A man began to use honey for food long before the appearance of sugar in its pure form. This healthy, viscous and aromatic delicacy was previously obtained in a barbaric way, destroying entire colonies of unfortunate wild bees. Later, people learned to breed these useful and hardworking insects, and only in the twentieth century the unique composition of honey was studied. However, to make its artificial counterpart as useful, elastic and fragrant, no one could. The industry was able to achieve only external resemblance, as well as aroma, but to this day it has not been possible to balance the composition and include unique enzymes in it.
What is a part of honey?
Fragrant treat contains:
- water (no more than 20% depending on the age of honey);
- sucrose;
- fructose;
- glucose
- protein and amino acids;
- enzymes;
- pollen;
- minerals;
- vitamins;
- microflora;
- coloring and aromatic substances.
The chemical composition of honey is very similar to human blood, so it is so actively absorbed by the body.
Types of honey and their beneficial properties
All types of this useful substance are divided into two types:
- monofleur;
- polyfler.
Honey, the composition of which includes pollen from several varieties of plants at once, belongs to the second category. If in its composition there is only pollen of one plant, then it is called monofleur. In the framework of this article, we will consider only natural honey. Beekeepers also distinguish it by honey plants:
- lime;
- acacia;
- buckwheat;
- floral;
- and others.
Most often on sale you can find linden honey. It has a characteristic odor, quickly comes to a solid state, in which it acquires a cream shade. Liquid linden honey is viscous, has a greenish color. Linden subspecies is used to treat colds and respiratory infections. Any of the variants of this sweet product has bactericidal properties, as the honey contains acids and a huge amount of sugars. For the first time, these properties were discovered by the Dutchman Kettel.
Buckwheat bee sweetness is also called a female product. It is rich in iron and is very useful for blood loss, anemia and general weakness. The chemical composition of honey from buckwheat pollen is so different from other species that it can be determined by appearance. It is a very dark, dense mass with a brownish-red tint.
Acacia honey is suitable even for the smallest children, as it is a hypoallergenic product. Its distinctive property is the ability to remain liquid for a long time. The composition of acacia honey includes a large number of vitamins and accelerates metabolic processes, normalizes blood pressure, digestion, and helps to overcome stressful conditions. This product is recommended for diabetes, heart disease, neurotic conditions, as well as eye diseases.
Hawthorn honey has a characteristic aroma and bitterness, and cornflower honey has a green hue. Also known is such a kind of bee delicacy as heather honey. Its composition is special, so it is extremely difficult to pump out of honeycombs, and sometimes it is generally impossible to do this. Heather pollen gives it an amber shade and unique healing properties.
Beekeepers also distinguish:
- clover (light and very valuable);
- angelica (viscous, with a caramel flavor);
- honeysuckle (light honey);
- fireweed (from the pollen of the Ivan-tea plant);
- maple (light and very tasty);
- clover (does not smell and is used in gynecology);
- chestnut (powerful immunostimulant);
- sunflower (with a weak aroma, rapidly crystallizing);
- cotton (colorless).
In conclusion, it should also be said that honey beekeepers are distinguished by the breed of bees, as well as by the area where honey plants grow:
- mountain;
- meadow;
- forest;
- field.
Interestingly, an increasing number of allergists are finding that there is no allergy to honey as such. Some people have a reaction to artificial components in fakes, as well as to a specific type of pollen. Natural bee products treat allergies.