Types of Honey and Their Benefits

Honey has always been one of the most beloved sweets across the planet. It is the very first sweetener in the world. Ancient people used honey not only as an alternative to sugar but also presented it as a separate gift. The immortality of the gods in Greece was also due to the use of honey, but no one knows if this is so.

Features

Speaking about this delicacy, it is important to understand that there are a lot of types, but theoretically, they can be divided into two main types. The first is monofloral - the bees collect nectar from only one species of flower; the second is multi-floral if small hard workers attended various flowers of various types. In fact, monofloral honey is a rarity.

When deciding what honey to buy, you need to be aware that all varieties of honey have a different taste, color, texture and, most importantly, it's composition. This means that the effect of different types of honey will affect the human body in different ways. We have compiled a detailed list for you to better sort and understand what kind of honey is needed to treat a sore throat or a cold, and which will be a great addition to the dessert.

manuka honey benefits

Linden

This honey is one of the best and healthiest types of honey. During flowering, this tree smells incredible, but the honey is more than amazing. The color of fresh honey is light or golden.

Useful Properties

The history of honey is so old that still our grandparents knew about the benefits of this delicacy; they treated all seasonal diseases with the help of this sweetness. The usefulness of this honey lies in a large number of enzymes that help to relieve inflammation. The unique composition of linden honey talking for itself:

Iron,
Sodium;
Iodine;
Phosphorus;
Calcium

Linden honey contains more than a hundred trace elements and minerals, as well as essential amino acids: arginine, lysine, histidine, leucine. All these components make honey a valuable product and a healer. As part of linden honey, there is also ascorbic acid, B vitamins, vitamin K and E.

It is recommended to use honey not only inside, but also for external use, which will have a beneficial effect on the body. For the treatment of colds, asthma, tonsillitis, and bronchitis are also better treated with linden honey.

It is a small wonder that linden honey is used as the main component in cosmetics. In addition to a salutary effect on the body, this type of honey copes with dryness and problem skin, as it has a softening and anti-aging effect.

Buckwheat

You will never confuse the taste of this type of honey with any other. Buckwheat honey honorably takes one of the first places in quality and usefulness. Its color is darker than conventional varieties and varies from dark shades of yellow to brown. It can even be called amber. Bees get this delicious dessert from the flowers of buckwheat, it is a herbaceous plant with white, pink and lilac flowers.

This honey is rich in amino acids and trace elements and is twice as healthy as ordinary light color honey. The amber color of honey indicates a high iron content. In addition to this element, honey also contains a large number of enzymes, phosphorus, and magnesium. It is important to say that the presence of minerals in buckwheat honey stimulates the functional activity of the retina. People with hypertension and anemia will benefit from this type of honey because of the large amount of iron in the composition.

Buckwheat sweetness will have beneficial effects on stomach and skin problems. Vitamin-filled honey is an excellent supplement to multivitamin preparations during vitamin deficiency periods.

Clover

This honey is especially valuable and rare. Its rarity lies in the fact that it is quite difficult to find honey in its pure form since clover thickets are very rare in nature itself. This plant is unique because it used not only as a source of honey but also in several other areas:

as a cattle feed
flavoring for drinks and cosmetics
as a spice
to improve the soil
as a medicinal plant

The composition of clover honey is one of the most unique among all existing varieties of honey:

tannins (strengthen vascular walls, store ascorbic acid, remove heavy metal salts and toxins from the body)
minerals - 0.2%
ash substances - 0.6%
organic acids
vitamins - B4, B2, B1, PP, E, C

This honey consist of 0.1 g of fat, 0.8 g of protein and 74.8 g of carbohydrates per 100 grams of weight. Therefore, you should be cautious about the consumption of honey and do not eat more than 3 tablespoons per day.

Clover honey has a wide range of useful properties. It can be a part of the diet for people who want to grow thin, as well as after operations and diseases; help to cope with toxicosis and increased lactation. We also know that honey is a good way to numb the headache, toothache, bronchitis, and arrhythmias.

Australian Manuka

Due to its useful and valuable properties, this honey cannot be confused with any other. Australian Manuka pours directly from beehives into jars and has a huge amount of nutrients, as well as antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Honey was widely used by our ancestors not only in food but mainly for the treatment of various diseases, skin problems, and wounds. Since the invention of antibiotics, the popularity of honey has begun to decline. After a series of studies, it was found that our ancestors used honey mostly as a medicine due to its antimicrobial properties.

It is worth saying that only a few types of honey have such properties as Manuka. When the glucose oxidase honey enzyme reacts with oxygen molecules in water, there is released a small amount of hydrogen peroxide in the honey. And this tool is usually used to disinfect wounds and prevent infection. Therefore, honey is used as a means for healing wounds: it draws moisture from the wound, and this leads to the formation of hydrogen peroxide and disinfects the damaged area.

It is important to understand that the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effect depends on the type of honey.

About Manuka

Australian Honey Manuka is obtained from a grassy plant of the same name, which is located in the south-eastern part of Australia. The number of Manuka trees in Australia is large because it grows everywhere and is very unpretentious to the soil. The Manuka tree itself is known for its antimicrobial properties. It was once discovered that Honey Manuka contains MGO - a substance that is famous for its antimicrobial properties and is found in some plants and foods.

With regard to the Manuka tree, local people have sorted it into the bark, seeds, and leaves. They harvest it all and produce Manuka oil, which resembles Manuka Honey in its properties. It is worth saying that this honey belongs to monofloral because it is extracted exclusively from one plant, this also makes Manuka a unique product.

Australian Manuka Honey Components

Manuka honey has a large amount of fructose, glucose, as well as a small amount of maltose and sucrose. This healthy product is also saturated with B, E, K, C vitamins, iodine, potassium, iron, manganese, selenium, calcium, and phosphorus. And, of course, the main component in the bouquet of beneficial substances is methylglyoxal.

Pharmacological Properties

Australian Honey Manuka is a unique antibacterial and anti-inflammatory product because it consists of an ingredient that has a devastating effect on the causative agent of the infection. Due to the research of one study, it was found that Australian Manuka is an effective tool to prevent tooth decay in the form of chewing lollipops. (English H., Pack A., Molan P. J. Int. Acad. Periodontol.,2004,6, (2), 63-67.)

Manuka Honey has also been recognized as a quality tool for the treatment of wounds and burns. (Wilgus TA, Bergdall VK, Dipietro LA, Oberyszyn TM (2005). «Hydrogen peroxide disrupts scarless fetal wound repair». Wound Repair Regen 13 (5): 513–9. doi:10.1111/j.1067-1927.2005.00072.x. PMID 16176460)

This product can be used not only for serious problems as burns but also for the treatment of sore throat, heartburn, intestines. When treating a throat, you should rather suck honey, than absorbed. Also, it can even be used for insect bites.

How To choose Right

In order not to buy a fake, you need to ask the seller for a certificate and photo of the package. Do not be afraid of the price of the product, because Manuka Honey is produced in Australia and never goes beyond its borders.

Also, each jar of Australian Manuka has a tag with the amount of MGO and its level. The higher the level, the more active is honey.