Honey and its health benefits.

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origin community de Steemit, Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by bees of the genus Apis, mainly the domestic bee, from the nectar of flowers or from secretions of living parts of plants or from excretions of plant-sucking insects (aphids). These substances are collected by the bees, then transformed by combining them with their own substances, deposited, dehydrated and stored in the combs for their maturation.The intervention of man in the process of exploitation of the combs of the hive is known as beekeeping.

Honey has been used for thousands of years around the world, whether as a flavoring of concoctions, food or medicine. Its composition is variable however its main component are carbohydrates in the form of monosaccharides such as fructose and glucose, as well as disaccharides such as maltose, isomaltose, maltulose, sucrose, turanosa and nigerosa. These ingredients are responsible for the intense sweetness of honey. It also contains oligosaccharides such as the anderose and the panose; enzymes such as amylase, peroxide oxidases, catalase and acid phosphorylase; It also contains amino acids, some B vitamins, C, niacin, folic acid, minerals such as iron and zinc, and antioxidants.

There are about 320 varieties of honey of different floral origins. The taste, color and smell of honey depends on the different sources of flowers and plants visited by bees.

Depending on the species of insect, honey can be classified into:
Honey bee
Wasp honey; honey produced by several wasp species.
Honey ant ant honey

According to its vegetal origin, it differs between:
Honey of flowers: the one produced by bees from the nectar of flowers. Many varieties are distinguished:
monofloral: predominance of the nectar of a species. The most common are chestnut, rosemary, Ulmo, thyme, heather, orange or orange blossom, lime, acacia, eucalyptus, lavender or lavender, blackberry, alfalfa, and so on.
multifloral (several flowers): from the nectar of several different plant species, and in very variable proportions.
Honey from the mountains or mountains, and desert (varadulce, mesquite, gatun and eltata), which are special types of thousand flowers.
Honey of honeydew or honeydew, dew of honey, honey of dew or honey of forest is the one produced by the bees from the sweet secretions of aphids aphids, cochineals and other sucking insects of sap, normally of pines, firs, oaks, cork oaks and other shrub plants. It is usually less sweet, of a very dark color, solidifies with difficulty, and it is not uncommon for it to exhibit a spicy, resinous smell and flavor. Myrtle honey from pine forests has a peculiar pine flavor, and is appreciated for its medicinal use in Europe and Turkey.
The flower honey is transparent and solidifies over time depending on its plant origin and temperature. Below 14 ° C, the solidification process is accelerated. The heather honeys harden very soon and the chestnut honeys take a long time.

The study of pollen in virgin honey (melisopalinology) allows to determine its floral origin. Since pollen particles are electrostatically charged and attract other particles, the techniques used in melissopalinology can be used in environmental studies of radioactive particles, dust or contamination.

A side effect of collecting nectar and pollen for honey production is pollination, which is crucial for the reproduction of flowering plants.

Honey is rich in vitamins A, E, K, B1, B2, B6, Niacin, Vitamin C, Pantothenic acid, Acids, phenolic, Flavonoids, Fatty acids, Apigenin, Pinocembrin, Acacetin, Abscisic acid, Ferulic acid, Carotenoids

It has varieties of use among what stand out;
Gastronomic
Honey is used mainly in the kitchen and pastry, as an accompaniment to bread or toast (especially in breakfasts and snacks) and as an additive to various beverages such as tea. Being rich in sugars such as fructose, honey is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air), so adding a small amount to breads and cakes makes them harden more slowly. Virgin honey also contains enzymes that help your digestion, as well as various vitamins and antioxidants. For this reason, the consumption of honey at temperatures not higher than 60 ° C is recommended, because at higher temperatures it begins to lose beneficial properties when some of these elements are volatilized.

Honey is the main ingredient in mead, which is produced from honey and water, which is also known as "honey wine".

Therapeutics
Honey has many therapeutic properties (Havsteen 2002). It can be used externally due to its antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. Thus, honey helps to heal and prevent infections in wounds or superficial burns. It is also used in cosmetics (creams, facial cleansing masks, tonics, etc.) due to its astringent and softening qualities.

Energetic
Due to its content of simple sugars, fast assimilation, honey is highly caloric (about 3.4 kcal / g), so it is useful as a source of rapid energy.

Healing
The bees also add an enzyme called glucose oxidase. When honey is applied on wounds this enzyme produces the local release of hydrogen peroxide.

Honey is also a good ingredient for making homemade facial masks.

Colds, cough, sore throat
It is used for the symptomatic relief of the cold Studies in people between 2 and 18 years with respiratory tract infections showed that it is able to relieve irritated membranes in the back of the throat and that it has antioxidant and antiviral effects. In addition, a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) considers it safe, outside the period of breastfeeding, to relieve cough.

Its sweetness and syrup texture would calm the throat pain, but its antioxidant content and its antimicrobial effect would also influence. For children under one year is not recommended because there is a danger of the development of botulism. This last risk becomes very small in older children.

The colds are popularly fought in some countries sweetening with lemon juice honey or onion tea. The World Health Organization recommends the use of honey for the relief of cough in children over one year of age, but honey does not show greater benefits than other drugs such as dextromethorphan but without the associated adverse effects.