Honey is the most universal medicinal product that is widely used in folk medicine. The great healer of antiquity Avicenna argued that the daily use of honey pushes old age and prolongs youth. In honey contains about 60 beneficial for the body microelements, and mainly - up to 90 percent of sucrose and fructose.

The chemical and biological composition of honey makes it not only an excellent nutritional, but also an important pharmacological object with immunobiological and antimicrobial properties. Honey is a concentrated high-calorie product with a close blood plasma composition and significantly different from other foods. The composition of honey is quite complex, it contains more than 70 substances that have a beneficial effect on the body. In honey, fructose - 40%, glucose - 35%, a small amount of sucrose and maltose, honey also contains up to 2% mineral salts and up to 20% water. In honey, the following enzymes are discovered: invertase, diastase, catalase, oxidase and proteolytic enzymes, all these enzymes are necessary for normal body functioning. Along with the enzymes in honey, the content of the following vitamins was found: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B, E, K, C and carotene. Honey also contains growth factors, antibiotics and proteins. It should be noted that the mineral elements and vitamins found in honey are in the form most suitable for assimilation by the body.

In addition to sugar, mature natural honey contains 16 to 20% water. Fresh, uncrystallized honey is a saturated aqueous solution of sugars. In addition to water and sugars, honey contains:.

- nitrogenous substances - in the range from 0,04 to 1,56%, on the average 0,40%;.

- ash substances with fluctuations from 0.02 to 0.80%, an average of 0.19%; when burning honey, they remain in the form of ash, which contains iron, manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and other elements;.

- dextrinous substances in an amount of up to 4% (their content in honey above this norm indicates a pond admixture and unsuitability of honey for bees wintering);.

- organic acids - malic, citric, oxalic, lactic and others, an average of about 0.10%.

There are several types of honey:.

Meadow honey.

Meadow honey - is extracted from the nectar of meadow flowers (dandelion,.

bagman, aistnik, dubnitsa, ironstock, potato, broom, thyme,.

yatrynnik, wild geranium, clover, alfalfa, savory).

Mint honey.

Mint honey - has a mint flavor, light yellow color. In his.

Sediment is dominated by peppermint grains. Honey contains a large amount of vitamin C, mint honey has a choleretic, soothing, analgesic, gas and antiseptic action.

Donnion honey.

Donnick honey - has high taste qualities, from light-.

amber to white with a greenish tinge. Has a specific taste, sometimes slightly bitter, and a specific flavor.

Rapeseed honey.

Rapeseed honey - crystallizes quickly large crystals, even in.

cell cells. This honey bitter taste with mustard flavor. In his.

sediment rapeseed seed grains reach 90%.

Mustard honey.

Mustard honey - while it is liquid, golden yellow, then.

gets a cream shade. Recommended for diseases of the respiratory system.

Chestnut honey.

Chestnut honey - dark color with a weak aroma of chestnut flowers and.

bitter taste. Crystallizes slowly, first acquiring an oily appearance. Has antimicrobial action against bacteria (+, -), with gastrointestinal and renal diseases.

Fruit honey.

Fruit honey - from nectar of flowering fruit trees. Fresh, he.

transparent color with a yellowish-red hue, after crystallization becomes light yellow. Has a pleasant aroma and sweet taste. Contains 42% fructose and 3167% glucose. This monoflerny honey. Perga of apple, pear, cherries and other fruit trees can predominate in its composition.

Sunflower honey.

Sunflower honey - golden yellow color. Sweet for taste, with.

unspecified aroma.

Field honey.

Field honey - colorless, maybe to others, reaches the orange-.

yellow, crystallizes rapidly. Contains pepper chicory.

Lime honey.

Lime honey is the most high-quality honey. Has a fragrance.

lime, sweet, pale yellow. Contains 39.27% ??fructose and 36.05% glucose, honey is strongly pronounced nutritional and medicinal properties.

Acacia honey.

Acacia honey - mined in the Danube region. Belongs to.

best grades. Contains 40.35% fructose and 35.98% glucose. Has moderate antimicrobial and protistocidal properties.

Cucumber honey.

Cucumber honey - a yellow or amber-colored branch, with a strong smell and flavor of cucumbers.

Toxic honey.

Poisonous honey is rare, when bees collect nectar from plants that contain poisonous substances.

There are cases of mild poisoning when using honey collected by bees from the flowers of aconite. However, from many plants containing poisonous substances, for example, from bleached, hemlock, ledum, foxglove, tobacco, makhorka and others, bees usually collect quite benign honey that does not cause painful phenomena either in bees or in humans.

Natural bee honey is a high-calorie food product, it is easily digested and quickly recovers.

Honey has a bactericidal, immunobiological, stimulating effect, promotes the release of toxins from the body. Honey is useful in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, nervous and cardiovascular systems, lungs, upper respiratory tract.

Especially beneficial honey acts on children, it increases the hemoglobin content, the body's resistance.

Healing properties of honey:.

- Honey has the ability to suppress the vital activity of microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, helminths. Under the influence of honey, staphylococcus, Streptococcus, E. coli are killed, the reproduction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The greatest antibacterial activity is possessed by dark and amber varieties.

- The cumulative effect of biologically active honey compounds has anabolic effect, improves redox processes in the heart muscle, microcirculation, restores the disturbed trophic functions of organs.

- Due to the presence of organic acids and carbohydrates, honey eliminates spasm of the musculature of the intestine. Causes a laxative effect. The most beneficial effect on the motor and secretory activity of the gastrointestinal tract has a 12.5% ??solution of honey. The presence of bifidogens favorably affects the treatment of intestinal dysbiosis.

- The use of honey improves metabolism, which is manifested in stabilizing body weight, improving sleep, working capacity, reducing nervous excitability, pain.

- The presence of a complex of vitamins and minerals in the composition of honey leads to a more easy assimilation of iron, calcium, magnesium, organic acids, protein, thereby contributing to increased hemoglobin levels, specific and nonspecific protective reactions, resistance to infections, rickets, anemia, asthenic conditions , the effect of radiation.

- Honey activates phagocytosis and lymph flow, increases regeneration processes with local action on the wound surface.

- Honey has a counter-toxic effect, neutralizes poisons, being an activator of biotransformation of xenobiotics, promotes their excretion from the body.

- Honey softens the skin, eliminates dryness and flaking, improves skin tone, making it widely used in cosmetics.

Caution: honey is a biologically active product, and you should use it carefully. Cosmetic means based on honey are not useful for everyone.

The first danger is an allergy to honey, which occurs in 0.4% of people. If you have hypersensitivity to honey, then use it for cosmetic purposes, without consulting a specialist, in no case can. It will be necessary to refuse cosmetic products based on honey for those who suffer from the widening of the vessels on the face, with the so-called "stars", as well as diseases such as bronchial asthma, diabetes and heart failure.

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