Linden honey - beneficial properties and secrets of effective use

Honey is a favorite treat for many children and adults. It is loved for its rich taste, fragrant aroma, beneficial and even medicinal properties. There are many different varieties, and linden is perhaps one of the most delicious and popular.

Few people know in detail about the technology for obtaining their favorite sweets. The flowering of linden provides the bees with maximum productivity; it is not for nothing that it is considered the queen of honey plants.

Dried linden flowers are valued for their beneficial qualities, so they are part of medicinal tea, but the nectar collected from them is much more beneficial.

Features of linden honey

The deciduous tree with the Latin name Tilia is resistant to drought and cold. Its fragrant flowers are a source of large amounts of nectar. From one mature tree you can get 15-20 kg of finished sweet product over the summer.

The variety is classified as monofloral: linden blossoms begin quite late, and insects find few other plants suitable for nectar production.

Important!

The peculiarity of the product is an admixture of sweet juice (honeydew) collected by bees from the leaves of the tree. This is one of the factors that determines what color the linden honey will be after pumping. The release of liquid by plants usually increases due to sudden changes in air temperature.

Flower petals, leaves and buds of the tree, containing many active components, are used as medicines after being collected and dried. Linden honey has the same beneficial properties, enhanced by bee enzymes. With its help, you can boost your immunity and speed up recovery from certain diseases.

What does it look like

The appearance of the nectar product depends on its degree of maturity, the amount of impurities, and the period that has passed since the day it was pumped out of the hive. For example, in Burzyan linden honey, extracted by bees that live in the sides, there are additives of beebread, wax, and various plants, so it is brownish with a gray tint.

Important!

Young honey is liquid, transparent, rich in color. A mature linden product, quite thick and clarified, is extracted from the sealed honeycomb cells. After 3-4 months of storage, it becomes like an opaque paste consisting of tiny grains.

When heated, the crystals dissolve, but after some time the process of their formation continues. With proper storage, it is impossible to say which honey is healthier, liquid or thickened - their properties remain the same.

Color

The unripe product from linden nectar is bright golden. The presence of honeydew gives it a coffee or pistachio hue, while floral impurities give it a reddish hue. As the moisture evaporates, the color intensity decreases and it becomes pale yellow.

Candied Bashkir linden honey is almost white due to the many small light grains. This is a sign of the homogeneity of its composition and the minimum amount of impurities. A pale yellow tint of the product after crystallization is allowed.

Aroma

Producing a lot of nectar, linden blossom spreads a fragrance that can be felt at a distance of several meters from the tree. It attracts bees and other pollinators. For many, this fragrant smell reminds of summer, filled with warmth, light, and the slight buzzing of insects.

After being pumped out of the wax honeycomb, the honey emits a thick aroma similar to linden blossom. By brewing tea with dried petals, you can feel the same smell - sweet, refreshing, with notes of tree bark heated by the hot sun.

Taste

The honey from the caramel nectar that the linden blossom produces is very sweet. It has almost no bitterness, like other varieties, and the cloying sensation in the mouth lasts for quite a long time.

The unripe product is more tart. As honey crystallizes, the source of which was linden blossom, it thickens and is less astringent. Its grains take longer to dissolve, but the aftertaste disappears faster.

Compound

Many elements contained in linden honey (more than 300 in total) are necessary for the human body for normal functioning. 4/5 of natural sweetness consists of easily oxidized sugars, which serve as a source of energy. About 1/5 is water, making the consistency liquid.

Important!

When honey is pumped before the honeycomb cells are sealed with wax caps, sucrose predominates in it. As the product matures, part of the substance breaks down into glucose and fructose and changes into maltose.

Linden honey contains a small amount of complex proteins that accelerate the transformation of substances, organic acids (citric, oxalic), and their derivatives (glutamine, lysine, phenylalanine). The sweet mass contains vitamins C (ascorbic acid), E (tocopherol), a number of group B compounds:

• thiamine;
• riboflavin;
• niacinamide;
• pantothenic acid;
• pyridoxine;
• biotin.

Honey is rich in minerals - phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron. Their ratio approximately coincides with the composition of human blood. The combination of active substances makes the linden product a universal remedy for getting rid of many diseases.

Crystallization

Visible grains of sugar inside the liquid first appear 50-60 days after pumping out of the hive. Initially, the single particles formed sink to the bottom of the container. The honey gradually thickens and there are more white crystals. In 3-4 months, a fine-grained homogeneous mass is obtained, a portion of which is more convenient to separate with a knife than with a spoon. Far Eastern linden honey crystallizes faster than other varieties.

Important!

The solidified product remains healthy and still easily dissolves in drinking water or human saliva.

When honey is candied, it does not spoil for several years. It is important to store it in a closed container, avoiding contact with metal objects, moisture and dust, and heating from sunlight.

Calorie content

Although the bee product does not contain fat, the predominance of carbohydrates makes it very nutritious. The energy value depends on the amount of impurities, the degree of maturity and can range from 320 to 380 kcal per 100 g. A serving size of 1 tablespoon contains approximately 105 kcal, 1 teaspoon - 3 times less.

When collected

Different types of linden do not bloom at the same time, and changes in weather conditions may slightly delay the appearance of buds. The earliest time the petals open, when bees arrive to collect linden honey, is mid-June.

Important!

In many regions, nectar extraction from flowering trees begins no earlier than the first days of July. By this time, most of the herbaceous plants have already flowered.

Linden honey plant is very sensitive to air temperature, humidity, and lighting. Sustainable long-term bribes are possible in warm, windless weather with an excess of sunny days over rainy days. Such conditions are suitable for abundant production of fragrant nectar.

Compound

Honey connoisseurs claim that the number of useful substances with their own unique properties in linden honey at different stages of ripening reaches 400.

Chemical composition of the product

KBZHU table: comparison of flower and linden honey

Flower honey has less calories than linden honey, but the latter has more beneficial and tasteful qualities.

Beneficial properties of linden honey

The sweet product has a beneficial effect on most human organs when consumed orally. Application to skin and hair improves their appearance. This effect is explained by the variety of elements contained in the honey mass.

Beneficial properties of linden honey:

• supply of a number of vitamins, minerals, acids;
• positive effect on the digestive and cardiovascular systems;
• infection control;
• eliminating skin problems.

The drug can be taken during stress to help the nervous system cope with stress and sleep better.

Source of vitamins and antioxidants

Organic compounds participate in metabolic processes. Linden flower honey, complementing food, ensures the supply of B vitamins. It is enough to prevent the unpleasant consequences of their deficiency. Ascorbic acid and tocopherol slow down metabolic reactions inside cells and protect against the effects of toxic substances. Honey-based cosmetics do not deteriorate longer than others.

Antibacterial properties

Phytoncides entering the product from linden nectar and enzymes from bee saliva destroy harmful microorganisms and stop their reproduction. A protective honey layer is created on the affected area of ​​the skin or mucous membrane, under which the infection is eliminated much faster. The best results are obtained when used together with medications.

For sore throat and cough

For diseases of the upper respiratory tract, sweet bee products are traditionally used in folk medicine. It coats an irritated throat and stops coughing attacks. The ability of linden honey to stimulate the release of mucus and phlegm by liquefying them and reducing swelling of the mucous membranes is valued. Antibacterial action is useful in the treatment of tonsillitis.

Tonic property

A sweet, high-calorie product consisting of almost 80% carbohydrates, it is easily absorbed by the body. When sugars are broken down, a large amount of energy is released, so linden honey has the ability to restore strength to a person who is undergoing long-term treatment, has lost a lot of weight, and is experiencing great physical and mental stress. Consuming it in the morning allows you to cheer up.

Soothes and heals the stomach

The benefits of linden honey are manifested in the elimination of inflammatory processes in the digestive system. For gastritis and ulcers on the mucous membrane, natural medicine coats the affected areas, relieves pain, and stops the proliferation of harmful bacteria. The product improves digestion and improves intestinal motility.

Skin care

Honey masks, creams, and ointments have been used for a long time to combat cosmetic defects. They relieve irritation and accelerate the healing of acne, wounds and burns. In addition, active substances smooth out unevenness, moisturize the skin, and cleanse clogged pores.

The linden product is characterized by rapid absorption, creating a thin protective film on the surface of the skin. It prevents excessive fluid loss and harmful environmental conditions, without leaving marks on clothes or bedding.

For hypertension

Frequent increases in blood pressure are one of the reasons to start taking daily decoctions, infusions with linden blossom or honey mixtures. The substances they contain gradually remove various deposits from the walls of blood vessels to facilitate the passage of blood and reduce pressure. Linden sweetness is recommended for hypertension due to its great benefits for the body: normalizing heart function, helping the nervous system during stress, high workload, improving sleep quality.

WHO can't have honey?

This product has dozens of useful properties that can and are important to evaluate if:

• A cold came on. For colds, linden honey can help as a diaphoretic, immunomodulatory and expectorant. It produces its effect in combination with mint and currant leaf tea, and fresh raspberries.
• The gastrointestinal tract has made itself known: constipation or attacks of gastritis have become more frequent, and the intestinal microflora has become disrupted. To help the body, linden honey should be mixed with pine nuts and consumed with milk and freshly squeezed cabbage juice. It is also used for constipation as a mild laxative if added to moderately hot tea. The nervous system, heart and blood vessels suffer. Linden honey is used as a sedative. And to clean the vessels, you can mix a little honey with grated ginger and lemon.

Medicinal properties of linden honey

Most often, bee products are used to speed up recovery. Its effectiveness is manifested when using a natural medicine against diseases of the respiratory, digestive, and cardiovascular systems.

Important!

Honey from linden nectar helps with fever by stimulating sweating and accelerating the elimination of toxic substances.

The product can be used for prevention during periods of increased levels of colds (spring, autumn) to strengthen resistance to infections. That's not all the benefits of linden honey. It heals chronic inflammatory processes, produces a general strengthening effect, and saturates the blood with iron and vitamins.

For women

The natural medicine is valued for its benefits to the face. It helps in the treatment of external inflammation, removal of swelling, elimination of skin imperfections (wrinkles, pimples, age spots). However, regular intake of the product orally is no less beneficial for women’s health: it normalizes hormonal levels and reduces nervousness.

The product mixed in boiled water is used for infectious diseases of the genitourinary system (cystitis, vaginitis, candidiasis), cervical erosions. Swabs are moistened with the solution, douching and baths are done with it.

For men

A mixture of walnuts and honey is a common remedy for improving blood flow in the groin area, increasing male strength, and increasing sperm activity. It is recommended to use it daily if you have problems with conception associated with impaired sperm production. Inflammation of the prostate gland and urethra can also be treated with bee products.

Regular consumption of linden flower honey strengthens the heart muscle, helps withstand physical activity, and speeds up recovery after injuries and surgeries. An alcohol tincture with it relieves joint pain and arthritis.

For children

Children over 3 years of age are often given a natural cure for colds or to help them sleep better at night. Honey is bitter, but children really like it together with warm milk.

A small portion of the product can be applied to bruises and insect bites to relieve tissue swelling. It accelerates the healing of wounds and burns.

Is it possible to use linden honey during pregnancy?

While pregnant, women should minimize the consumption of bee products and exercise caution and moderation. The benefits and harms of linden honey for pregnant women have not been studied enough.

Important!

Sweet medicine can be taken against infectious diseases, anemia, and to strengthen the immune system. But before choosing the right variety, you need to make sure there are no contraindications.

It should be taken into account that hormonal levels change greatly in pregnant women, so temporary intolerance to various products often occurs, especially those with a high content of active ingredients.

In addition, the blood glucose level of a woman expecting the birth of a child may increase above normal. It is recommended not to eat sweets or baked goods. In some cases, you have to give up your favorite product during pregnancy and then feed the newborn baby with breast milk.

Composition and calorie content

The calorie content and composition of linden honey determine the main advantages of this bee product. A drop of nectar contains a complex of useful substances mixed with insect secretions. Main components:

• carbohydrates – glucose (20–45%), fruit sugar (21–54%). The higher their number, the better, the richer the variety. Sugars and polysaccharides are also present;
• proteins – up to 0.5%;
• acids – lactic, malic, citric, grape, others;
• enzymes - catalase, lipase, invertase, amylase;
• amino acids – arginine, histidine, lysine, leucine;
• vitamins – ascorbic and folic acids, riboflavin, biotin, niacin, thiamine, tocopherol, pyridoxine;
• trace elements – zinc, nickel, manganese, fluorine, copper, chromium, others;
• minerals – iron, iodine, sodium, calcium, phosphorus;
• moisture, ash.

The calorie content and component composition of linden honey are influenced by various factors: weather conditions at the time of collection, the activity of sunlight, the presence of honeydew impurities, and the breed of bees. So, 100 grams of bee product contains from 300 to 350 kilocalories.

Recipes for treatment with linden honey

Healing products that are supposed to be taken orally should not contain large amounts of bee products. The norm for an adult is 60 g per day. When treating a child under 12 years of age, do not exceed the daily dosage of 15 g.

Most often, with the help of drinks and rinsing solutions, symptoms of colds (runny nose, cough, fever) and oral infections are eliminated. It is better to take the purest product for oral administration, for example, Burzyan linden honey from the Bashkir forests. When adding plant juices, herbal decoctions, berries (hawthorn, rose hips), the effectiveness of the product increases.

External use relieves inflammation and treats sore joints. It is not recommended to apply linden honey directly to an open wound. Lotions and compresses with a sweet remedy accelerate cell regeneration.

Cold treatment

The most important thing to defeat the disease is to strengthen the immune system. Regular intake of 1 cup of warm tea with linden blossom or honey and 5 ml of lemon juice is needed for the prevention and treatment of colds.

To speed up recovery, you can prepare a medicine from sweet bee product, aloe, birch buds, linden flowers and olive oil. To brew the ingredients you will need 1 liter of water brought to a boil. Pour 1/2 the volume of liquid from the container over 50 g of petals for half an hour. Pour 150 g of birch buds into the remaining water, keep it on low heat for 20 minutes, then leave for another half hour. Both decoctions are filtered through a sieve or cheesecloth, mixed with 1 kg of honey, and 250 g of crushed aloe are added. The product must be supplemented with 100 ml of olive oil. The course of treatment takes 7-10 days. The medicine is taken 3 times a day, 1 tablespoon.

Cough treatment

Compresses made from linden honey are often used to warm the chest during colds. To soothe an irritated throat and relieve coughing attacks, you can gradually dissolve a small portion (5-7 ml) of the product in your mouth. The same effect will be obtained from a honey-garlic mixture - take 1 crushed clove per 30 ml.

At night, it is recommended to drink a natural medicine (1 tablespoon) dissolved in 250 ml of warm milk, which helps with cough.

For sore throat

Unpleasant sensations when swallowing are eliminated by rinsing with honey solutions. For 250 ml of warm water, 5 ml is enough.

Relieving inflammation is facilitated by a decoction with the addition of 250 g of dried chamomile flowers. They need to be filled with 1 glass of boiling water, put on fire and wait for them to boil. Then cool the resulting product, filter, pour in linden honey (1 tsp). The decoction is also used to gargle up to 5-6 times a day.

For sore throat

A mixture of grated unripe walnut peel with 60 g of Altai honey helps against tonsillitis. Boil the skin for 20 minutes over low heat in 1 glass of water. After cooling, mix with the honeycomb product. The product is consumed every 4 hours, 5-7 ml.

For hepatitis

To combat liver inflammation, a decoction of medicinal herbs (St. John's wort, immortelle, chamomile) with birch buds is used. You will need 15 g of all ingredients. Pour 0.5 liters of boiling water over them and cook for 1 hour. When the liquid has cooled to 40-50°C, add 10-15 ml of linden product to it. The medicine is taken on an empty stomach twice a day.

For diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract and kidneys

Problems that arise in the functioning of the digestive organs are eliminated by an infusion of dried wormwood. For gastritis, it is taken with meals so as not to irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. Take 30 g of medicinal herb per 250 ml of boiling water. When it becomes warm, add 100 g of liquid linden honey to this infusion. The container should be placed in a water bath for 10 minutes. The finished product is drunk 3 times a day in 5 ml portions.

Characteristics

Calorie content

Linden honey is a fairly high-calorie product. On average, 100 grams (» 5 tablespoons) of delicacy account for 323-327 kcal.

• 1 teaspoon – 30 calories.
• 1 tablespoon – 60 calories.

Compound

Color

In most cases, the product has a light yellow tint. It is transparent and quite thick.

However, it often happens that near linden trees there are flowering fields, where bees also fly for nectar. This mixing gives the product a light amber color. Shades of gray-green are rarely found.

Taste

A real linden delicacy tastes very sweet. Initially, when tasting, a slight bitterness may be felt, but there is no unpleasant aftertaste.

If the product consists only of linden blossom nectar, then the delicate smell of a flowering tree should be felt. If the sweetness additionally contains extracts of other plants, the aroma, as well as taste, may change slightly.

Contraindications to the use of linden honey

The characteristics of the sweet bee product allow it to be consumed at any age except infants. The baby’s digestive system is not able to absorb all the components of processed linden nectar. For the same reason, a nursing mother should refrain from using it - the active substances pass into breast milk.

Important!

It is recommended to offer natural sweets to your baby for the first time after he is 2-2.5 years old. It is better to postpone this moment for a few more months if the child has a tendency to develop rashes or redness on the skin from various foods.

You should not taste linden honey or lubricate your skin with it if you are aware of an allergy to bee products or pollen. The result can be a strong negative reaction from the body. There is a way to check for allergies: you need to apply a drop to your wrist (elbow) and wait 10-15 minutes. If skin irritation occurs, it is better to stop using it.

All types of honey are prohibited for people with diabetes, serious myocardial dysfunction, and peptic ulcers. Sweetness can cause undesirable effects for them: an increase in blood glucose levels, worsening blood clotting, and strain on the heart muscle.

The use of linden honey in cosmetology

The components of the natural medicine moisturize, protect, smooth the skin when applied to its surface, and improve the condition of the hair. Natural honey is often found in cosmetics for rejuvenation and eliminating age spots. You can use it to make warming wraps.

When milk and lemon juice are added, a honey composition is obtained to soften rough skin on the elbows and feet. Masks are applied to the face, neck, hair, rub the body with balms and scrubs, and heal inflamed areas with ointments.

Linden honey for beautiful hair

Regularly washing your hair with shampoo with bee products and beaten egg helps strengthen it, give it shine and softness.

A mask applied to the hair every 3 days can lighten it by 1-2 tones. It contains, in addition to 60 g of linden honey, 10 drops of cognac and 2 chicken egg yolks. The mass is thoroughly mixed, heating if necessary, and then distributed throughout the hair from roots to ends. After half an hour, you need to wash your hair.

Linden honey for facial skin

A moisturizing, rejuvenating product with the addition of milk can smooth out shallow wrinkles. To prepare it, take 30 g of honey from linden nectar, 5 g of warm milk and 2-3 drops of onion juice. After applying to the skin of the face, the mixture is washed off with cool water after 20 minutes.

Using 2-3 drops of lemon juice and castor oil as additives, you can get a cleansing honey mask to improve skin tone. It will also help cope with small wounds and acne.

Linden honey for weight loss

A diet aimed at getting rid of excess weight usually involves giving up sweets and other high-calorie foods.

High-quality honey, for example, produced in Altai, is combined with all programs for burning excess weight, if you follow the recommendations:

1. Eat a small portion of the product in the morning.
2. Drink enough clean drinking water.
3. Be sure to eat food with plant fibers.

Thanks to enzymes that accelerate metabolism and lower caloric content compared to sugar, linden honey does not interfere with weight loss. When on a carbohydrate diet, it is also permissible to include it in the diet in small quantities.

How to choose linden honey

The many varieties of product produced by bees differ in color, aroma, and consistency. In the absence of additives, the sweet mass is pale golden and fragrant. If the bribes from the trees were not constant, the result is flower-linden honey. Its color has a cream or greenish tint.

Important!

Small pollen impurities are acceptable in the unrefined product. But there shouldn’t be any foam - it appears during the fermentation process.

If you see a liquid, sediment-free product from linden nectar 2.5-3 months after the end of honey collection, you should not buy it. It was either recently reheated or fake and watered down. Flowing - only fresh honey.

You can ask how much the product costs. If it is of high quality, it will not be too cheap.

Magic linden

A rare tree whose flowers contain sweet and healing nectar. The bees carefully collect it, place it in honeycombs, where the linden honey ripens, and then is covered with wax. Experienced beekeepers believe that it is practically impossible to produce pure linden honey, since bees take nectar from more than one specific plant. If you move the hive to a forest with linden trees, then the possibility of obtaining a true monofloral product increases. The yellow-white flowers of the tree are so fragrant and attractive that they attract not only bees, but also people, so connoisseurs get no less pleasure after tasting the sweetness obtained from this plant. In addition, linden contains salicylic acid, which relieves inflammation well.

How to distinguish natural linden honey from fake

It is advisable to buy bee products from recommended or familiar sellers and request a quality certificate. Then there will be no doubt about compliance with the conditions for collecting nectar and storing sweets after pumping them out of the hive.

You should carefully inspect the product before purchasing. In some cases, you can distinguish real honey from fake honey by its appearance. A more serious analysis involves launching chemical reactions that reveal the addition of foreign components. Finally, you can transfer the purchased sweets to the laboratory and find out what it consists of.

By appearance

When examining honey, you should be wary of a too rich yellow color, especially when it crystallizes, brown spots, a strong or weak odor, unlike linden. When exposed to light, you can detect particles of debris, different sizes and shapes of sugar grains, and the absence of sediment, if normally it should have already formed. These are signs of unnaturalness.

Important!

Real Altai linden honey and its other types leave a sweet taste in the mouth and a slight soreness in the throat.

Counterfeits often lack astringency and have an unnatural consistency (watery or rock-hard). There is a way to distinguish fake honey from fake honey using a round wooden spoon. A fresh, high-quality product envelops it in a thin layer and flows down in a continuous stream.

Using improvised means

The presence of basic additives that are mixed to give honey the required appearance, taste, and consistency can be determined both at home and through laboratory chemical analysis.

Natural sweetness completely dissolves in water, almost does not change its color and transparency, and does not foam. Cloudiness and the smell of hot caramel when heated to 40-50°C indicate the addition of sugar or molasses.

Important!

Chalk crumbs can be detected at home using vinegar - honey with such an additive hisses and bubbles. The presence of starch is checked with a drop of iodine. If this place does not turn blue, then the grains are natural.

It is recommended to test liquid honey for its naturalness by dipping a piece of meat into it. Under the influence of natural preservatives, food will remain fresh for up to 4 days. Otherwise, the bee product is fake.

Kinds

Linden honey is divided into types depending on the area in which it was collected. The most famous are the Far Eastern and Bashkir species, since in these places linden is found much more often than in Russia. The Bashkir variety is useful for older people, as it cleans blood vessels well, reducing cholesterol levels. The product in such places is considered environmentally friendly. Far Eastern is considered the most valuable of all other varieties, as it is obtained in the mountains, where there is the cleanest air and no dust or dirt. The mountain variety is slightly different in color, it has a dark reddish tint.

The crystallized white product can also be called a subspecies, but the sweetness with royal jelly, which is intended for feeding insect larvae, is a separate variety. It also effectively removes toxins, tones cells and strengthens the body's defense system, therefore it is especially recommended for children and young women.

Linden or flower honey

It is believed that insects collect nectar of lower quality from herbaceous plants than from trees. It usually contains more impurities. There is a possibility of obtaining some nectar from crops treated for parasites. Therefore, the question of which honey is better - linden or flower - can definitely be answered: the first. Especially if it was brought from a forest or mountain apiary.