing in apiaries.
The benefits and harms of honeycomb wax
Based on information from various sources, it follows that you can eat beeswax without fear. But a little, up to 7-10 g for the whole day. All vitamins and other active elements found in honey are also found in honeycombs. Bee cells are considered a medicinal substance that can regulate the functions of the human body. It is claimed that a limited amount of wax is useful to use, due to the following properties:
- the ability to absorb and remove toxins;
- produce an antibacterial effect on the intestinal environment;
- improve peristalsis;
- contain vitamin A in its composition and enrich the body with it;
- to inform the body of the light effect of those plants from which the bee family took a bribe.
Even if they do not eat, but chew wax from fragrant bee cells, a positive effect occurs:
- immunity increases, frequent development of bronchial diseases is prevented;
- relief of well-being with rhinitis and sinusitis;
- there is a calming effect and relief of a depressive state;
- the gums are strengthened, as they are easily massaged and soaked in therapeutic components;
- those wishing to give up smoking easier, thanks to high-quality sanitation of the oral cavity;
- hangover syndrome is removed faster and dependence on alcohol is mitigated;
- arbitrary weight loss occurs with the systematic chewing of 2-3 cells from honeycombs with wax per day, which reflexively reduces appetite;
- teeth are cleaned of yellow plaque;
- beneficial effect as a prevention of caries of empty wax without honey, which is chewed no more than 2 times a week.
In addition, wax is used:
- in cosmetology, as a substance that nourishes cells;
- on its basis, ointments are prepared, which are used to heal wounds of various origins;
- make compresses in the treatment of joints and venous circulation disorders.
If you eat wax along with honey in large quantities, it can harm the body, causing intestinal volvulus or blockage of the esophagus. Allergy sufferers should also not get carried away with the use of bee products.
What happens if you eat wax
Accidentally swallowing a piece of beeswax while chewing a fragment of a honey frame, a person will clean his body a little. Ingestion of up to 10 g of wax into the food system will most likely not produce any effect or any unpleasant sensations. The serious debilitating effects already mentioned occur after extremely large doses, which a sane person under normal circumstances would not eat. You should also control how children chew honeycombs, but it is better to give small, safe portions.
How to eat honeycombs
The ideal answer to the question of whether it is possible to eat whole honeycombs by swallowing wax – you just need to chew it. Wax with honey is chewed for quite a long time, while sweetness and a unique smell are felt. The rest of the product is spit out. With careful chewing with saliva, all useful active substances from beeswax pass into the body. Beekeepers warn that zabrus, which is sometimes found on fragments of honey frames, is best cut by yourself. The propolis contained in it is intended for external use. They swallow small pieces of wax purposefully, curing some kind of ailment. It is recommended to eat some black bread.
Zabrus is chewed, necessarily spitting out, if stomatitis, pharyngitis or complications in the upper respiratory tract after a cold are being treated. Honey in combs is considered more useful, fragrant and liquid, since it is conserved by the bee family with the help of an antiseptic of their own “production” – propolis.
Safety measures
If they eat honeycombs for medicinal purposes, do not forget about some of the nuances of their use:
- the product has a lot of carbohydrates, and a high sugar content with regular meals can threaten caries if you do not rinse your mouth;
- honeycombs and wax will bring benefits if the bee family worked in an ecologically clean area;
- in the presence of carcinogens in the bee product, which appear during the collection of nectar in contaminated areas, they are released during heating, for example, when honeycombs are placed in hot tea;
- who counts calories should keep in mind that 100 g of honeycomb contains 328 kcal;
- it is recommended to refrain from eating honeycombs during pregnancy because they can create absorption problems.
Противопоказания
People in good health can eat honeycomb without fear. But with some ailments, they are harmful. Like any product, honeycomb wax also has contraindications:
- be careful to use those people who have already identified an allergy, maybe not even to honey;
- you can not eat in case of individual intolerance;
- only a small amount for diabetic patients, after the doctor’s permission;
- it is forbidden to use honey in combs during exacerbation of gastritis;
- the presence of solid compounds in the bile and urinary tract;
- during the high stages of oncology;
- in a feverish state, if the body temperature exceeds 38 ° C.
Terms and conditions of storage
Honeycombs will be stored for a long time if the zabrus remains intact. The cells are sealed, honey under the influence of propolis antiseptic, is in a liquid sterile state. Large pieces of honeycombs are carefully cut into smaller ones and placed in glass, porcelain or enameled containers. In the refrigerator, at a temperature of 4-5 ° C, this version of healing honey can be stored for several months. Its properties may change, deteriorate if kept in a hot room where the temperature is above + 20 ° C. The same effect and from frost.
The second condition for preserving the medicinal properties of honey in combs is protection not only from direct sunlight, but also from light. The bee product significantly loses its healing qualities in a bright room. Therefore, the container is placed in a dark place and must be covered.
The third requirement for high-quality storage of honeycombs is their protection from foreign odors. Honey will quickly absorb any strong aroma: from perfumery, spicy greens to technical means. To protect honeycombs from losing a bouquet of meadow herbs, placing them in containers with ground lids will help.
Conclusion
Beeswax is eaten for health reasons. Moderate use of honey from honeycombs along with wax has a positive effect on the body. But it is preferable to use an inedible substance strictly according to indications. For most people, the usual option is to chew the wax while the honey is there, and then spit it out.