Composition and useful properties of linden honey. Contraindications to its use. How do you eat a favorite treat of adults and children? Features of choice.
Linden honey is a sweet and aromatic food product, nectar that is digested in the bee crop and then matured in the hive. It is lime nectar that is considered the most useful. It is often used as a medicinal or cosmetic product. Honey is indispensable for baking confectionery and bakery products. What is included in the product and how is linden honey useful? These and other interesting facts will be discussed below.
Characteristics of linden honey
The taste of linden honey is always pleasant and pronounced, sometimes a barely noticeable bitterness can be present in it. Beekeepers assure that it is enough for a person to taste linden nectar once in order to remember its taste for life and easily distinguish it from other types of honey.
Other distinctive features of linden honey:
- Moderate density;
- Amber color (yellow-orange tint);
- Intense floral scent reminiscent of lindens during flowering.
The amount of useful nutrients honey is directly dependent on the locality in which it was made. It is easy to guess that bees produce linden sweetness from the nectar of linden flowers. Not every region of our country can be engaged in the extraction of such a product. To get a linden delicacy, you should place evidence with bees near dense forests or groves, it is here that a large number of flowering lindens are concentrated.
Bees collect nectar from tree flowers and partially digest it in their crops. Then insects spread this product in a honeycomb of wax, prepared in advance in the hives. Workers seal the nectar with special stoppers and leave it alone for ripening. During this period, the delicacy acquires a thicker structure and persistent aroma. After a while, beekeepers pump out the honey from the hives.
Composition and calorie content of linden honey
Linden honey contains a lot of enzymes useful for humans, carotene and other biologically active substances. The product is approximately 36% glucose.
The calorie content of lime honey per 100 g of product is 320 kcal, of which:
- Proteins - 0.56 g;
- Fat - 0 g;
- Carbohydrates - 79.7 g;
- Dietary fiber - 0 g;
- Ash - 0 g;
- Water - 0 g.
Vitamins per 100 g of product:
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.01 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.037 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 0.069 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0, 028 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folic acid - 0, 0019 mg;
- Vitamin C, ascorbic acid - 2, 88 mg;
- Vitamin H, biotin - 0, 00009 mg;
- Vitamin PP, nicotinic acid - 0.38 mg.
The main macro- and microelements in 100 g of lime honey:
- Potassium (K) - 52 mg;
- Calcium (Ca) - 7, 95 mg;
- Magnesium (Mg) - 2.95 mg;
- Sodium (Na) - 9, 9 mg;
- Phosphorus (P) - 3, 9 mg;
- Chlorine (Cl) - 17 mg;
- Iron (Fe) - 0.79 mg;
- Iodine (I) - 0, 0019 mg;
- Cobalt (Co) - 0, 0007 mg;
- Manganese (Mn) - 0.033 mg;
- Copper (Cu) - 0.048 mg;
- Fluorine (F) - 0.09 mg;
- Zinc (Zn) - 0.215 mg.
Good to know! A teaspoon holds 12 g of honey, and a dining room holds 36 g.
Useful properties of linden honey
The benefits of linden honey for human health are obvious - this product contains over 400 types of nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of the body. The delicacy is easily digested by the digestive tract. 85% of the mass of eaten honey enters the human blood.
Important! To feel the maximum therapeutic effect of this product, it should be eaten on an empty stomach after drinking a glass of purified or mineral water.
The main medicinal properties of linden honey:
- Heals the liver … The product demonstrates this useful property due to the content of propolis, which bees use, in particular, for the construction of hives.
- Favorably affects the work of the cardiovascular system … This function is carried out due to the content in honey of a large amount of useful microelements, for example, potassium, magnesium, etc.
- Fights depression and insomnia … Like any sweetness, honey contributes to the production of the hormone of happiness in the body, which favorably affects the general emotional background of a person. It is enough to eat a little treat before bedtime, and the body will easily relax and plunge into a healthy deep sleep.
- Burns fat and detoxifies the blood … The product contains a lot of amino acids that accelerate metabolism, make appetite more moderate and, to some extent, act as a laxative. There are many so-called honey diets, adhering to which you can lose several kilograms of excess weight per week.
- Saturates the body quickly … It is enough to eat a few teaspoons of this delicacy to feel full and energized. That is why it can be used as a snack at work. Such food will be much healthier for your well-being and weight than french fries or a sausage sandwich.
- Boosts immunity during seasonal colds and infectious diseases … Science focuses on the antibacterial and diaphoretic properties of linden honey, it is often prescribed in combination with medicines to fight influenza and other diseases caused by viruses.
- Relieves eye fatigue after a hard day at work … For this, honey is used in the production of eye drops or in the manufacture of special lotions that are placed on the face in the area of the organs of vision.
- Improves the condition of skin and nails … Honey is used in its natural form for wrapping, it is added to relaxing baths or massage lotions. After the procedures with the use of honey, the client of the SPA-salon improves blood circulation, subcutaneous fat is burned, the skin becomes smooth and soft, the orange peel effect disappears. Manicure specialists often resort to using the healing power of honey - thanks to it, the nails become stronger and do not exfoliate.
- Strengthens hair … For this, hair masks are made from honey, which are easy to prepare even at home.
On a note! Honey is considered a moderately high-calorie product. 100 g of this delicacy is only 15, 5% of the daily calorie intake for a person.
Contraindications and harm of linden honey
One teaspoon of bee products will not make you healthier or fuller. To feel the benefits and harms of linden honey, a person must eat it regularly.
Adults, in order to improve their health, should eat up to 100 g of sweets per day, children - up to 2 tsp. If these norms are exceeded, pathogenic processes can develop in the body.
Negative consequences of excessive consumption of linden honey:
- indigestion;
- allergic reactions;
- increased heart rate;
- a significant increase in blood sugar;
- rapid freezing in cold weather (honey has a warming effect on the body, so you should stop using it before going out into the cold).
Experts emphasize that lime honey cannot be boiled or added to too hot drinks / dishes. At elevated temperatures, this delicacy not only loses its vitamins, but also acquires a certain level of toxicity. Honey heated to a high temperature becomes carcinogenic (it can cause the development of malignant tumors in the body).
Doctors focus on contraindications to the use of linden honey - the following categories of people need to give up sweetness:
- children under the age of 3;
- patients suffering from diabetes mellitus;
- allergy sufferers with individual honey intolerance;
- pregnant women in the presence of certain contraindications, which are determined by the laboratory method - the use of a treat during this period can provoke an allergy in the unborn child.
If you are allergic to bee products, you should not completely abandon the treats. This pathology can be corrected with medical help. After the allergy is eliminated, start using lime honey in small doses and under the supervision of specialists.
In some cases, pediatricians allow honey to be given to children aged 2 years as part of the treatment of colds. It is forbidden to take aerosol therapy with its participation for pneumonia or heart problems.
Note! To prevent lime honey from losing its beneficial properties, it should be stored in glass or wooden containers. The room where the treat is located should be moderately warm. Do not freeze the product or keep it cold.
How to choose linden honey?
How to identify high quality lime honey? Everyone knows that it is better to buy an unsweetened product. However, the delicacy begins to crystallize under any conditions after six months of storage. This process cannot be avoided, therefore the level of crystallization plays a secondary role in determining the quality of honey.
Being in front of the seller's counter, this product should be evaluated according to the following parameters: color, smell, maturity, consistency.
Linden honey color
can tell the buyer a lot: it should be homogeneous, amber without haze. If honey has a transparent structure, there are no foreign impurities in it. If a sediment formed in a dish with a delicacy, it means that sugar, starch and other substances were added to the product (sometimes bees are fed with such impurities in order to increase the volume of pumping out the goods).
To find out for sure if there are any foreign additives in linden honey, dissolve it in water: the product with additives will become cloudy, and a sediment will appear at the bottom of the container.
Use iodine to determine the presence of flour or starch in a delicacy. Add a drop of antiseptic to honey previously diluted with water. If the solution turns blue, it means that it contains flour or starch.
Often added to linden honey chalk … To identify such an impurity, we need vinegar. Add a small amount of vinegar essence to the product and listen - a hiss will indicate the presence of chalk.
Linden honey must have pronounced smell, if sniffing, you will not feel anything, it means that sugar was added to the delicacy.
Define product maturity beekeeping is possible only at home. To do this, the sweetness must be heated to 20 ° C and a spoon should be lowered into it. If, while stirring the product, you notice that it wraps itself on the spoon, and does not drain from it, the honey is ripe.
Why is it important to buy ripe lime honey? This product contains the largest amount of useful elements, and it has a long shelf life. If nectar is pumped out of the hives too early, it can quickly turn sour, and it will contain a limited amount of enzymes, sugars and other nutrients that are beneficial to health.
Natural and high quality lime honey should easy to rub with your fingers and absorb into the skinwhile the surrogate rolls into lumps. Having dipped a thin stick into the container with the product, you should see that when you pull out the tester, honey is drawn in a thin stream. At the same time, splashes should not remain on its surface, small bubbles are allowed.
Not everyone knows! Linden is considered to be the queen of all melliferous plants; about 16 kg of honey can be collected from one tree.
Interesting facts about honey
TOP 10 interesting and little-known facts about honey:
- The People's Republic of China is the leader in honey production.
- A small sandwich with a bee product can help reduce hangover syndrome.
- One bee has to collect nectar from 100,000 flowers to produce 100 g of honey.
- The most expensive beekeeping product in the world can be purchased in Israel. Here you will have to pay about 10,000 rubles for a delicacy.
- In the old days, the sweet bee gift was used as cosmetics. People from all over the world use the beneficial properties of linden honey to this day.
- Siberia is one of the largest honey producers in the Russian Federation. Although the delicacy appeared here not so long ago - only 200 years ago.
- The word "honey" comes from Hebrew and literally translates into Russian as "magic spell".
- A sweet product can retain its taste for several centuries. In support of this, scientists cite the example of the burial of Tutankhamun. An amphora with honey was found in his grave - a product with centuries of aging was as sweet and healthy as fresh.
- Honey serves as a refrigerator: in ancient times, the inhabitants of the hot regions of the planet smeared meat with sweetness and buried it in the ground, so it remained fresh for a long time, despite the heat.
- Adherents of traditional medicine use honey as a healing agent. They smear scratches or burns with them 2 times throughout the day so that the wound heals as quickly as possible.
Why linden honey is useful - watch the video:
Doctors from all over the world advise buying lime honey for weight loss, fighting colds and bad mood. It is used for therapeutic fasting. To experience all the benefits of this product, it should be consumed regularly, but in moderation.
