When flying for a bribe, bees first of all pay attention to field plants with a strong, pleasant smell. In many regions, from spring to autumn, it is the herbs that provide the insects’ nectar needs. From it, after processing, flower honey of various varieties is obtained. This nutritious sweet product is used in cooking, cosmetology, but is especially popular for its healing properties.
Description of flower honey
The composition and quality of bee products are influenced by various factors, including how many types of herbs suitable for collecting nectar grow in the vicinity of the apiary.
The healthy flower product pumped out of the hive has almost no astringency. Light sweet aftertaste lasts a long time in the mouth. The pleasant aroma is reminiscent of a summer meadow under the hot sun. It can give off the smell of a single plant.
Fresh flower honey looks like a thin, sticky mass with a light yellow or dark golden color. It has a greenish, reddish, brown tint.
Some varieties quickly thicken and become sugar-coated, others remain liquid for up to six months after being pumped out of the hive.
Types of flower honey
Beekeeping products from the nectar of several groups of herbaceous plants are polyfloral. In this case, 1 component may prevail, but its share does not exceed 50%. A herb flower product is often designated according to the territory of nectar extraction: on flat apiaries, meadow, field and steppe honey is obtained, and mountain honey is brought from the hills. The name may be derived from the region of collection: Altai, Bashkir, Caucasian.
Important!
Polyfloral flower varieties are of lower quality and their health effects are more difficult to predict. For example, forest honey often contains some honeydew. Each serving has a unique structure and health benefits.
Monofloral varieties consist of more than 55% of sweet juice collected from one species of herbaceous plants. The name comes from the source of natural flower honey. Among the common varieties are:
- clover;
- sunflower;
- fireweed;
- dandelion;
- heather.
Often, beekeepers in the season move the hives to an area overgrown with the necessary herbs so that insects extract nectar from them without being distracted.
Composition of flower honey
As it ripens and then crystallizes, the beneficial sweet mass extracted from the hive loses some of its moisture. The structure of carbohydrates, which occupy about 4/5 of the volume, changes: grape and fruit sugar is partially converted into malt sugar.
The presence of different flower varieties unites:
- B vitamins, useful for the nervous and circulatory system;
- ascorbic acid, which strengthens the immune system;
- chemical elements (copper, phosphorus, iodine, calcium, iron) that ensure normal vital functions;
- proteins that increase the rate of metabolic processes in cells;
- antibacterial and aromatic substances.
The amount of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and beneficial enzymes does not decrease over many months if the sweetness from the flower nectar is stored inside a tightly closed container in a cool, dark place. It should not come into contact with metals, be in direct sunlight.
Caloric value
Light-colored bee products have a lower energy value than dark ones (such as, for example, the buckwheat-flower variety). They contain 1-2% less carbohydrates.
The sweet healthy mass of nectar can hardly be called dietary. But with the existing dosage limitation for adults – up to 150 g daily – it can be added to any diet.
The calorie content of flower honey is about 300-320 kcal per 100 grams. Accordingly, there are no more than 1 kcal per 100 tablespoon.
When flower honey is harvested
In the southern regions, the first petals open already in the 2nd half of May, and insects start flying after prey. Some plants continue to bloom until mid-September. Bees go to collect nectar during daylight hours, preferring sunny, calm weather.
It is best to extract the ripe flower product from the hive in summer and autumn, before the onset of winter dormancy for insects. By this time, it will be enough for both bees and people.
Useful properties of flower honey
The sweet viscous mass is used for the manufacture of confectionery, added to tea and coffee instead of sugar. It is nutritious, tasty and does not contain fat.
Basically, the bee product is used in medicine. It is appreciated as an effective remedy for strengthening the immune system, improving performance and endurance.
The beneficial properties and contraindications of flower honey are related to its origin.
Important!
Bee products contain phytoncides, amino acids and other substances that plants excrete with nectar.
Due to the action of these components, honey, when taken externally and internally, accelerates:
- Removal of waste products from the body, excess fluid.
- Elimination of inflammatory processes, the spread of infection.
- Overgrowth of damage to the skin, mucous membranes.
- Cellular chemical reactions.
This is not all that flower honey is useful for people. It helps to restore and improve the body’s work after overstrain, makes sleep more restful.
To obtain a positive effect, an adult needs to drink a sweet product of 30 g 2-3 times a day on an empty stomach or apply to the affected areas of the skin and mucous membranes. It is allowed to mix it into warm tea, milk.
For men
The daily intake of flower honey inside is useful for improving the quality of blood, cleansing and strengthening the walls of blood vessels. The tool helps to correct the level of blood pressure, prevent the formation of blood clots. The thick honey mass is used as a medicine to normalize the production of male hormones, eliminate inflammation of the genitourinary organs, enhance erection and the ability to fertilize.
For women
In addition to the fact that the product gradually improves the condition of the skin and hair, it is used to treat gynecological inflammations, eliminate defects in mucous membranes. Flower honey is useful as a means of normalizing the production of hormones, smoothing the manifestations of menopause, and reducing tissue edema.
For children
Babies are given a healthy flower sweetness 1 teaspoon at night for a sound sleep. It has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the nervous system, improves digestion, protects against colds, and strengthens the immune system. When applied externally, it promotes the healing of scratches, burns, resorption of bruises from bruises.
At what diseases is applied
Flower honey is used by people not only as a preventive measure. With its help, you can enhance the effect of medications prescribed by your doctor, heal some diseases at the initial stage, heal small foci of inflammation.
Honey is safe and very useful for colds. The effect is enhanced when mixed with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar. The product obtained from the nectar from raspberry flowers improves perspiration at elevated temperatures. The benefits of flower honey are most clearly manifested in diseases of the respiratory tract: it eliminates discomfort in the throat, facilitates coughing up phlegm and the release of mucus from the nasopharynx.
Bee products help with vitamin deficiency and anemia, cope with diseases of the digestive, cardiovascular, and excretory systems.
Противопоказания
The potent components of flower honey are not always safe for the human body. Therefore, an adult should consume no more than 150 g of the product per day, a child should be given up to 50 g only after he turns 2 or even 3 years old.
Important!
It is recommended to reduce honey portions to a minimum for women during pregnancy, to refuse to use for the period of breastfeeding.
It is advised to limit the intake of sweets for people with obesity, various forms of diabetes. The flower product has a high energy value due to carbohydrates. It increases blood glucose levels, stressing the heart muscle.
There are absolute contraindications to the use of honey:
- allergy to any substances in the product;
- exacerbation of inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- the presence of stones in the bladder and gallbladder.
In these cases, the use of bee products can harm health. A mixture of nectar and plant pollen inside a polyfloral variety is more likely to cause an allergic reaction.
Used in cosmetics
Due to its ability to accelerate cellular processes, to heal minor injuries, bee products are used to give the skin and hair a beautiful, healthy look. Honey for women is useful in that it helps to smooth wrinkles, nourishes and gently cleanses the skin.
Important!
There is a good way to check if the honey is irritating. A portion of the product is smeared for 15 minutes on the fold of the elbow, wrist. With allergies, this area will turn red, itch.
A scrub that softens rough skin, removes dead cells, can be made from flower honey with the addition of coffee grounds, oatmeal, buckwheat flakes. Mixtures with vegetable oils, apple, lemon juice are used as moisturizers. They are washed off with water after 15-20 minutes.
Useful honey masks (made from linden nectar, clover and other flowers) strengthen hair, prevent breakage and hair loss, and add shine to the hair. Before applying, they are mixed with egg yolk, kefir or burdock oil, kept on the head for 45-60 minutes, then washed off.
How to distinguish from fakes
A low-quality or not real bee product can be recognized by some signs. Usually, the appearance, taste, consistency of a surrogate differ from natural flower honey: a corrosive smell or its absence, increased fluidity, unnatural colors. After ingestion, there is no sensation of slight irritation in the throat.
Important!
Complex long names are often coined in an attempt to hide the origin of the product. A wide variety of varieties from the seller, low prices signal the likelihood of counterfeiting, mass purchase.
The surrogate may contain impurities that are detected when the mass is dissolved in water, iodine and vinegar are added to it. Such a product has unpredictable health benefits and harms, especially if it is not properly stored.
To avoid buying fake, low-quality flower honey, you need to contact trusted or familiar beekeepers and shops. Then you can be sure that the useful product was not obtained from plants treated with chemicals, the insects were not fed with sugar syrup in the apiary, the hive was not sprayed from parasites during the nectar collection period.
Bee products made from sugary flower juice are often produced in apiaries, so they are familiar to many honey lovers. They are used to treat certain diseases, improve skin condition. The sweet healthy mass can be consumed by adults and children. She has almost no contraindications.
Reviews
Marina N .:
“I used to take all the varieties in a row, which would catch the eye. Then, on the advice of friends, I turned to a beekeeper, bought honey from a sweet clover and tasted it – amazingly tasty, very tender! I send the same to my mother and grandmother, at home there is always a couple of cans of your favorite and healthy delicacy. “
Elena S .:
“At the fair I asked the sellers which sort of honey is better – buckwheat or flower, from clover. I decided to try both. I liked the light honey more, it is so tasty, not too sweet, not pungent – delicious. More vigorous from buckwheat. All flower varieties are equally good for coughs and sore throats. “
