The most valuable and useful beekeeping product is sweet clover honey. Bee nectar is collected from the medicinal plant of the same name, sweet clover, which is actively used by folk, traditional medicine, it is used in animal husbandry and the perfume industry. Melilot translated from Latin sounds like “honey flower”, which confirms its exceptional melliferousness. The balanced composition and special taste made it possible to classify this species as a reference honey.
Description and useful properties of melilot honey
The sweet clover itself has exceptional healing properties. Whole thickets of beautifully flowering plants are found quite often on the edges, in the roadside area, along the banks of water bodies. Melilot occurs in nature in two types, which differ in shades of colors – white and yellow sweet clover. Attracts bees with a pleasant aroma containing coumarin. It blooms throughout the summer and is an exceptional honey plant. All the medicinal qualities of the plant are contained in sweet clover honey.
Many beekeepers are specially taken to hives in places where large plantations of sweet clover are marked. The product is distinguished by certain properties:
- the color depends on the variety of sweet clover, from light brown, sometimes white, to dark beige;
- light, pleasant aroma collected from white flowers, the smell contains subtle vanilla notes;
- delicate taste, there is a characteristic bitterness, collected from a yellow flower;
- crystallizes, after which it becomes white with a barely noticeable yellowish tinge and a viscous consistency.
It is necessary to carefully choose such honey, since under the guise of sweet clover sometimes they offer rapeseed honey, which is valued much lower. These varieties have completely different tastes, it has no useful properties. Therefore, you should be careful and purchase the product from reliable beekeepers.
The composition and calorie content of the melilot product
Sweet clover honey contains all the components in a concentrated form that are found in the plant:
- carbohydrates, the basis is fructose and glucose;
- no fats;
- proteins;
- ash;
- a large group of B vitamins;
- ascorbic acid;
- phylloquinone;
- tocopherol;
- all important trace elements;
- tannins;
- organic acids;
- essential oils;
- coumarin.
In 100 gr. contains up to 312 kcal. Thanks to such a rich composition, sweet clover honey is not only useful and has healing properties, it belongs to an elite variety.
How useful melilot nectar is obtained
Considering the properties of this steppe honey, many beekeepers try to take their wards to places where abundant plantations of plants are seen. Some people specially sow the fields with sweet clover. The plant is unpretentious, flowering begins in early June and lasts until September. During this time, it is possible to collect a rather impressive harvest.
Melilot honey: healing properties
Not everyone knows exactly what beneficial properties melilot honey has. It is important to comply with the norm so that it becomes such for the body. The product is quite concentrated, so large doses can have the opposite effect. It is recommended to consume one small spoon before each meal (half an hour).
In severe pathologies, the dose can be increased to 50 g / day for adults and 30 g. for kids.
Reference!
Melilot honey collected from white flowers has more medicinal properties.
For women
Melilot honey is useful for women during menopause, as it helps relieve signs of irritability, fatigue, and normalize sleep. It is especially useful for nursing mothers, as it has properties to increase lactation. These properties of the plant itself are often used on livestock farms, adding to food for dairy animals.
This beekeeping product is useful in the treatment of cystitis, inflammation of the ovaries. Candles, which include honey, are recommended to be used for erosions and other diseases of the genitourinary system.
For men
For many centuries, sweet clover itself and honey collected from its nectar is a natural aphrodisiac, increases libido. It is no less useful in the treatment of the genitourinary system in men. Lotions and compresses are effective in treating inflammation in the joints. It is a natural antibiotic, antispasmodic, anticonvulsant. Therefore, it quickly relieves pain, eliminates inflammatory signs.
Help with diseases
All the beneficial properties that the sweet clover has are characteristic of this product. It is used:
- as a prophylactic against colds;
- to strengthen the immune system;
- with insomnia and neuroses;
- a field of heavy physical exertion for recuperation;
- with varicose veins;
- hypertension;
- in the treatment of tuberculosis;
- useful sweet clover for external use;
- to relieve asthmatic attacks;
- elimination of problems from the gastrointestinal tract.
It is easier to say that in certain doses, sweet clover honey is useful in the treatment of any pathologies, as well as for external use in dermatology, cosmetology. Contraindications
Melilot honey cannot be equally useful for everyone. Has a characteristic number of contraindications. It is not recommended to use it:
- children under one year old;
- during pregnancy;
- at different stages of diabetes;
- obese people;
- with blood diseases or disorders of the hematopoietic organs;
- if you are allergic to honey or other beekeeping products.
It is not recommended to take it before going outside, as sweet clover is a diuretic. Due to the large amount of coumarin in honey, people with heart disease or hypertension should not start taking it without first consulting a doctor.
Coumarin has the ability to affect blood flow, is responsible for its coagulability, increases vascular permeability and this can provoke internal bleeding. Melilot and honey from it have partly the same properties. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it as usual. It is useful only in minimal quantities.
Used in cosmetics
Melilot honey has been undeservedly forgotten for some time. Now this tool has been revived. It is actively used not only in traditional medicine. Its use in cosmetology is irreplaceable. The presence in the composition of masks has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, removes rashes or hives, activates the process of regeneration of epidermal cells (rejuvenation). Normalizes the activity of the sebaceous glands.
How to identify a fake
This beekeeping product is gaining popularity. The situation activates various scammers and resellers. It is better to avoid such “beekeepers”. To increase profits, they add sugar, starch, and bred it with honey collected from alfalfa or rapeseed. It is important to understand what it looks like. There are several ways to help identify a fake.
- By asking questions about the varieties, bees or apiary, the properties of honey and the sweet clover itself, the reseller will try to avoid an answer, shifting the conversation to other topics.
- It must be clearly understood that it has distinctive properties. White has a vanilla smell, while darker species are characterized by a slight bitterness and the smell of freshly cut grass.
- In a glass of water, a drop of natural will settle to the bottom, the craft will dissolve. All types of natural honey have such properties.
- If you add a drop of iodine to a small portion, then the sweet clover will not change color, the counterfeit will turn blue.
- When you add a spoonful of vinegar, no reaction will occur, if this is done with a fake, bubbles will appear. This indicates that chalk or starch has been added.
- If diluted with vodka, then the fake falls to the bottom in the form of a sediment. This indicates the presence of molasses, sugar, or other unwanted impurities.
With prolonged storage, it quickly loses its medicinal properties due to contact with oxygen. It is stored for a long time only in sealed honeycombs. Therefore, it is not worth buying for future use. It is better if it is purchased for one season and the next year it is purchased from a new crop.
