For 2500 years, honey has been consumed by countless cultures around the world. Given the numerous trace elements and vitamins in honey, it is not surprising that it has become an important substance in the preparation of traditional medicines. In addition, to this day, scientists are exploring its benefits for the manufacture of medicines, especially for wound healing.
There is practically no region in the world where honey is not used and is not eaten.
But what makes honey so popular? Most likely, this is due to the ease of its use. It can be eaten in its pure form, smeared on bread as jam, mixed with juices or any drinks instead of sugar, and so on. Very often it is diluted with warm water and lemon juice, cinnamon and other herbs are added to make the medicine. Many people like this product because of its pleasant taste, and understanding what vitamins are in honey makes it a universal treat.
Honey can be used as a sugar substitute in many foods and drinks. It contains about 69% glucose and fructose, which allows it to be used as a sweetener, which is more healthy than regular white sugar.
Calorie honey
Despite the fact that honey has more calories than sugar, in combination with warm water, it helps to digest the fat deposited in your body. A similar mixture with lemon juice or cinnamon will also help to reduce weight.
According to the data, honey contains about 64 calories per tablespoon. For this reason, it is used by many people as a source of energy. Recent studies have shown that honey has excellent ergogenic properties, which helps to increase the effectiveness of training for athletes. This is a great way to maintain blood sugar, restore muscle tone and glycogen after exercise, and regulate the amount of insulin in the body and energy expenditure.
Honey is an excellent source of simple carbohydrates. Nectar itself consists mainly of sucrose and water. Bees add enzymes that create additional chemical compounds, invert sucrose into fructose and glucose, and then evaporate water, so the resulting product practically does not undergo spoilage.
What vitamins and minerals does honey contain?
Honey contains many vitamins and minerals. Their appearance and quantity depend on the variety of flowers used for beekeeping. As a rule, honey contains a large amount of vitamin C, calcium and iron. For comparison: if you check the content of vitamins and minerals in sugar from any other source, you will find that they are completely absent or their quantity is insignificant. So, what vitamins and minerals can be found in honey? The composition of this product at 2% consists of the listed substances and compounds. They help metabolize unwanted cholesterol and fatty acids, thereby preventing obesity and improving health. What vitamins in honey besides ascorbic acid?
It also contains B6, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and some amino acids. The minerals contained in this product also include copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. Wild honey at the same time has a higher content of all of the above substances - about 4 times more.
Vitamin C
Speaking about which vitamins are in honey, one cannot but name ascorbic acid. Medical researchers believe that this compound is one of the most effective vitamins available to people. Ascorbic acid improves the immune system, helping to protect the body from infections and diseases. Vitamin C is also great for maintaining healthy skin, so it can be used as an external remedy. This means that honey can be applied to the skin as a cleanser, and also used to treat burns, rashes and peeling.
Vitamin B6
Honey also has a high vitamin B6 content. This substance is very important for the human body, because it is involved in many chemical reactions that occur every minute. Speaking about which vitamins honey contains, one must take into account the fact that B6 is actually a group of three different compounds: pyridoxamine, pridoxal and pyridoxine. This combination works in tandem with enzymes in the body, ensuring the normal functioning of your body.
Vitamin B3
Vitamin B3, or niacin, is also found in honey. This substance can help lower bad cholesterol, or LDL (low density lipoproteins), and increase the level of beneficial, or HDL (high density lipoproteins).
Vitamin B2
Honey contains vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin. It is a water-soluble vitamin that helps fuel the body's energy by turning carbohydrates into sugar. This substance also helps in the process of breaking down fats and absorbing amino acids.
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1, or thiamine, is also present in honey. Thiamine helps break down carbohydrates to nourish the body. It also neutralizes free radicals, which can jeopardize the immune system and accelerate the aging process.
Vitamin B5
Listing what vitamins are in honey, B5, also known as pantothenic acid, cannot be bypassed. This compound is present in blood plasma, maintaining the balance of hormones and keeping the nervous system in balance.
Antioxidants
Honey has antibacterial and antifungal properties, which is why it is often used as a natural antiseptic in traditional medicines.
It also contains nutraceuticals, which are very effective in removing free radicals from the body. As a result, your body's immunity improves in any environment, even potentially fatal (in the presence of cancer or heart disease).
In addition, this natural sweetener is rich in phenolic acids and flavonoids, which are a source of natural antioxidants and do not contain fats and cholesterol. These antioxidants also help eliminate free radicals, which often play a role in the development of many serious diseases. As a rule, darker types of honey will have a higher antioxidant content compared to lighter varieties. This rule also applies to other components. For example, if you want to find out what vitamins are in buckwheat honey, you should study the composition of this product as a whole, and calculate their amount according to a slightly increased indicator.
Enzymes
Enzymes are proteins that are made up of amino acids. They play an important role in maintaining health, and their presence in honey greatly improves its beneficial properties. The enzymes contained in this product make it unique, especially when compared to other sweeteners. They allow you to synthesize organic acids necessary for metabolism. So, gluconic is formed due to the presence of glucose oxidase in honey. Other organic acids that can be found in very small quantities include succinic, acetic, butyric, malic, formic, lactic, citric, propionic, pyroglutamic, valerianic and palmitic.
Honey contains eighteen amino acids, although their amount is very small, about 0.05-0.1% of its total composition. Proline is the main one.
The composition of honey includes about 38.5% fructose and 31% glucose. It also contains maltose, (about 7.1%) and sucrose (about 1.3%). The amount of water in it is approximately 17%.
Honey also contains a small number of different types of enzymes. In addition to glucose oxidase, it also has diastase (amylase) and invertase (glucosidase).
Phosphatase and catalase can also be found in honey. Their content will vary depending on the flower source and location.
Skin treatment
Considering which vitamins are always present in honey, scientists are working on the creation of medicines based on this product. Significant research is being done to examine the benefits of honey in treating wounds. Scientists today have proven that this product has antimicrobial properties, as well as:
- helps in the implementation of autolytic treatment;
- reduces the smell of fetid wounds;
- accelerates the healing process, stimulating tissue growth.
Milk and honey are often used together, as both of these ingredients help achieve smooth, beautiful skin. For this reason, the consumption of this combination every morning in the form of a mask is a common practice in many countries.
Factors determining the benefits of honey
The benefits of honey largely depend on its quality. Not all types of this product are created identically, and therefore different types do not necessarily provide the same benefits.
Some of the factors affecting the quality of honey include the variety of colors used in the formation of honeycombs, the mixing process, storage conditions, heating temperature and much more.
Scientists officially state that insufficient evidence has been obtained to draw conclusions about the properties of honey, depending on the type of flowers used for its production. Nevertheless, extensive studies have been carried out, which confirmed that honey obtained from coniferous forests has a higher antimicrobial activity, in contrast to other species.
Polyfloral honey (which is obtained from several plants) is also believed to provide more benefits than monoflora. Therefore, many companies sell a mixed product because it is considered more useful. However, taking into account which vitamins are always present in honey, this is not of fundamental importance.
When stored for a long time, honey becomes darker in color. It loses some of its properties and may also begin to wander if its water content is too high. Therefore, long-term storage should be avoided, while a newly assembled product is always preferable.
Heating of honey leads to sharp changes in its chemical composition. As a result, bringing to high temperatures reduces its benefits. Unsurprisingly, many people prefer raw or organic honey.