{"id":691,"date":"2020-12-10T15:34:15","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bee4u.gr\/?page_id=691"},"modified":"2021-03-19T13:53:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T13:53:42","slug":"%ce%bc%ce%ad%ce%bb%ce%b9","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bee4u.gr\/en\/honey\/","title":{"rendered":"Honey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"M010\"<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The most natural product imaginable is honey. The bee, following its\nprimitive instinct, seeks daily (if the weather conditions allow) honey\nproduction sources. When the collector returns to the hive, from the\narduous journey of harvesting, then begins the magical process of\nprocessing plant secretions into a vital substance for the bee, but also\nfor man, honey<\/strong>It is worth noting that the bee is the only animal in\nnature after man that processes and processes its food.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Bees produce honey from nectar<\/strong> and honeydew <\/strong>that they collect from\nthe living parts of plants and from secretions of sucking microorganisms\nand insects.<\/p>\n

The flower nectar<\/strong>\u00a0 is an aqueous solution more or less concentrated, its\nsugars represent 20-40%. This solution is produced by the nectarine\ntissues in the heart of the flower.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The honeydew<\/strong> is produced by microorganisms (fungi) and insects that suck\nsap, from the third sheath that holds the bark of the tree and in some\ncases from their unripe tender fruits (such as oak). It is absorbed by the\nparasites, passes to their digestive system where the honeydew is\nformed and they absorb the necessary amount for their nutrition (about\n10% in sugars) and secrete the excess in the form of honeycomb\ndroplets.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Collectors dilute the nectar or honeydew with their saliva during\ncollection and transfer it to the hive. There, the collectors distribute it to\nthe workers (the process of trophoblasting) where saliva is added again,\nas a result of which enzymes that change sugar are provided (through\nsaliva) to the solution. This liquid will be placed in honeycomb cells with\na water content of over 50%. After that, in order for the honey to\ndehydrate, the workers chew it several times and spread it with their\ntongue in a thin layer in the dry atmosphere of the hive. When the\nconcentration in sugars reaches 40-50% it is deposited in the cells for\nmaturation. From this point on, the ventilation workers take over,\ncausing the excess moisture to be expelled by a stream of air from\noutside (heated by the colony to 30+ \u00b0 C). Depending on the external environment, it takes two to five days for the humidity to reach between\n17% and 22%, where it is sealed with a \"scalp\" of wax for protection.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Honey texture<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Numerous varieties of honey contain almost the same percentage of\nsugars, which represent 75-80% of the weight of honey. The nectar or\nhoneydew collected in the hive, is rich in sucrose and during its\nprocessing by the workers is enriched through their saliva with a large\nnumber of enzymes, including invertase which will help in its breakdown\ninto: fructose +\/- 35%, glucose +\/- 32%, Maltose +\/- 4% and sucrose +\/-\n2%.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Here is the undoubted nutritional superiority of honey over\nindustrial sugar, which our body must first transform with all the harmful\nconsequences for it, while the inverted sugars of honey are assimilated\ndirectly by the body, without any other processing.<\/p>\n

Glucose\nprovides an immediately available energy, while fructose is retained in\nthe liver in the form of glycogen and builds up our energy reserve. The\nlatter helps us, among other things, to respond better to stress. In\naddition, honey prevents the phenomenon of hypoglycemia caused by\nthe intake of industrial sugar and has the peculiarity that it is compatible\nwith certain forms of diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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In addition to the above glycides, honey contains almost all vitamins\n(except vitamin A), trace elements and minerals by 1.5 - 2%, whose\naction is combined with that of vitamins: calcium, magnesium\nphosphorus, potassium, copper, iron , silicon chloride, sulfur, manganese\nand sodium inter alia. Organic acids such as gluconic acid, citric acid,\nacetic acid and phosphoric acid, which give it a pH of 3.5 - 5.5. It contains\nmany enzymes, of which the basic ones are amylase a and b, gluco-\ninvertase and gluco-oxidase. Pollen is also found in a very small\npercentage, but it is one of the characteristics that help determine the\nplant origin of honey. There are also essential oils, the quality and\nquantity of which vary depending on the plant origin and their\nimportance is fundamental, both in terms of taste and healing.<\/p>\n

The fluctuations of the content of the above elements in the varieties of\nhoney, cause the big taste, olfactory, visual and therapeutic differences.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The benefits of honey on our health<\/h3>\n\t
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For many years man has realized that this animal, which alone provides\n80% of the pollen pollination of the planet, is also a valuable ally for the\ngood health of the human body.<\/p>\n

The philosophers Democritus, Pythagoras and Zeno, who lived to an\nadvanced age, affirmed that this exceptional longevity was due to the\ndaily consumption of honey and other products of the hive. But\nHippocrates, the "spiritual father" of medicine, considered honey as a\ntonic for eyesight and sexual organs, a remedy for ear pain and an\neffective healer for all kinds of wounds. He also recommended it for\ndiseases of the throat and chest, one of the unique properties that\nmodern medicine recognizes to this day.<\/p>\n

Honey is a food full of energy since 100 gr. from it give 310 calories and\nits inverted sugars are assimilated directly and easily by our body. It\nequips our immune system with its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and\nantioxidant properties, including the production of free radicals (The\nhuman body produces free radicals in the process of cellular reactions.\nFor example,\u00a0the liver<\/strong>\u00a0produces and uses free radicals in phases. of\ndetoxification, while\u00a0white blood cells<\/strong>\u00a0through free radicals destroy\nbacteria, viruses and lead to apoptosis of cells that have suffered\nirreparable damage). It also improves the retention of calcium and\nmagnesium, as well as the content of blood with hemoglobin\n(Responsible for the binding and transport of oxygen from the lungs to\nthe rest of our body through the blood). Due to its high fructose content,\nhoney acts as a mild laxative, whets the appetite and protects the\nstomach walls. It is an excellent cardiotonic thanks to glucutil (produced\nby the bee and contained in honey), which the heart muscle makes the\nbest use of the glycides it receives. The acetylcholine contained in\nhoney, allows to slow down and balance the heart rhythm, which helps\nto reduce blood pressure and ensures better blood circulation in the\ncoronary arteries.<\/p>\n

Some honeys are particularly rich in iron (mainly dark-colored ones), an\nessential trace element in the fight against anemia, but most important\nin this case is the ability to absorb iron and this is favored by enzymes\nderived from bee saliva. The same goes for cobalt, which is contained in\nthe composition of vitamin B12, which is necessary for the production of\nred blood cells by the bone marrow.<\/p>\n

Honey fights indigestion, thanks to lactulose that promotes the growth\nof bifidobacteria, necessary for digestive and general immunization,\nhelping to maintain a healthy intestinal flora. It also plays an important\nrole in destroying or stopping the multiplication of bacteria, especially\ncertain coliforms or salmonella. It also helps fight a number of diseases\nsuch as sinusitis, pharyngitis, rhinitis, laryngitis, otitis, simple or\nasthmatic bronchitis and dry or non-cough.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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