Honey is a unique product produced by bees from nectar of flowering plants. Since ancient times, people have known and appreciated its useful properties. Honey is used not only as a food product. He has many healing qualities used to treat and prevent certain diseases. When scientists investigated what honey consists of, they found that its composition was similar to human blood plasma. It is this, as well as the presence of more than three hundred biologically active compounds that determine the high value of this product for humans.
Structure
Few people know what honey consists of. And this product has a very rich chemical composition - more than three hundred trace elements. But only a third of them are permanent, the rest depend on many factors. First of all, from plants whose nectar is used by bees. Different varieties of honey have not only different tastes and smells, but also properties. In addition, the content of chemical elements in this product is determined by other factors:
- geographic location;
- season and weather;
- soils on which plants grow;
- breed of bees;
- conditions of their detention;
- shelf life of the finished product.
Water content
When people think about what honey consists of, they rarely remember about water. But in fact, the water in its composition can be from 15 to 25%. The quality and grade of honey depends on this. Strict standards are set in some countries and a water content of not more than 21% is acceptable. Honey with a moisture content of up to 18% belongs to the highest grade. After all, the shelf life of this product depends on the amount of moisture. With a water capacity of over 22%, honey can quickly ferment. In such conditions, the sugars contained in it in large quantities begin to decompose.
Carbohydrates in honey
More than 75% of this product consists of sugars. And after the honey has stood a little, their content can increase up to 86%. All sugars are carbohydrates, which are the main source of energy for the human body and are involved in most biochemical processes. The taste of honey and its nutritional value depend on these substances.
Few people think of what carbohydrates honey consists of. And in its composition more than 40 different types of sugars. Most fructose and glucose, they are the most useful. These carbohydrates provide the sweetness of honey. They are absorbed much faster than ordinary sugar, without requiring insulin production for processing. Fructose is especially beneficial. The more it is, the honey is later sugared and has great energy value.
In addition, the composition of any honey includes sucrose (not more than 10%), as well as maltose, dextrins and other sugars. But their number is small. Only low-quality honey, for the production of which bees are specially fed with syrup, can contain a lot of sugar.
Valuable trace elements and minerals
When scientists investigated what honey consists of, they found that its mineral composition is similar to that of blood. More than 40 trace elements, most of which are necessary for the normal functioning of the body, are contained in this product. They regulate the activity of the nervous system, metabolic processes, are involved in the absorption of nutrients. In many ways, it is minerals that determine the beneficial properties of honey. Although in percentage terms there are not so many of them - from 0.5 to 3.5%. Most minerals are found in dark varieties of honey.
Here are the substances that honey consists of:
- most of all in it is potassium, which is very important for the work of the heart and muscles, it participates in metabolic processes;
- in second place in terms of phosphorus is necessary for building bone tissue and the nervous system;
- there is also a lot of calcium in honey, without which the human skeleton, bones and teeth will lose their strength;
- chlorine is involved in metabolic processes;
- sulfur cleanses the body of toxins;
- magnesium is important for the functioning of the cardiovascular system and building muscle tissue;
- iron is involved in the transport of oxygen throughout the body.
In addition, copper, iodine, cobalt, manganese, silicon, lithium, zinc, gold, molybdenum, bismuth and many other mineral substances are present in this product.
Vitamins
A lot of this healing product and vitamins. They get there from flower nectar and pollen. Despite the fact that their content is small, they are especially valuable for their biological significance. Vitamins are involved in metabolic processes, increase immunity, slow down aging, and accelerate tissue regeneration. Most of all, honey contains B vitamins, as well as ascorbic acid. Their number varies depending on the variety. And vitamins E and A are not present in all varieties.
Proteins and Amino Acids
In the manufacture of honey, bees enrich its composition with nitrogen compounds. Despite the low content (less than 1%), they are very important for the life of the body. The proteins in this medicinal product are both vegetable, which got there from plants, and animals - from the body of bees.
In addition, honey is the supplier of many essential amino acids. They give this product a specific aroma and healing properties. Among the amino acids contained in honey, the most famous and useful are:
- lysine;
- phenylalanine;
- glutamic acid;
- alanine;
- tyrosine;
- tryptophan;
- methionine.
Enzymes and Acids
The quality of natural honey depends on the amount of enzymes. These are protein compounds that are involved in the absorption of nutrients and trigger metabolic processes. In addition, honey enzymes accelerate its maturation. They contribute to changes in color, transparency and density, so when heated, the product darkens, becomes cloudy and sugars. The main enzymes of honey are lipase, catalase, amylase, invertase. They break down sucrose, promote the absorption of minerals.
Honey has an acid reaction due to the presence of organic and inorganic acids. Most of all it contains milk, lemon and apple. There are also gluconic, succinic, oleic and other acids. There are few of them in a quality product, so they only bring benefits. But when heated, as well as in fermented honey, the amount of acetic acid increases.
Other substances
The healing properties of honey are also explained by the presence of special substances, which in small quantities are healing for the body. These are alkaloids, nicotine, quinine, caffeine, morphine. They can reduce pain, calm the nervous system, regulate the functioning of blood vessels. In addition, this product has essential oils, tannins, volatile products. Antimicrobial compounds are also found in it, which in large quantities can resist even bacteria of anthrax, dysentery or brucellosis.
Honey contains biologically active compounds that increase the tone of the body and accelerate tissue regeneration. Its composition also contains aromatic and coloring substances that provide the color and smell of this nectar.
White honey
What it consists of, few people think about buying such an unusual product. Usually, honey has a yellowish color, but nectar from some plants can be almost transparent. And after thickening, it turns white. Such honey could be obtained from the nectars of acacia, sweet clover, fireweed, linden, raspberry. The colorless product is considered very valuable and useful. You can also make regular honey white by mixing it with royal jelly.
But the most popular, especially abroad, is artificially prepared white honey. What does this product consist of? Most often, this is candied honey whipped in a blender. If you beat it for about 30 minutes , it will acquire a white color and a creamy consistency. Its composition remains the same, only color changes due to enrichment with oxygen.
But there are varieties of white honey that do not have in the composition of those nutrients that natural honey is so famous for. For example, nectar formed by bees that were fed sugar syrup.
Green honey
What does it consist of? After all, this color is quite unusual for honey. It can be natural. Such a product is obtained when the bees do not collect pollen from flowers, but a pad - sweet excreta of plants. The honeydew is greenish in color. Its composition is almost no different from the usual. But it contains more minerals, so it is considered more useful. In addition, honey can turn green after mixing with propolis. In this case, its antibacterial, wound healing and immunostimulating properties are enhanced.