Honey: health benefits and harms

Honey is produced by bees and related insects. The bees collect plant nectar, partially digest it in their crop, and then seal it in a honeycomb. In this form, honey can be stored for many years.

The history of the appearance of honey in nutrition

Honey has been known to man for a long time, since the 8th millennium BC, possibly even earlier. Beekeeping originated in the Mediterranean.

This product was important not only as food, but also as an element of rituals. Honey was called a symbol of fertility, immortality, “food of the gods.” It was considered a gift from heaven, as people believed that bees collect honey from the dew in the morning.

By origin, natural honey is of two types: flower and honeydew. Flower bees are obtained from the nectar of flowering plants, and honeydew – by processing honeydew, sweet secretions of other insects, such as aphids, as well as sugary juice of plant leaves.

It is almost impossible to get honey from one plant – bees do not collect it selectively, but visit all the nearest flowers. Most one-component honeys (sea buckthorn, raspberry, etc.) are actually a mixture of honeys, and sometimes even just syrup from berries.

Leading honey producers in the world are China, Turkey, Argentina.

The composition and calorie content of honey

The benefits of honey

Honey is 80% composed of various carbohydrates. They are highly digestible and serve as a source of energy.

There is a myth that honey is a storehouse of vitamins. In fact, it contains a very small amount of them: B2, B6, E, K, C, carotene. Their content is lower than in red meat or tomatoes, so it will not work to cover the daily need for vitamins with honey.

Honey contains several hundred trace elements, as well as organic acids: malic, tartaric, citric, etc.

The benefits of honey are the presence of natural antibiotics, as well as phytoncides, which have antibacterial properties. This explains the widespread use of the product in the treatment of colds. Also, honey envelops an irritated throat and reduces the cough reflex.

Worth the honey

Extremely rare, but still there is a truly poisonous honey. It is obtained from the pollen and nectar of some caustic plants, such as rhododendron and delphinium. The use of such honey is fraught with headache, nausea.

– Honey has many useful properties, but it should be perceived as a sweetness, – says gastroenterologist Olga Arisheva. – It is worth refusing to use the product for those who are allergic to it, as well as to bee products (for example, to bee stings or propolis), but the reaction is not always cross. In addition, it is worth limiting the use of honey to people with exacerbation of the upper gastrointestinal tract, as well as people with overweight. Honey should be consumed no more than 2-3 tablespoons per day. You should not add it to tea, as hot water destroys all the beneficial properties, leaving only sugar and carbohydrates. Fake honey is also dangerous – a fake consisting of syrup and low-quality flavors and dyes.

The use of honey in medicine

In official medicine, honey is not used, except perhaps as a natural flavoring and sweetener for mixtures and cough drops.

However, numerous studies confirm the effectiveness of honey in infectious diseases. Bacteria from the crop of bees produce a natural antibiotic that gets into the honey. Its effect is enhanced by phytoncides, which are secreted by the plants themselves. Hydrogen peroxide is formed from glucose due to the oxidation of the secretion of the glands of bees, which also kills microbes.

Biochemists have found that manuka honey (from a certain type of plant) is the most active against bacteria. This honey is especially effective against Staphylococcus aureus. An Australian company has even taken to promoting manuka honey as a topical medicine.

Also, honey helps to heal infected wounds, burns, creating a protective film, accelerating the growth of healthy tissues and suppressing bacteria. Of course, it is dangerous and ineffective to treat only with the help of honey, but if medicines are not available, it can help.

Honey is actively used in folk medicine, there is even a whole area of ​​medical treatment.

The use of honey in cooking

Before the production of sugar, honey was the main sweetener of dishes – jams, pastries.

Carrot salad with honey

A healthy delicacy that contains a lot of vitamins. If desired, you can not fill with sour cream

Peel the carrots, rub on a fine grater. Chop the nuts with a knife. Add honey, season with fat sour cream and serve.

honey biscuits

A fragrant honey cookie that replaces half of the sugar in the recipe

Mix flour, baking powder, spices, sugar and salt in a bowl. Chop the cooled butter with a knife, put in a bowl and grind with flour with your hands into small crumbs.

Add liquid honey – if necessary, it can be heated in a water bath. Knead the dough – this does not need to be done for a long time. Leave at room temperature covered with foil for 15 minutes.

Then divide into balls the size of a walnut, put on parchment and flatten each one slightly. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees.

How to choose and store honey

Honey can be purchased in honeycombs or liquid. For combs, it is important that the wax caps are intact. Honeycomb honey is stored up to 15 years, in a glass jar in a cool dark place. Sealed honeycombs prevent honey from fermenting.

Liquid honey is stored in the same conditions for up to 2 years. Over time, it crystallizes – this is a normal process. Some varieties of honey thicken within a couple of weeks after pumping, this does not affect the quality and taste of honey. Before crystallization, honey is liquid, has a different density, but it should not pour like sugar syrup. This can be checked by dropping honey from a spoon into a container with it – for some time the honey will keep its shape, spreading not immediately.

Color, smell and taste depend on the variety. Honey can be dark brown to almost white. But not a single type of honey should have a sour taste – this indicates the process of fermentation and spoilage of the product.

To store liquid honey, you can use clay pots, glass, plastic and dishes made of birch bark, linden and beech. It is important that any dishes are tightly closed and protect the container from air ingress.