Useful properties of natural honey for the health of the body. Treatment of respiratory diseases with honey

The most useful and medicinal properties of honey, methods of its use in traditional and folk medicine - all in one place. Perhaps you will discover the healing properties of honey that you did not know about.

A bit of mythology about the healing properties of honey

As soon as we are going to talk about the healing properties of this wonderful product in folk medicine, I would like to say a few words about the phenomenon of "May honey", to which popular rumor ascribes exceptional healing properties.

I must disappoint those who believe in this beautiful legend. "May honey" is practically no different from "June", "July", and any other flower honey in terms of composition and properties. Where did this legend come from?

Most likely, she came to us from antiquity, when this delicacy was the only sweet among the common people. Winter has passed, spring is coming, food has noticeably diminished, and honey has long been gone ... Bees are already flying, spring is rampant with flowers, and finally, it is the long-awaited first May honey - a bee and solar miracle! One can imagine how he poured strength into a body weakened by the lack of a sufficient amount of vitamins! It was just right to compose legends about him and distinguish him from a number of others that would come later.

As you can see, there were reasons for the legend, but not because such honey has a special composition and special properties (they do not differ too much for all types), but because it was the very first of the year.

And now we will dwell in more detail on the medical aspects of the use of honey.

The main medicinal properties of honey

Restorative action

Chronic fatigue syndrome and decreased performance are common borderline conditions of modern man, a state of "neither healthy nor sick". Sometimes there is a somatic (pertaining to the body) or mental illness behind this condition.

Inflammation of the tonsils (tonsillitis) is fraught with serious complications. If the disease has already begun, then it should be treated by a doctor. But when the very first signs of a sore throat appear, honey can prevent the onset of the disease. To do this, several times a day, lubricate the tonsils with honey. The procedure is not very pleasant, but even children easily get used to it. A more gentle way may be to carry out aerosol inhalation of a honey solution 2-3 times a day (for example, using "Rosinka"). At the same time, a lot of antimicrobial and other medicinal components get on the mucous membrane with honey "fog".

About burns

The very first actions after receiving a burn are intensive cooling of the burn site with water, ice or in another way. Only after that should the healing properties of honey be used to treat a burn, by applying it to the damaged area of \u200b\u200bthe skin.

Dermatology

Inflammations and suppurations, primarily boils, carbuncles, abscesses and acne, are well cured with 2-4 times daily treatment with honey, and especially when mixed with fish oil. In this case, no bandages should be applied, the honey should dry in the air.

Bronchial diseases

Proper use of this product for chest cough, hoarseness, sore throat is a traditional folk remedy. Usually honey is used together with warm milk. Milk should not be hot, but warm (not higher than 40 C) in order to avoid the destruction of these components of honey. Sore throats can be relieved by combining honey with lemon or lemon juice.

Stimulation of liver function and digestion

Unlike beet and cane sugar, whose disaccharides overload the stomach, honey is easily digested without additional processing. It does not cause fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract and does not damage the intestinal microflora. For this reason alone, it can be recommended for unloading the digestive organs, which in our time are too overloaded with modern refined food.

For the stomach, honey is useful in that it regulates acidity. Moreover, if it is slightly increased, then he lowers it, and if it is lowered, then he raises it. But for people with stomach acid problems, honey can cause discomfort and heartburn.

Allergy Prevention

Practical medicine has shown that with the right intake of honey, allergies can be prevented and avoided. To do this, you need to take 1 teaspoon (no more!) of honey obtained in the area where the allergic person lives.

The therapeutic effect of honey can be explained by the fact that the body gradually gets used to small doses of the local allergen (contained in honey pollen) and after that it no longer responds to large doses. It is enough to take the indicated amount of honey for several months or even years to steadily get rid of allergies.

The second option is to take express honey with your favorite juices (for example, carrot, currant, etc.).

Medicinal properties of honey - a source of energy

Which of the food products is the most powerful source of energy for humans and at the same time does not have harmful side effects on the body? To determine such a product, tests were carried out that showed that the energy value of some products is as follows: white refined sugar - 4.5 points, red (unrefined) sugar - 6.0 points; corn syrup - 7.0 points; pure glucose - 7.5 points; flower honey - 9.0 points.

natural honey

Only natural honey that has not undergone various technological treatments has useful properties. When heated thermally, honey loses all its virtues, because the molecular structure of honey changes, and it turns into a glue-like substance, which can even negatively affect well-being.

All of the following beneficial properties of honey apply only to the use of raw honey, that is, a natural product. It is better to buy such honey in the markets, as thermally processed honey with chemical additives and preservatives is sold in stores in beautiful jars, or even worse - artificial honey, which, apart from harm, does not bring any benefit to our body.

Useful properties of honey

Honey is one of the products that can be stored for a long time, while remaining healthy and tasty.

Honey is antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral.

Prior to the discovery of insulin, homeopathic physicians used honey and advised patients to eat honey instead of sugar. The Indians of northern Mexico increased their cases of diabetes when they stopped eating honey, replacing it with sugar. The healers of the tribe noticed the relationship between these two events and began to give the sick natural honey dissolved in tea with manzanilla (a type of sherry). As a result, the symptoms of diabetes in patients were markedly reduced. Diabetics and people suffering from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) should consult a professional doctor before using honey for medicinal purposes.

A teaspoon of natural honey given to a child at bedtime acts as a sedative, helps to fall asleep faster and avoid enuresis.

Honey increases the energy level, vitality of a person and gives strength. Not for nothing during the ancient Olympic Games, athletes followed a diet that included a large amount of natural honey.

Cough responds well to honey. If you have a cold, drink a glass of hot milk with a teaspoon of honey at night.

Honey does not cause fermentation in the stomach, so it can be used to suppress acid indigestion.

Honey mixed with ginger, lemon juice and warm water reduces nausea and gives strength.

The use of natural honey helps to reduce cramps. They occur due to low levels of magnesium and potassium in the blood. Honey brings these levels into balance.

Honey is used in the treatment of anemia, as it contains many useful substances, especially iron and copper, and the normal level of hemoglobin in the blood depends on the required amount of these elements in the body.

Honey is used for all kinds of intestinal disorders, as it is an excellent antibacterial agent.

With a decrease in blood sugar, a person feels tired and has a rapid heartbeat. Honey eliminates these unfavorable sensations. There is even a saying in India - "Honey will strengthen a weak heart, a weak brain and a weak stomach."

Honey contains many enzymes necessary for the normal digestion of food.

Honey is an excellent remedy for various wounds. After all, it has antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties that destroy microbial infections and promote rapid wound healing.

The use of natural honey helps to reduce the level of triglycerides in the body. Their high content can lead to cardiovascular and other diseases. Artificial honey, on the contrary, leads to an increase in the amount of triglycerides.

Honey is often used for cosmetic purposes. To improve the complexion, mix 1 tablespoon of honey with 1-2 tablespoons of almond or olive oil (you can use jojoba oil), apply to the face and neck. Leave on for 30 minutes and wash off with cool water.

Another option for a nourishing honey mask: mix green or white clay with natural honey. Apply to face, wait 20 minutes and rinse. After such procedures, your skin will be smooth and beautiful.

Honey combined with grape juice is an excellent remedy for gout, arthritis and joint pain.

The use of honey helps to lose weight. Honey has the opposite structure to fat, so it helps to break down fat. If you are in the process of losing weight, then drink a glass of mineral or ordinary water with a teaspoon of honey dissolved in it in the morning on an empty stomach. If desired, you can squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into it.

Thus, even eating sweets, you can improve your health. Just remember that exclusively natural honey, which has not undergone any heat treatments, has beneficial properties, as they destroy its medicinal properties.

Expert editor: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich| MD general practitioner

Education: Moscow Medical Institute. I. M. Sechenov, specialty - "Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".

Honey - good or bad for the body? Many people know that this is not only a delicious treat, but also a product rich in vitamins and nutrients. But not everyone has specific ideas about how honey is useful and what is its harm. It's time to find out the whole truth.

Why is it useful?

First of all, honey initially contains useful substances. These are B and C vitamins, various minerals, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, magnesium, iron, glucose, protein, fructose. Still there are questions why honey is necessary for health?

All these substances can become a reliable shield for the human body, because their combination gives antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal effects. If a person is prone to frequent colds or viral diseases, or generally has a weak immune system, this product should be in his diet, because it destroys viruses and helps to recover faster.

Do not think that honey is useful only in the prevention of mild and fleeting diseases. The bee product can also help those who suffer from serious health problems. If we talk about the benefits of honey, it is necessary to mention its main qualities:

It is rich in fructose. Despite this, it is perfect as a treat for people with diabetes.
Honey is useful in that it saturates the human body with calcium, while retaining it in the body. Improves the condition of teeth and bones.
Some doctors advise couples who cannot have a baby to use it, because the delicacy has the property of an aphrodisiac, which increases the productivity and activity of spermatozoa.
The use is also effective in kidney diseases. There are almost no proteins and salts in honey, which are contraindicated in this group of diseases. Vitamins C and P are necessary in the treatment of acute and chronic inflammation of the kidneys; carotene restores the integrity of cells inside the urinary organs; antimicrobial properties of honey disinfect pathogenic microflora; the complex composition improves the release of toxins, etc. In such diseases, 80-120 g per day should be consumed as a preventive and therapeutic agent.
Contains useful substances for people whose heart suffers. Glucose concentrated in honey is considered an energy material that is necessary for muscle tissue. When weakening the heart muscle, it is a nutritious dietary remedy. The benefits of honey for the body in cardiovascular diseases is that it dilates the vessels of the heart muscle and normalizes blood pressure. Bee honey supports the nervous system, for example, those suffering from cardiac neurosis receive a dose of anesthesia that relieves pain and reduces the frequency of heart failure. The blood supply to the heart is regulated when combined with foods containing vitamin C. Moreover, it facilitates the absorption of drugs such as Valocordin or Analgin into the body.
The use of natural honey has a positive effect on the eye system: diluted or mixed with fish oil, the product should be instilled into the eyes for inflammation, in the treatment of conjunctivitis and keratitis.

All this is only a small part of the properties of honey, it is rather difficult to announce the entire list. But a large number of experts speak about the benefits of the substance produced by bees, so there is no doubt that this is really a wonderful product that came to us from the very depths of nature, which was carefully prepared by a hardworking insect.

Types of honey and their effect on the body

Some say that they do not like such a treat in its purest form, because they do not like its taste. However, they may be mistaken in their own preferences, because there are a huge variety of types of honey, one of which might well appeal to the picky eater. It is worth talking about several main varieties of natural delicacies:

Linden honey. Useful and in demand. It has a light shade and a characteristic fragrant smell. Healing properties: antipyretic, diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory. The benefit of linden honey is that it is the best helper for colds.
Buckwheat honey. It can not be confused with other varieties, because it has a unique color - from almost red to dark brown. It belongs to the best and most useful varieties, like linden. It contains very high levels of iron, so it is recommended for people suffering from anemia.
Flower honey. In general, this is any honey collected from the nectar of flowers. Another name is herb honey. The types of such delicacy cannot be counted, and they have an endless set of useful properties. This product is the most common on the market.
Honeydew honey. It is made when a bee collects honeydew, that is, honeydew and sweet secretions of insects living on plants, when there are no flowering plants near her hive. The substance from coniferous mountain trees is considered the most useful. It is dark in color with a hint of green. Some species practically do not crystallize.

Is honey harmful?

It is not often possible to hear that, in addition to the benefits, a delicacy can also harm human health. It's all about the richness of the substances contained in the product, because some of its components can cause dangerous damage to the body. So is honey good for every person?

It must be taken into account that:

Individual intolerance to honey is observed in approximately 0.8% of people. Symptoms are: dizziness, fever, rash, malaise, heaviness in the stomach. Therefore, before treatment and use, you should know for sure that an allergy will not pop up on it (you can check it by applying skin tests). Is this product very harmful for people who are predisposed to its intolerance? There are several opinions regarding allergies to honey. Some doctors recommend that people without hypersensitivity do not abuse the delicacy, and allergy sufferers do not add it to the diet at all. Others are sure that the honey product can be used in the treatment of certain allergies (there are even some methods of this kind of therapy).
Many recommend eating bee honey at night, but the substance in its pure form contributes to the production of a large amount of energy (due to carbohydrates). For normal sleep, a simple recipe is better: a glass of warm milk with 1 tsp dissolved. goodies in it.
At temperatures above 40 ° C, all useful properties are lost, in addition, some researchers argue that in this case, harmful characteristics will prevail over positive ones and the medicinal product turns into a storehouse of substances toxic to the body.
You should refuse to use honey with the main meal, because the calorie content of any product in this case will increase, and digestion will be weakened.
The harm of honey is due to the high content of sugar, which contributes to the development of a charitable environment for bacteria in the oral cavity. Therefore, you should brush your teeth after eating sweets to reduce the risk of cavities and bad breath.
You should not give such a treat to children under one year old, because this will increase the risk of diathesis and atopic dermatitis. If there is a desire to accustom a child to honey, then you need to start doing this no earlier than from the age of three, while observing the reaction of the child's body.
Be sure to check honey, like fruit, for maturity. This is easy to do: good old honey is wound with an even ribbon on a spoon that rotates around its axis in a jar. Unripe honey has a liquid consistency and will drip off a spoon. Such a product does not retain useful properties.

The sweet treat definitely has contraindications. But still, it is worth considering whether it is possible to talk about the dangers of honey. After all, all the problems that it can cause are individual and depend mainly on compliance with the rules for its use. If you correctly introduce a delicacy into your diet, you can get much more useful than bad, and the harmful properties of the product will not appear.

More about honey

We have already decided what are the benefits and harms of honey. However, before that, it was said about its impact on human health. But after all, treatment and medicine are not the only areas in which it is used. What else is an amazing delicacy suitable for? For cosmetology and beauty! No wonder there is a legend that the splendor of Cleopatra is the merit of bees, which produce honey.

To rejuvenate, hydrate, exfoliate, improve skin tone, unclog pores and relax, this product seems to do it all! And honey for hair in the form of a mask is actively used by cosmetologists, because after it the curls become smooth and silky. In this case, honey will definitely not bring harm, quite the opposite!

People have always compared drinking honey to going to an island paradise. Let among doctors, scientists and other researchers, the harm and benefits of an unusual delicacy still remain a debatable issue. True connoisseurs of this natural gift know exactly why they use it!

Honey is one of the most unique products that nature has given us. It is tasty and infinitely useful, this is just the option when it is pleasant to be treated. The healing properties of honey have been used for a long time, there are many folk recipes for a huge number of ailments where honey is used.

Honey normalizes the work of internal organs, improves blood composition, slows down the aging process, gives energy, improves immunity. Honey has medicinal, bactericidal and dietary properties; it is used not only in folk medicine, but also in traditional medicine for both treatment and prevention.

The ancient Greek gods were considered immortal due to the use of ambrosia, which consisted of honey, milk and nectar. Hippocrates, Aristotle and Pythagoras believed that honey helps prolong life.

To collect a kilogram of honey, industrious bees fly around up to ten million honey flowers. The distance that they overcome in this case exceeds the circumference of the globe along the equator ten times.

The main properties of honey

The benefits of honey are due to its biological nature and complex chemical characteristics. Among the main properties of honey: crystallization, fermentation, hygroscopicity, thermal and electrical conductivity, heat capacity, viscosity and density, optical activity, thixotropy and others.

Mature honey is a thick, transparent, slightly colored liquid, its specific gravity is 1.11-1.12. Depending on the types of plants from which the nectar is collected, the chemical composition of honey is different. But any type of honey contains approximately 60 different substances. These are mainly carbohydrates: glucose (grape sugar), fructose (fruit sugar) and sucrose (complex sugar). Depending on the presence of essential oils, the aroma of honey may vary. There are also coloring substances in honey, such as carotene.

In addition, honey contains minerals, more than 30 macro- and microelements (phosphorus, potassium, manganese, calcium, iron, copper), enzymes (diastase, catalase, invertase, etc.) and vitamins (K, C, B, E, A, B1, B2, B3, H, etc.), which have a general strengthening and tonic effect, as well as phytoncides, organic acids, biogenic stimulants, acetylcholine, proteins.

Useful properties of honey

We should not forget that only natural, unprocessed honey has useful properties. For example, when heated, honey loses most of its healing qualities, as its molecular structure changes. In some cases, it can even negatively affect well-being.

Therefore, honey should be eaten in its natural, raw form. It is best to buy it in the markets, and even better - from familiar beekeepers. Because in store beautiful packages, honey is sold that has undergone heat treatment, or honey with chemical additives and preservatives, or even artificial honey, from which there can be no benefit.

Among the most useful properties of honey are antibacterial, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic. Honey is a natural preservative, it can be stored for a long time without losing its properties. Since ancient times, various products have been preserved with its help. For example, meat preserved in honey was stored for up to four years. The Egyptians used honey for embalming.

It is very effective in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, liver and other internal organs, as well as cardiovascular diseases. Honey has a softening effect on the skin, eliminating dryness, so it is included in many cosmetic masks. Honey is also used in baths and massages.

Glucose and fructose, when broken down, provide nutrition and energy to the body. Calorie content of 100 grams of honey is 1379 J. At the same time, it is quickly absorbed: by 97-98%, improving the digestion process.

The crystallization process depends on the types of honey, ambient temperature, composition. With crystallization, the valuable qualities of honey do not change.

Benefits of honey over sugars

Honey does not irritate the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, it is easily and quickly absorbed and also easily releases energy, it allows athletes to quickly restore strength, it is easier to pass through the kidneys than other sugars, it has a natural mild laxative effect and a sedative (sedative) effect on the body. In addition, it is available and relatively inexpensive.

How to choose honey

To distinguish a fake from natural honey, you need to add a small amount of honey to a cup of weak warm tea. The tea should darken, but without sediment at the bottom. Can be dissolved in a small amount of distilled water and drip 4-5 drops of iodine. If the solution turns blue, then starch has been used. And if you drop vinegar essence instead of iodine, you can check the honey for the presence of chalk: if there is chalk, the solution will hiss.

The most common counterfeiter is sugar syrup. They also often dilute unripe honey, making it sweet. This honey has a high moisture content. If you drop a piece of bread into it and take it out after ten minutes, then the bread will harden in high-quality honey. If he softened, then there is nothing more than sugar syrup.

If honey does not thicken for a long time, it means that it has a lot of fructose and few useful properties. If it is divided into two layers, thickening from below, and remaining liquid from above, it means that it is unripe and will be stored for only a few months, so it needs to be eaten as soon as possible.

If we talk about what kind of honey - mountain or lowland - is more valuable, then we can say that there are no special advantages for mountain honey over lowland. The quality and concentration of nutrients depend solely on the knowledge and decency of the beekeeper, and, of course, on the ecology in the area where he gathered.

The quality of honey can be determined:

By viscosity: honey reaches for a thin stick, which is lowered into it, and breaking away, forms a gradually dissolving tubercle. If the honey is false, it will be like glue, flowing profusely and dripping, forming splashes.
By shades: each variety has its own color, which is inherent only to it. However, if it is pure and without impurities, then it will be transparent. But if the honey is cloudy and with sediment, it means that it contains additives: starch, sugar, etc.
By aroma: real honey is always fragrant. If there is an admixture of sugar in it, then it has no aroma, and its taste is the taste of sweetened water.
By consistency: the consistency of real honey is delicate and thin, it is easily rubbed between the fingers, quickly absorbed into the skin. In a fake, the structure will be rough, and lumps will remain on the fingers.
Test for added sugar and water: drop onto a piece of junk paper. Poor-quality honey will spread on the paper with wet spots or even seep through it.

If you are buying honey for the first time, find several regular sellers in the bazaar and buy 100 g each from them to do all the above procedures. So it will be possible to choose which of them to trust in this matter.

How to store honey

With proper storage, honey does not lose its useful and taste properties for up to a thousand years!

The natural product is stored in a tightly closed glass or plastic container, in a dark and dry place (direct sunlight is harmful to honey). Honey is not stored in the refrigerator, as cooling also negatively affects its beneficial properties.

Honey absorbs the smells of fish, cheese, sauerkraut, so you need to choose an appropriate place for it. In a wooden barrel of coniferous species, honey absorbs the smell of resin, in an oak barrel it darkens. Can be stored in a lime, birch or aspen barrel.

Honey is stored in a food plastic container for no more than a week, other polymers are completely prohibited. From metal utensils - enameled and nickel-plated, but without chips. Copper and galvanized dishes are strictly prohibited, as honey reacts with them and is filled with poisonous salts. At high humidity, honey can turn sour.

Types of honey

Honey is named after the flowers from which it is harvested. The most famous are Buckwheat (increases hemoglobin, normalizes blood pressure, kidney and stomach function, promotes regeneration), Acacia (used in the treatment of eye diseases), Lime (value for colds, sore throats, flu, tuberculosis, asthma, and also in the treatment of the gastrointestinal tract).

However, there are many other types of honey: Abkhazian mountain honey (increases the tone of the cardiovascular system), Akkuraevy (prevents skin cancer, helps with psoriasis), Altai (normalizes the secretion of gastric juice, reduces blood clots), Bortevoy (created completely without human intervention), Hawthorn ( regulates pressure, stimulates blood vessels, strengthens arteries and capillaries), camel thorn (has an antimicrobial effect on streptococci and staphylococci, as well as dysentery bacillus, is useful for joint pain and salt deposition), sweet clover (used for cardiovascular diseases, thins the blood, stabilizes pressure , weakens).

Sweet clover and Acacia are considered the least allergenic of all types of honey.

Less well-known types of honey: Angelica (used for diseases of the respiratory tract, as a sedative and sleeping pill), Goldenrod (recommended for inflammation of the bladder and kidneys), Chestnut (normalizes the activity of the thyroid gland), Fireweed (normalizes sleep and strengthens the nervous system, charitably affects prostate gland), Coriander (used as a choleretic, increases appetite, stimulates mental activity), Linden Take (used for colds, diseases of the throat and gastrointestinal tract), Raspberry (used in the treatment of colds, stomatitis and inflammation of the mucous membranes, relieves tension), Dodder (antitumor , antiviral and anthelmintic effect, in violation of the menstrual cycle), Sunflower (helps with diseases of the heart, respiratory tract, colic, atherosclerosis, osteochondrosis, neuralgia, removes toxins), Orange (recommended for pregnant women), Phacelia (used as a dietary product, as well as for diseases of the liver and stomach, gastritis, low acidity, dysbacteriosis), Cotton (rich in vitamins and nutrients, expectorant and softening effect).

It should be noted that dark varieties of honey are richer in minerals. But the most useful is honey collected not from one, but from several plants.

Norm of consumption and contraindications

An adult can eat 100-150 grams of honey per day for the benefit of the body, in several doses. Better between meals (one and a half to two hours before or three hours after). It is useful to use it with warm boiled water.

It is better for children to give with porridge, fruit or tea, then it is absorbed faster. A child needs 1-2 teaspoons a day.

Contraindications, as a rule, are hypersensitivity (allergic reactions). He has practically no other contraindications.

Application in treatment

Everyone knows that honey is the first remedy for colds: from a runny nose, cough, as a diaphoretic, to treat the throat. But few people know that, for example, before the discovery of insulin, homeopaths prescribed honey to diabetics instead of sugar. The Indians of northern Mexico found that cases of diabetes increased when they stopped taking honey, replacing it with sugar.

Honey before going to bed acts as a sedative, and at the same time during the day it increases vitality, gives strength. Honey can suppress acid disorder because it does not cause fermentation in the stomach.

Honey, ginger and lemon juice with warm water reduce nausea. Natural honey helps prevent cramps. It is used for anemia. Reduces the level of triglycerides in the blood, which can lead to cardiovascular disease.

Honey is also an excellent remedy for wounds and burns - as an antiseptic, and also has antibacterial and antifungal effects.

To improve complexion, a tablespoon of honey is mixed with one or two tablespoons of almond, olive or jojoba oil, after which the mixture is applied to the skin of the face and neck for half an hour.

Honey with grape juice is good for gout, arthritis and joint pain.

Honey is also used for weight loss in diets, it perfectly breaks down fats. A glass of mineral or ordinary water with a teaspoon of honey dissolved there on an empty stomach will be a good helper for losing weight. You can add a few drops of lemon juice if you like.

Honey has a beneficial effect on all internal organs, stimulating their work, and increases the overall resistance of the body. It is a well-known remedy for aging. In folk medicine, it is added to decoctions of herbs, vegetable juices.

With peptic ulcer, honey is dissolved in a glass of warm water and taken in the morning 30-60 g, in the afternoon 40-80 g and in the evening 30-60 g, one and a half to two hours before breakfast and lunch and three hours after dinner. It relieves pain, thins mucus in the stomach, eliminates nausea and heartburn.

For gastritis with high acidity, a tablespoon of honey is dissolved in warm water and drunk one and a half to two hours before meals for two months. If the acidity is lowered, it is dissolved in cold water, the rest is the same.

For the liver, spleen, gallbladder, a glass of honey is mixed with a glass of black radish juice and taken half a glass three times a day. This mixture increases hemoglobin, prevents the formation of stones, improves tissue metabolism.

Honey has a beneficial effect on metabolism, it is excellent for tuberculosis. Acacia honey is used to strengthen hair, as well as for various eye diseases, conjunctivitis, glaucoma and cataracts. Only this type of honey is suitable for eye treatment.

A solution of honey and distilled water in a ratio of 1: 2 is instilled into the eyes two to three times a day. When positive results appear, the drops can be made more concentrated, gradually bringing to equal proportions. After three weeks, you need a break for 10 days. Such a solution is also recommended for anyone who works at a computer.

In case of heart diseases, honey is drunk in small portions two or three times a day with milk, cottage cheese, and fruits. In case of hypertension, vegetable juices are added to honey, the mixtures are stored in glassware in a cool place.

With varicose veins and coronary heart disease, honey with garlic is useful: 250 g of garlic, peel, grate or mash in a mortar and pour 250 g of liquid honey, mix and infuse for a week. Accepted for 1 tbsp. spoon 40 minutes before meals twice or thrice a day for two months.

The healing properties of honey are truly diverse, there are many folk recipes that have been tested for centuries, in which honey is present, as well as another wonderful bee gift - propolis. One thing is undeniable: eating a little honey every day, you can not only quench your body's thirst for sweets, but also improve your health, as well as get closer to longevity.

President of the Russian National Union of Beekeepers about the benefits of honey:

Despite the fact that in our time, store shelves are lined with all kinds of goods, finding natural and healthy products is not an easy task. But the products should also be useful. The same situation is with honey. There are a large number of fairs and exhibitions of honey, many options are presented in stores, a product called "honey" is not at all scarce, but finding real honey is not easy. Honey is one of the most frequently adulterated products.

In this article, we will try to figure out how you can protect yourself, learn how to choose the right honey, and start by getting to know this product better.

What is natural honey? This is nectar collected by bees from honey plants and processed by them into honey. The bees should not be fed sugar syrup. The participation of the food industry is excluded. Nowadays, you can buy a product called "honey", which has never been touched by bees, produced with the help of modern science. This case is less troublesome and the result of production can be predicted, but you should not expect healing properties from such “honey”. In taste, it is much inferior to natural honey. If the “surrogate” is sold in a store, then in small letters on the jar you can read its composition - sugar and other components.

Beekeeping- it's not a simple matter. In order to get honey, it is not enough to build hives and buy bee colonies. The volume of honey collection is influenced by various factors, among them the weather - rainy, too windy, arid interferes with beekeeping; the presence of honey plants in the range accessible to bees; the health of bee colonies, and many others. In lean years, the collected honey is hardly enough for bee colonies to feed themselves during the winter. The productivity of an apiary can be judged only by evaluating the result for several years. Only the tireless efforts and experience of beekeepers lead to the appearance of a quality product. Due to such difficult conditions, many beekeepers are tempted to use various manipulations, few of them remember the law of cause and effect.

Honey is divided into two types: flower and honeydew.

flower honey produced by bees from nectar collected from flowers. Any honey - sweet clover, herbs, sunflower, buckwheat, clover, rapeseed and others are flower honeys.

Another type of honey is rarer - honeydew, it can be of animal or vegetable origin. Honeydew honey of animal origin is collected from some insect species that secrete sweet juice. One of these insects is the aphid. Honeydew honey of plant origin is collected from the buds of certain types of trees (hazel, ash, oak, maple, ash, some types of spruce and fir, fruit trees), which secrete juice in hot autumn weather. This "dew" is called honey. The taste of honeydew honey is different, sometimes bitterness is characteristic of it, by the presence of which experienced beekeepers can determine it. It is darker in color, ranging from dark brown to black.

Since ancient times, honey has been famous for its beneficial properties, it is considered a means for gaining longevity and painless old age.

Here are just some of the health benefits of honey:

Vitamins and trace elements included in its composition help maintain health
Has a bactericidal effect
Normalizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract
Accelerates tissue regeneration
Tones the body
Stimulates the function of internal organs

The color of natural honey can vary from almost colorless to dark brown, depending on the type of honey plant. The darker the honey, the more minerals and other substances it contains.

Honey also differs depending on the time and place of collection and even on the breed of bees that collected it.

Composition of honey .

Up to 80% of the volume of honey falls on simple sugars - glucose and fructose (in approximately equal proportions), the rest is water, minerals, enzymes, amino acids. Due to the fact that sugars are in honey in a simple form, they are easily absorbed by the body, ready for absorption, which is 100%. Our body does not expend energy on the assimilation of honey (if it is consumed within reasonable limits), which happens when consuming ordinary sugar.

Honey can be in different states - liquid, thick, candied, homogeneous. A large number of varieties of honey gradually change their color and texture during storage. This process is called crystallization (candied, greedy), which does not affect the beneficial properties of honey, despite the change in shape. Crystallization - the formation of glucose crystals. Fructose, in turn, does not crystallize. The more glucose in honey, the faster crystallization occurs. For example, sunflower honey begins to crystallize almost immediately after collection, and white acacia honey may remain liquid until spring. If there is less glucose in honey, it crystallizes more slowly or does not crystallize at all. Also in this case, it is possible to exfoliate honey - a crystalline mass goes down, a more liquid one rises up.

Varieties of honey in which crystallization is faster - sunflower, rapeseed, yellow thistle, honey collected from cruciferous.

Slower - fireweed, white acacia.

The percentage of glucose / fructose depends not only on the type of plant, but also on the geography of its growth. In colder regions, glucose in plants is formed worse than in more southern ones. This leads to the fact that the northern varieties of honey crystallize more slowly.

The more fructose in honey, the sweeter it is (because fructose is 2.5 times sweeter than glucose). Therefore, such varieties of honey as white locust, fireweed are sweeter compared to those in which the amount of glucose predominates.

Artificial honey does not crystallize, so crystallization is a positive process.

The structure of crystallization may also differ, this process depends on various factors. At a temperature of 14 degrees, crystallization is faster than at a higher temperature, and the crystals are smaller. In a warmer room, crystallization proceeds more slowly, and the resulting crystals are larger.

Since the fructose molecule is lighter, it tends to rise. Therefore, during storage of honey, its stratification is possible, but it occurs rather slowly due to its high density. At temperatures above room temperature, this process is accelerated. Such stratification may lead to thoughts about the poor quality of honey, but in fact it does not affect the properties of honey.

It is necessary to take into account the fact that honey cannot be collected from one type of plant by 100%. Even if a mobile apiary goes to collect honey in a certain field, the bees are free to choose plants on their own and can fly into a neighboring field, or collect nectar from weeds growing on the field. This affects the properties of honey.

Honey, the main part of which (from 40%) is obtained from one type of plant, is called monofloral. Polyfloral honey - collected from different plants. Consider the main types of monofloral honeys:

Buckwheat honey. The color is bright brown with a reddish tint, has a strong pleasant aroma.
Acacia honey. Color from colorless to pale yellow, crystallizes very slowly. Aroma - weak floral, fresh.
Linden honey. The color is white-yellow, white-amber, the aroma is rich, fresh, pharmaceutical. The crystallization rate is average.
Rapeseed honey. Color from white to white-yellow. Crystallization is fast. Herbal aroma.
sunflower honey. The color is pronounced yellow. Slightly herbal aroma.
chestnut honey. Reddish brown to dark amber color. Crystallization is slow. The aroma is rich, bitter.
clover honey. Color from light white to light amber. Crystallization is fast fine-grained. Slightly herbal aroma.
sweet clover honey. Light amber color. The aroma is subtle.

A large amount of honey that is currently sold at fairs is of Chinese origin, called Altai, Bashkir or something else. Such honey is collected mainly in the subtropical zone, and this is high temperature and humidity. The bees themselves are not able to bring the honey to the correct moisture ratio, and beekeepers pump out unripe and too liquid honey. In order to prevent rapid souring of honey, antibiotics are added to it, which interfere with the fermentation process. Methods of artificial drying of honey are also used. Our beekeepers and honey dealers do not lag behind and use various tricks in the production and sale of honey.

You should not buy honey collected in polluted areas, in places close to chemical industry enterprises, thermal power plants, large airfields. Toxic substances are concentrated in honey.

The surest way to buy high-quality natural honey is to buy it from good friends who do not prioritize enrichment, but strive to share a quality product with people. But, unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to purchase honey from friends and trusted people.

A good way to check the quality of honey is a laboratory, but you will have to pay for such a study and it makes no sense to check every jar in this way. For example, only in the laboratory can one determine the diastase number corresponding to honey.

Consider the diastase number in a little more detail. As with other natural and nutritious foods, honey contains various enzymes, of which there are several dozen. Enzymes are catalytic substances that help and significantly speed up the process of digestion and assimilation of food. Among them are catalase, invertase, amylase, peroxidase and diastase. The latter enzyme is best known among honey connoisseurs.

Diastase Enzyme responsible for the breakdown of starch. Currently, many evaluate the quality of honey by diastase number, i.e. the amount of diastase in honey. But you should not rely only on this parameter. diastase number may vary depending on the region in which the honey was collected, on the breed of bees, on the honey plant. When determining the quality of honey, there is a standard, according to which the diastase number must be at least 8. By the presence of diastase in honey during laboratory tests, it can be determined whether the honey has been heated. If the honey has been heated, the diastase number will be "0". There are observations that the older the honey, the higher the diastase number; it rises with time.

But besides the laboratory, there are some other ways to test honey that can help us protect ourselves.

A few methods for determining the quality of honey that you can produce yourself:

Maturity of honey.

Honey must be ripe. After the nectar is collected, the bees continue to work on it for about a week. During this time, excess moisture is evaporated, complex sugars are broken down into simple ones, honey is filled with enzymes. Unscrupulous beekeepers, to the detriment of the quality of the product, pump out honey without waiting for the moment when it is ready (only after the honey is ready, the bees seal it in the honeycombs with wax). They may do this for several reasons:

after clogging the honey, it becomes more difficult to pump it out;
want to send the goods for sale as soon as possible;
left without honey, the bees begin to harvest it more actively again;
more such honey is obtained, since it contains a lot of water;
lack of honeycombs in the household.

Excessive moisture contained in unripe honey leads to the fact that it is stored worse, the fermentation process in it starts faster, and the valuable product loses its nutritional and taste properties. The normal moisture content of honey is less than 21%.

How to distinguish mature honey?

It is thicker, flows beautifully and smoothly from the spoon with elastic threads, and does not immediately become uniform on the surface. You can conduct such an experiment - if at a temperature of 20 degrees you scoop honey with a tablespoon, and then start rotating it horizontally, the honey will be held on its surface, smoothly flowing to one or the other part of it, wrapping it on a spoon - honey is mature. Unripe honey will, without lingering, flow down in a thin stream or even drip.
weight of honey. Honey is a heavy product, it weighs more than water. With normal humidity less than 21%, 1 liter of honey weighs more than 1.4 kg (excluding containers).
Determination of the quality of honey by organoleptic properties. Of course, honey must be sweet. A bitter taste is characteristic of only a few types of honey, such as chestnut and linden. Honey should dissolve completely in the mouth. After eating a spoonful of honey, you can feel a slight irritation, tingling of the mucous membranes of the throat. Smell honey, feel its aroma. Honey with an admixture of sugar has no aroma and pronounced taste. There should not be a sour smell, it may indicate that fermentation has begun. The caramel flavor and aroma indicate that the honey has been heated. In natural honey, there may be small particles - pollen, wax, sometimes, in case of poor filtration, wings or other parts of insects may be present. If the honey was obtained not from the nectar of flowers, but from the sugar syrup that was fed to the bees, such honey will be unnaturally white. So it will be if the main component of "honey" is sugar syrup. Often, the bees are only partially fed with such a product, and in this case it is more difficult to feel the presence of sugar feeding. Here we must also not forget that some natural honeys have a natural white color - raspberry, fireweed, some types of sweet clover honey.
Determining the presence of sugar and water in honey. Take a piece of paper, dip it in honey and set it on fire. The water will start to sizzle, the sugar will crystallize, and the honey will only melt. Another way to detect sugar is to heat the tip of an iron wire with a lighter (for example, by straightening a paper clip) and then dip it into honey for a few seconds. If after this the wire remains clean, the honey is good, if a drop of “honey” “burns” to it, you have a fake.
Determination of the moisture content of honey using bread. If a piece of bread is dipped into high-quality honey, it will not get wet, but it will possibly become harder, since the honey itself will draw moisture out of it. Another test for the presence of excess moisture is if you drop honey on a piece of paper. If the drop begins to spread, and the leaf around it becomes wet, the honey contains excess moisture.
Determining the presence of a chalk additive in honey can be done using acetic acid. If there is chalk, a reaction will occur with an intense release of carbon dioxide.
The presence of starch or flour added to honey can be determined using iodine, if iodine turns blue when in contact with honey, starch is present in honey. The color of iodine will be the more intense, the more starch is added to the honey.
If a small amount of honey is placed in a water bath and heated to a temperature of 40-45 degrees for several minutes, high-quality honey will have a more pronounced aroma, while a fake one will not have it.
Put the honey in a cup of warm water, stir it with a spoon. Honey should not float - it is heavier than water. Real honey will quickly dissolve completely without sediment.
Real honey can be rubbed between the fingers, it is easily absorbed into the skin, falsified honey cannot be absorbed - lumps will remain on the fingers.

You need to request documents for honey from the seller-beekeeper:

veterinary passport of the apiary, which is issued by the regional veterinary service and is subject to mandatory annual renewal, the document is issued for the full name of the beekeeper;
information on honey analysis. The form of this document may differ depending on the region where it was obtained. The certificate contains such information as the date of analysis, description of honey, humidity, acidity, diastase number, etc.; The presence of such a document minimizes the risks, but is not a guarantee of the quality of honey, since one honey can be sent for research and traded with another.
certificate of the presence of a personal farmstead, contains information on confirmation of the presence and number of apiaries.

There are other documents, but basically they are not required for beekeepers.

A few more tips:

Experienced beekeepers advise you to talk to the seller, ask him some questions about the apiary and the honey collection and see how he will answer them. Thus, you can determine if there is a reseller in front of you. The more hands the honey has passed through, the less likely it is of high quality.
If you are going to buy a large batch of honey, it is recommended that you first buy a small jar and have it analyzed in the laboratory, or use the tips above.
Pay attention to which container honey is sold, from which container it is applied. If the container is metal - you should not buy such honey.
Do not buy honey without samples in the market from unknown sellers, placed in a sealed jar. When buying, try to navigate and listen to your senses.
Some merchants, in order to attract buyers, give their honeys interesting names, such as cedar honey. One should not believe this, since the bees will not be able to collect enough nectar for such honey. Perhaps there is a certain amount of cedar in honey, but it cannot be called monofloral cedar. There is no honey from chamomile or sea buckthorn - there is no nectar on such plants, bees do not sit on them. There is practically no pink, St.
If you do not have confidence in merchants and you are afraid to buy "body" honey with an admixture of sugar syrup, starch, and other ingredients, you can buy honey in combs, protecting yourself from some fake options. But such honey still does not guarantee that the bees were not fed with syrup and that it does not contain bee medicines that bees and honeycombs are sprayed with if necessary.
Choose the thickest honey, this may indicate its maturity.

Different approach to buying honey depending on the season

If you buy honey in winter, it is better to take candied honey, because it is more difficult to fake it. After all, it is not easy to artificially give honey this look. When buying liquid honey, the probability that it is of poor quality is much higher - perhaps after natural crystallization it again became liquid from heating, which will negatively affect its beneficial properties.

If you buy honey in summer and early autumn, it is better to take liquid honey, of course, if it does not belong to those varieties of honey that are prone to accelerated crystallization. Otherwise, there is a possibility that you will buy old honey that has lain for a year or more. In the case of applying this paragraph, do not forget that liquid honey can also be last year, but melted after heating.

Packing and storage.

The container should not be metal, without enamel, otherwise, when interacting with it, the honey begins to oxidize. Previously, honey was stored in barrels of linden, smeared with wax, in which honey did not deteriorate for a very long time. Galvanized and copper utensils should not be used in any case, since honey reacts with such utensils and is filled with poisonous salts.
If you are laying out honey yourself or taking your own container to the fair, make sure that the container is clean and dry - the presence of moisture in the jar will reduce the shelf life of honey, odorless.
It is better to lay out honey with a wooden spatula or spoon, metal causes its oxidation. Of course, in a short time of contact between a spoon and honey, honey will not have time to oxidize much (therefore, there is nothing wrong with eating honey with a metal spoon), but if there is such an opportunity, it is better to choose a wooden one.
If honey is stored in an airtight container, it crystallizes much more slowly, which affects the taste properties of honey, and not its quality.
Depending on the storage temperature, the crystallization process also differs, as discussed above.
Honey has the ability to absorb moisture and odors from the air. This property is called hygroscopicity. It is advisable to store it in a dry, dark place. If the room is damp, honey can gradually accumulate it, which will cause fermentation.

Myths about honey

Mountain honey is better than lowland honey. There is no such relationship with the beneficial qualities of honey. The quality of honey depends on how ecologically clean the place where honey was collected, on the conscientiousness of the beekeeper.
Wild honey. By naming honey in this way, traders want to present it as being collected by wild bees living in hollows in the forest. There is practically no such thing in nature. Finding and collecting it is difficult. There is no mention of large volumes. Moreover, it cannot be in the steppe regions, where there are no forests.
Honey with "royal jelly". At fairs, many merchants offer such honey. Think about whether it is worth buying honey with such a name for a high fee - after all, you can collect only a few grams of "royal jelly" from one hive.
There is an opinion that honey is an allergenic product and therefore some people avoid using it. In fact, an allergy to honey is a rather rare phenomenon. It can occur if the honey is not of high quality and contains cane sugar, particles of plant pollen (if a person is allergic to the pollen of a certain plant), less often - a small amount of medicines that beekeepers use to treat bees and hives. And although honey can become an allergen for some people, it can help others cope with allergies, and for this purpose it has been used since ancient times in Russia, especially honey in combs. If you know you have a pollen allergy, use honey with common sense.
Candied honey has lost its properties. As we have already discussed above, candied honey does not lose its properties, but on the contrary, it can be a sign of the quality of honey, since it is difficult to fake it. If the honey is quickly sugared, this may also indicate that during its production the bees were not fed with sugar syrup or were used in a minimal amount. Since honey collected with the use of syrup candied much more slowly.
Some consider "May honey" to be the most useful, but in fact there is practically no such honey in our nature. It occurs mainly in the southern regions during the flowering of early honey plants, such as acacia. At the beginning of the year, a lot of nectar and pollen is required for the hive to establish work after winter, to feed the offspring. A careful and responsible beekeeper will not take honey from his wards. This term most likely arose before the changes in the calendar, when the end of May fell on the middle of June according to the current calendar. In an effort to still get a benefit, unscrupulous traders sell melted last year's honey under the guise of "May" honey.
Since honey is the most useful product, it can be eaten without restrictions. This is not so, everything is useful in moderation and you should not overdo it even with honey. The average consumption of honey per day is 2 tablespoons for an adult.

It is important to remember that honey is not just a sweetener, it is a valuable food product that can improve our health. The considered techniques do not allow avoiding all falsifications of honey, but they will allow you to protect yourself a little. You should not take risks and buy honey in places and from persons that do not inspire confidence. You should not proceed from the principle - where is cheaper. It is better to buy less natural honey or not to buy it at all than to buy something under its name.

Be aware!

We wish you good health!