Hawthorn honey: useful properties and contraindications

Hawthorn is prized as a medicinal plant – and no wonder. Traditional medicine knows many recipes based on fruits, leaves, bush inflorescences. But no less beneficial for the body is hawthorn honey – a delicious healing product of beekeeping. All about the features of sweet nectar, its valuable properties and contraindications – in this article.

Hawthorn honey: differences and features

The hawthorn honey plant does not grow in all regions of Russia, choosing mainly the Caucasian and European lands. This explains the fact that this sort of honey, despite its healthfulness and popularity among connoisseurs, can not always be found on sale. The fact that the seller offers you exactly the nectar of hawthorn flowers, and not, for example, linden or sunflower, will be prompted by these qualities:

  • Dense saturated color: dark gold or amber brown with a characteristic shade of red.
  • Increased tendency to stickiness. The product flows evenly from the neck of the can, the stream is continuous and dense – even if you cut it with a knife.
  • The aroma is harsh and quite pronounced, but very unusual and pleasant.
  • Early sugaring. The abundance of sugars in the composition crystallizes honey in 28-30 days. Whitish spots may appear on the surface of the nectar – there is nothing wrong with that. These are traces of glucose, the excess of which causes the crystals to rise upward.

If you have before you a thick, aromatic substance with a rich, deep-sweet taste of a characteristic reddish-brown hue, know: this is hawthorn honey.

Composition and calorie content

A significant proportion of vegetable protein, vitamins, valuable elements and organic acids – this is far from the complete composition of the nectar. A unique and rather sharp, but generally pleasant floral aroma and an unobtrusive bitterness are given by pollen in the composition of natural sweetness. Ductility and plasticity are provided by an abundance of natural sugars and a sufficient amount of moisture. Let’s see what is the composition of hawthorn honey.

Components of the composition

Per 100 grams of product:

  • Vegetable protein 7-10 g;
  • Natural sugars 70-90 g;
  • Fat 0,0 g.

Regular consumption of this type of honey will saturate the body with these vitamins:

  • Ascorbic acid.
  • A nicotinic acid.
  • Group B.
  • Macronutrients such as magnesium, potassium, phosphorus.

Calories, glycemic index

See how rich hawthorn honey is in natural sugars. This means that the product is by no means called low-calorie. 100 grams of sweet substance contains no less than 320-340 Kcal. But the consolation is that you can’t eat a lot of honey – a couple of teaspoons over a cup of tea is enough. For example, a tablespoon of the product contains only 60-80 Kcal, and 1-1,5 liters of water can be sweetened with such an amount of honey. There are even fewer calories in a teaspoon – about 35-40. Therefore, it is possible to eat honey in moderation also for those who wish to lose weight: the body will receive the carbohydrates necessary for vital activity and a pleasant feeling of satiety.

Useful Properties

Hawthorn honey, due to its saturation with vitamins C and B, is indispensable for diseases of the vascular system. If you often and little by little eat natural nectar, you can observe the following improvements:

  • The heart will work like a clock. The vessels and capillaries of the “body motor” will get stronger, the rhythm will improve, the heart muscle will acquire the necessary tone.
  • The condition of all the vessels of the body will improve, their fragility will decrease, the walls will strengthen, the blood will run faster through the veins and capillaries.
  • The cholesterol level will return to normal: the proportion of “bad” cholesterol will decrease, and the percentage of “good” cholesterol, on the contrary, will become higher.
  • The condition of the stomach and intestines will normalize, their work will become regular and easy.
  • Symptoms of seasonal vitamin deficiency will go away, the body will become more resistant to attacks of seasonal viruses and colds.
  • The nervous system will calm down, falling asleep will be easier, mood swings will soften.
  • The genitourinary system will return to normal. Ladies will feel the relief of PMS and menopause symptoms, and gentlemen – the strengthening of masculine strength.
  • Spasms – gastrointestinal, muscle spasms will be relieved.
  • Metabolic processes will accelerate, slags will leave the body. A healthy glow, lightness will appear, the general tone, efficiency and mood will increase.

Hawthorn honey: tips for taking

Hawthorn honey is saturated with natural carbohydrates, has a dense structure and a rather high mass. So, as we mentioned earlier, you won’t eat a lot of this sweetness. To maintain the strength of the immune system, create a natural barrier against colds, a spoonful of honey for a glass of tea in the morning or evening is enough.

If your throat is stuck, you can use honey-based gargles, taking into account the following proportions: 1 spoonful of nectar / 100-150 grams of warm water. Next – popular recipes for folk remedies based on hawthorn honey.

Natural medicine

Let’s continue the topic of healing recipes with hawthorn honey. Experienced healers are advised to try such drugs to strengthen the heart, blood vessels, and the body’s immunity.

For vessels

  1. Dry rose hips – 30 g pour 200 ml of boiling water, let cool, drain. Stir 30 mg of hawthorn nectar in warm liquid. Drink 100 ml before meals.
  2. Combine 500 g of honey with two lemons, rubbed with the skin, add 2 chopped garlic cloves to the mix. Defend for 5-7 days at normal temperature, and then put the container in a cold place. To strengthen blood vessels and general immunity, eat 1 small spoonful in three doses.
  3. Wash 2 fruits of lemon and orange, dry, grind in a blender. Combine with 150 g of honey. Mix until homogeneous, let stand. Eat as a fortifying and venotonic drug three times a day

For beauty

A very pleasant effect awaits ladies who decide to try a natural remedy for cosmetic purposes.

Recipe 1

  • Ripe hawthorn fruits – 50 g.
  • Fat cream or sour cream – 30g.
  • Honey – 50 g.

Combine all the ingredients in a wooden bowl, apply to the skin of the face, neck and décolleté cleaned with a scrub. Spend 15-20 minutes in a reclining position.

Recipe 2

It works excellently for skin inflammations.

  • Juicy cabbage leaf – 30 g.
  • Honey – 1 tsp
  • Hawthorn berry puree – 30 g.

Apply the mixture on the face, lie down alone for 20-35 minutes.

Recipe 3

  • Berry and hawthorn puree – 40 g.
  • Milk – 30
  • Honey – 30 g.
  • Homemade geranium leaf.

Grind the components, combine into a single mass. Apply in the same way as in the previous recipes.

They are treated with honey water for gastritis, colitis, ulcerative manifestations. The method of preparation of the drug is simple: combine 150-200 ml of warm water with 1 small spoonful of nectar, take ½ cup 20 minutes before a meal.

Противопоказания

The obvious benefit to the body does not exclude possible contraindications. Hawthorn honey, like any natural product, if used illiterately, can harm the body. Below is a list of situations in which it is better to refrain from eating natural sweets.

  1. Allergy predisposition, personal intolerance.
  2. Diabetes of all kinds.
  3. Infant age.
  4. Cardiopalmus.
  5. Pressure surges.
  6. Exacerbation of gastrointestinal problems.
  7. Asthmatic manifestations.
  8. Serious excess weight.

With caution, honey should be introduced into the diet of a pregnant / lactating woman in small portions. Those who want to lose weight are also allowed to taste natural sweetness. However, it is undesirable to exceed the permissible dosage – 30-40 grams of hawthorn nectar per day.

How to tell the difference between hawthorn honey

This product belongs to selected varieties of honey. And the point is not only that it is not always possible to find it in free sale. The high value for the body made hawthorn honey a desirable prey for people striving for longevity.

How not to make a mistake when buying and leave the store with a jar of healing goodies?

When buying, pay attention to these indicators of hawthorn nectar:

  • How honey flows from a spoon. If the stream is tight, slow, uniform, then most likely you have a product of hawthorn pollen in front of you.
  • Brown or deep golden color with an admixture of an appetizing reddish hue.
  • Harsh but pleasant plant aroma.
  • Original taste: honey sweetness is combined with a pronounced bitterness, as if wormwood flowers were added to the product.
  • There are white spots on the surface – this is how the excess sugar rises upward, forming an appetizing light foam.

Storage Tips

For storage of beekeeping products, there is also GOST. It turns out that sweetness retains all the taste and healing qualities for 1-1,5 years, provided it is stored correctly.

To enjoy healthy hawthorn honey for longer, consider these tips.

  1. When buying, make sure that the container where the seller poured hawthorn nectar for you is clean and transparent.
  2. Arriving home, pour the nectar into small glass containers – up to 0,5 liters.
  3. Close the jars with tight glass, wood or polyethylene lids.
  4. Move the sweet treat to a dark place. Great for storing honey pantry, cellar, dark corner, locker.
  5. Remember: excess moisture in the room is detrimental to the medicinal qualities of the product.
  6. When opening the jar to get the right amount of honey, do not allow any residues of other products, dust, or other foreign components to get inside. Close the container with honey residues tightly with a lid.
  7. Keep valuable jars out of the reach of small children. So you will save honey from spoilage, and little fidgets from injuries by fragments of a can.
  8. The temperature regime for preserving the healing properties of the hawthorn product is from 7 to 24 C.

Proper storage of hawthorn nectar will provide you with a series of delicious, healthy teas on long winter evenings.

Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

View all posts by Anna Evans →
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