Honey: Benefits and Properties

Always considered a food with exceptional properties, Since ancient times, honey has been used to treat a variety of ailments. It contains glucose and fructose, two naturally occurring sugars, making it a complete product par excellence and excellent for those seeking a balanced diet.healthy nutrition and take care of your body, in a natural way.

Honey is a food product generated from honey beesThe latter store the nectar of the flowers or the secretions coming from the living parts of the plants (honeydew), add their own substances and then let everything mature inside the hive. nectar It is the sugary substance that flowers produce to attract birds. insects, including bees, which thus become unwitting carriers of pollen, the fertilizing agent of other plants. In nature, each flower produces a different nectar, and therefore different types of honey will be present. The word honey probably derives from the Hittite form "melit" or the Latin "mel," and for millennia it was the only sweetener in foods. It was appreciated by Sumerians and also from Egyptians who placed large containers filled with honey next to the mummies so that the deceased could take it with him into the afterlife. Greek they called it the “food of the gods", because it is used in religious rites and Romans They used it for the production of beer and mead.

Index of topics

How it is produced

It all begins in thehiveHoney bees (or foragers), after collecting nectar from flowers (or honeydew from plants), retain it in a sac located in their throat that serves to store a large quantity of these substances. When the sac is full, the bees return to the hive and regurgitate the contents of the sac, passing the "booty" to the worker beesThe latter in turn ingest the spoils, keeping them in their bodies for about half an hour to reduce the amount of water present. Afterwards, they regurgitate them and deposit them in the honeycombs, real pantries in the shape of hexagonal cells, sealing them with wax. This is where the api "fans”, so called because they flap their wings to create air currents that regulate the rate of humidity inside the hive, maintaining a constant temperature. After thirty-six days of this "ventilation," the honey reaches the consistency necessary to prevent it from molding and can be stored as a winter supply. At this point, the honey is ready and the beekeeper can harvest it. The first step is to remove the bees, using a bee escape, that is, a plastic disk that makes the bees move, or a blower compressed air that pushes them away without harming them. After this operation, the beekeeper removes all the honeycombs from the hive and cuts the wax caps with which the bees have closed them. The nesting phase then begins. honey extraction, that is, the beekeeper inserts the honeycombs into the honey extractor, a centrifuge that empties the honeycombs of their contents and sends the honey into some steel containers called ripenersBefore being placed in the ripener, the honey is filtered through various mesh sizes to remove any residual wax or other impurities. Then, once clean, the honey is decanted to remove air, and after removing surface bubbles, it is poured into jars "vertically," using the honey at the bottom of the bucket first, since impurities usually settle on the surface of the final product.

Benefits

The consumption of honey is recommended not only for its unmistakable taste but also because it is excellent for healthHoney should not be given to children under one year of age, to prevent possible risks of botulism, to avoid allergic reactions and also to prevent children from getting used to very sweet flavours too quickly. honey fights well i seasonal ailments, which arrive with the first cold weather. It also gives energy and vitality. Let's see its properties together. to the healing properties.

Honey is a great anti-inflammatory per la gola, calms excitement, relieves insomnia, and detoxifies the liver. Light honey is ideal for summer, while dark honey, rich in mineral salts, is ideal for winter.
Honey is rich in polyphenols which help to fight theaging and prevent disease.
Honey can be used for treat minor burns e abrasions because it proves to be an excellent antibiotic.
La cough and cold They are fought with eucalyptus honey or forest honeydew, produced by bees directly from the plant and not from the flower and therefore thicker and darker and with an aromatic taste.
Il Chestnut honey It is a good tonic that stimulates blood circulation and fights anemia.
Il alfalfa honey, also rich in pollen, and that of rhododendron, are indicated for the treatment of arthritis and as calming agents of the nervous centers.
Il wildflower honey It works like a vaccine and helps fight allergies.
Honey it doesn't make you fat and it does not cause tooth decay, rather it fights the formation of tartar and promotes intestinal transit.
Honey It does not contain cholesterol and for this reason it helps control the level of the latter in the body.
Honey has a balanced glycemic index and therefore keeps insulin levels under control, as well as promoting good digestion.
Honey speeds up the metabolism and helps burn fat.

Use in the kitchen

Honey is truly a very versatile ingredient and plays a vital role in the kitchen, as it lends itself to a thousand uses. Since ancient times, honey has been used to sweeten many dishes as well as to prepare numerous sweet and savory dishes in traditional Italian cuisine. Honey is composed primarily of 18 percent water and for the '80 percent sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose). Fructose, in particular, has a notable sweetening property, which is why honey can easily replace sugar in sweetening foods. Honey may slightly alter the flavor of some foods, so it's a good idea to determine if you like it first. In coffee, a teaspoon of honey replaces two teaspoons of sugar. With honey, you can they sweeten The yogurt, cakes, tea or milk hot in the morning.

How to use honey for body care

With the company honey you also take care of your body aesthetically because it is a very good product nutritious and highly moisturizing:

With honey and yogurt you create a nourishing mask for dry skin, while honey, a teaspoon of vegetable oil and half a teaspoon of lemon nourish chapped skin.
With honey, combined with almond oil, the eye contour is toned, while chestnut honey soothes itchy scalp.
THEacne It can be kept at bay with a honey and thyme mask, while the honey and propolis mask has excellent purifying properties.
Il bathroom it becomes relaxing and leaves the skin silky if half a cup of honey is added to the water.
Honey is a great substitute for cocoa butter and when massaged into your lips, it makes them soft again.
With honey you can make some wraps which deal with the brittle hair, better if combined with olive oil.
For a relaxing foot bath, two spoons of honey in warm water are excellent.
Honey can be used to soften the chapped hands.

How to choose

There are many types of honey, but how do you navigate such a wide selection? And above all, How can we recognize the quality of what we choose? There are two main factors to understand if we are buying a natural product: honey crystallization and as reported by thelabelCrystallization depends on the amount of sugars and water present in honey and is a natural process. If you find very runny honey on the market, it's likely that it's been heated and has therefore lost its nutritional properties. This happens when honey is heated to more than 45 degrees, which often happens with blended honey, the most common type on the market, and the label indicates this. Blending honey, in fact, is primarily an industrial process: if the beekeeper gets the dosage wrong, he or she will instead make a multi-flower or mono-flower honey but never blend it. It's therefore better to opt for the so-called "whole honey", that is, a completely natural honey that has not undergone any mixing or pasteurization but has been placed in jars just as the bees produced it. Whole honey has a rather obvious crystallized layer, caused by the crystallization of sugars, a completely normal phenomenon. Since even whole honey may not be 100 percent organic, but may have also undergone a heating process, it is necessary for the indication "not subjected to heat treatments"Or"whole honeyOnly in these two cases can you be truly sure you are purchasing an organic, artisanal product that retains all of its nutritional benefits intact.

Best types of honey

Acacia. It's the most common in Italy: liquid, clear in color, and with a very refined aroma. It's ideal for sweetening coffee, tea, and beverages, and therefore can replace sugar. Another very suitable use is with yogurt or cheese.

Chestnut. Dark amber in color, with a reddish hue. Intense aroma, bitterish flavor: it is particularly appreciated by lovers of cheese and game, two foods with which it pairs very well. Also excellent with fresh ricotta.

Lavender. Intense yet pleasant, aromatic, and fresh flavor. Lavender honey is light amber in color, with yellow highlights. It pairs well with any strong-flavored cheese, such as pecorino.

Arancia. Light in color and with a fruity flavor, this type of honey is ideal for desserts (again, it can replace any sugar), especially baked goods, and for yogurt. Many also use it in cooking, making frittatas and light, spring salads.

Linden. It can be of two types: liquid or crystallized. In the first case, it is light amber, in the second, white or beige. Intense aroma, medium sweet flavor: it effectively accompanies tea and herbal teas.

Sulla. Light in color, produced and harvested in the central and southern regions, it is a honey that is generally used to produce sweets and nougat. But also as sweetener, especially as an alternative to acacia honey, thanks to its delicate, floral scent.

Dandelion. Bright yellow in color, it has a very fresh flavor and is very sweet. Excellent to pair with a fruit salad, to a hazelnut cake, or to medium-aged cheeses.

Heather. Dense, amber, with orange hues. Intense, floral aroma: pairs well with aged cheeses.

Rosemary. Pale yellow when liquid, white or ivory when crystallized. A sweet-tart flavor that makes it a wonderful accompaniment to goat cheeses. It is produced primarily in Puglia and Sardinia.

Forest honeydew. It is a honey that does not derive from flower nectar but from honeydew, the sugary secretion emitted by insects that suck the sap of trees. Its preferred use is with fresh cheeses or with milk.

Controindicazioni

Il honey, available year-round, has no particular contraindications. On the contrary, it is considered the healthiest alternative to sugar. However, its use is not recommended. honey to obese people (who should completely eliminate sugars, at least for a while), or to overweight people. And to people undergoing diabetes treatment.

Honey: Benefits, Uses, and Contraindications