Honey: benefits and harms, uses, recipes
Honey can be called a real healing elixir. What useful qualities and properties he does not carry. It is also a second life for your skin, immunity, healthy digestion, strong hair and nails. It is not for nothing that this product has been appreciated for more than one century. From ancient times to the present day, the use of honey is so extensive that it affects almost all spheres of life.
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The benefits of honey
Honey is a real treasure vitamins... What only it does not contain: vitamins C, B, calcium, magnesium, protein, glucose, iron, sulfur, fructose. That is why it is an antiviral and antibacterial agent. Even in ancient Egypt, healers used honey as an antiseptic to heal wounds.
So what is honey and what is it eaten with? It is a product of nectar and pollen processed by bees, enriched with vitamins. The first source of sugar, and for a long time it was the only one. But with the advancement of technology in the sugar industry, honey has become less available. However, it does not harm the human body, unlike the usual white sugar.
It is known that honey is good for colds, lung diseases, diseases nervous system, anemia. This product will benefit both adult and child alike.
Daily use of honey will not make a person super-strong or immune to disease. But this will help strengthen the immune system and the body as a whole, and reduce the likelihood of the risk of many diseases.
The benefits of honey depend on the degree of its freshness, as well as on what type of plant it was harvested from. Honey made from one source or another has the same healing properties as it. Honey is used for both external and internal use. But most often the latter, since many people value honey not only for its beneficial properties, but also for its sweetness and extraordinary taste.
The harm of honey
Not everything is so sweet with honey. Yes, in many aspects it is very useful and even more, but there is also a downside.
To begin with, it's important to consume honey correctly. Too large portions and frequent consumption can lead to allergic reaction... If the allergy manifested itself from a small amount, then it is worth considering the fact that there are many types of honey and, perhaps, a certain one should be selected. Or calculate the honey allergen by the elimination method. If a person is allergic to dandelions, then meadow or flower honey is unlikely to work, but linden or acacia honey is quite. You should also remember about individual intolerance to the product.
Sugar patients diabetes, you should be very careful with the use of honey. It is best to consult a doctor beforehand if you can or cannot add it to your diet.
It is also worth remembering that honey is a high-calorie product, for one kilogram of 3,150 kilocalories. Therefore, excessive enthusiasm for them can cause weight gain.
Another important aspect is that honey cannot be heated above forty degrees Celsius. In this case, it will simply lose all useful properties.
Application of honey
Honey is used everywhere, both in medicine and in cosmetology. It is considered the source of longevity and strength. Do not forget that everything is good in moderation. As a medicine or as a prophylactic agent, honey should be taken by adults up to one hundred grams per day, children under fifty. It is best to do this before or after meals, but not during. If you have frequent sore throat problems or colds, it is good to take honey about an hour before a meal, a teaspoon at a time, or dilute the same amount in a glass of milk.
There are several types of honey. Each variety helps with certain ailments:
- linden - first aid for diseases of the respiratory tract;
- buckwheat is used to treat the gastrointestinal tract;
- sweet clover heals the cardiovascular system;
- meadow is considered universal and one of the most useful, it heals the entire immune system, liver, lungs, intestines;
- clover honey is widely used in diseases of the genitourinary system and hemorrhoids;
- raspberry helps with puffiness, stomatitis, laryngitis, colds;
- flower honey acts as a good sedative, everyone knows that if you drink warm milk with honey at night, then a baby's sleep is guaranteed.
In cosmetology, honey is used in the manufacture of masks, shampoos, scrubs, and soaps. Also applicable in wraps, treatment of skin defects.
Among other things, honey is widely used for confectionery purposes. Due to the high content of glucose and fructose, it easily replaces sugar and serves as the basis for many dishes and pastries.
Properties of honey
Beneficial features:
- It has long been known to all that honey is very close in composition to human blood - plasma. That is why it has a positive effect on it, improving its composition.
- Healthy honey is natural honey, it is enriched with all possible types of vitamins and microelements.
- The first remedy for maintaining strength in old age.
- Acts as a sedative, relaxing agent.
- Helps in the fight against pathogenic bacteria, activates the protective functions of the body.
- Due to its bactericidal properties, honey heals wounds well.
- Among other things, honey heals intestinal disorders, normalizes metabolism.
- It has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system.
- Fresh comb honey is used to treat eye diseases... Various means are made from it, or it is simply diluted with water and buried in the eyes.
Honey recipes
Wherever honey is not used, there are a great many recipes for its use. It is worth starting with the most important thing - health.
Honey treatment of abrasions, wounds, burns
You will need:
- eucalyptus leaves 50 g;
- water 0.5 l;
- honey 2 tbsp. l .;
Preparation: pour water over the eucalyptus leaves and simmer for a few minutes over low heat, then strain the broth and let it cool down to about forty degrees. Add honey to it. Apply compresses to sore skin with the resulting liquid.
Honey for laryngitis or sore throat
The recipe is simple, all you need is:
- a glass of milk;
- a teaspoon of honey (top);
- butter 20 g.
Preparation: bring the milk to a boil, let it cool slightly (40 degrees), add honey and butter to it. Mix well by dissolving the ingredients in milk. Drink slowly, in small sips. Try to rinse out the entire mouth and larynx.
Gastrointestinal tract treatment
It is necessary to dissolve honey in water, make a solution of about twelve percent. Remember that when in contact with warm water, the production of gastric juice increases, with cold water, on the contrary, decreases. Such a solution is applied several hours before meals.
Honey face masks
Honey in cosmetology is something priceless, akin to the Grail. It heals, tightens, smoothes, moisturizes and much, much more.
Scrub mask honey plus lemon
You will need:
- half a lemon;
- a teaspoon of honey;
- a teaspoon of coffee grounds.
Preparation: squeeze out the lemon juice, add honey and thick to it. Mix well and apply to face. Hold for ten minutes. Before washing off the mask with water, massage your face with light movements of your fingers. This will have an effect scrub... Then rinse off with water.
Such mask will help you get rid of oily skin problems. It also has a mild peeling effect thanks to lemon juice and coffee grounds. Honey will help fight fine wrinkles and heal wounds. This mask whitens the skin of the face, making it smooth and delicate.
Honey and sea buckthorn mask
Mix a teaspoon of honey with the same amount of sea buckthorn berries (in their absence, you can use oil: ½ teaspoon). If desired, you can add vitamin E, ½ teaspoon. Mix the ingredients well, massage onto face. Keep it on for 10 to 15 minutes.
This mask will help to cope with both newly appeared fine wrinkles and deep ones. Among other things, a mixture of honey and sea buckthorn fights well against inflammation and small pimples. Vitamin E will give your skin elasticity and soften it.
Hair masks with honey
Thousands of types of balms, hair masks offer us store shelves. What they are not made of, they have everything and keratin, and vitamins, and instantly healing components. However, not always what we buy in the store turns out to be made from what we are promised. Sometimes such a miracle balm can only harm, and not vice versa. Here, folk remedies come directly to help you, and do-it-yourself cosmetics from natures of raw materials. But do not completely abandon hair care cosmetics. It would be more correct to carefully choose the manufacturer and place of purchase, as well as alternate use with cosmetics made from natural products.
Hair healer mask
This recipe is very old, it is not known where it came from, and who invented it first. However, its benefits are noticeably tangible. To prepare the mask, you will need:
- honey 1 tsp;
- cinnamon 1 tsp;
- burdock oil 1 tsp;
- yolk 1 pc;
- cognac 1 tsp;
- lemon essential oil 1 drop.
Preparation: Mix all the ingredients in a shallow bowl (just don't use an iron one), massage into the hair, rubbing into the scalp. It would be more correct to start from the roots and distribute the mask along the entire length. Next, tuck your hair under a plastic bag or hat. Wrap the top with a towel or warm handkerchief. Leave it on for thirty minutes. Rinse off the mask with shampoo. Then, to improve the effect, if possible, rinse the hair with a decoction of herbs, or water and vinegar.
This mask will make your hair come alive. It will wake up dormant bulbs and strengthen hair from roots to ends. If you use an iron or hairdryer often, it will help heal damaged hair, give it shine and strength. It also accelerates hair growth, makes them thicker.
