Fireweed white honey: beneficial properties, uses and contraindications

Fireweed honey: beneficial properties

The source of fireweed honey is the medicinal plant - fireweed, which is better known among the people as fireweed grass or fireweed tea. This plant grows along highways and on motherworts, attracting bees with its aroma. It is not surprising that honey extracted from a medicinal plant has healing properties.

Fireweed honey contains:

• B vitamins
• Vitamin E, P and PP
• It contains 2-3 times more vitamin C than citrus fruits
• Tannins,
• Copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, titanium, molybdenum and other micro- and macroelements
• Organic acids (acetic, citric, oxalic and others)
• Flavonoids, pectin, alkaloids

What are the benefits of fireweed honey? Thanks to such a rich composition, honey collected from fireweed has the following healing properties:

• Thanks to ascorbic acid, it helps fight influenza and ARVI viruses
• Iron, vitamins C and B improve hematopoiesis
• Vitamins P and C reduce capillary fragility
• Alkaloids in the composition give honey a sedative effect
• Tannins, mucus and pectins in honey have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and also promote the healing of ulcers
• The combination of organic acids with flavonoids manifests itself in the form of choleretic properties
• Magnesium, mucus and alkaloids act as an analgesic

In addition, fireweed honey can be used in cosmetology:

• The antiseptic properties of honey help speed up the healing of boils, abscesses and other skin problems.
• Flavonoids, vitamin C, organic acids and other substances that stimulate collagen synthesis help maintain skin elasticity, and therefore slow down its aging.

Of course, the effect of fireweed honey is only cosmetic; the cause of dermatological manifestations is still worth fighting.

The benefits of fireweed honey

Ivan tea honey has a wide range of applications. Here are just a few of them:

• for influenza or ARVI, fireweed honey will help relieve symptoms of the disease, improve the condition of the throat and general well-being;
• with follicular sore throat;
• in the treatment of long-term non-healing wounds;
• for people who are under the yoke of worries and stress, it will return a peaceful state of mind and serenity, and make them sleep soundly;
• with increased acidity of the stomach, gastrointestinal ulcers, it acts as an enveloping and anti-inflammatory agent;
• recommended for use for constipation and chronic pathologies of internal organs;
• stimulates the process of hematopoiesis, useful for anemia;
• reduces headaches;
• used as an anticonvulsant;
• for men, it improves symptoms of prostate adenoma and other diseases of this organ;
• for hypertensive patients normalizes blood pressure;
• stimulates the formation of epithelium;
• useful for nursing mothers and their children.

Fireweed honey can be consumed in a mixture with fish oil or other beneficial ingredients. The therapeutic and prophylactic effect of this only increases.

Fireweed honey is good for facial skin

Beneficial properties of fireweed honey for women

The product is successfully used in home cosmetology. Many skin problems can be corrected with fireweed honey. Ointments and face masks are prepared on its basis. To improve the condition of the skin, use the product in its pure form, diluted with fat sour cream and egg yolk. A product based on fireweed honey is good for removing acne from the face and dermatitis.

After applying a fireweed-honey mask, the skin of the face becomes firm, elastic, silky, and even in color. During bath procedures, the bee product can be smeared on the entire body and then washed off. Fireweed honey exhibits antiseptic properties, heals small wounds and microcracks, cleanses and tightens pores. In the cosmetic industry, this bee product is added to creams, ointments, balms and scrubs.

Beneficial properties of fireweed honey for men

There is a common misconception that fireweed honey helps men restore lost potency. Rather, the point is that the product has a general strengthening effect on the body, due to which some functions are restored. But fireweed honey in no case has a deliberate effect on the male reproductive system.

It is incorrect to consider fireweed honey as a medicine. Rather, it serves as an additional way to strengthen the body. It achieves the greatest effectiveness as part of complex therapy. Helps the body survive drug therapy, neutralizing its side effects.

Fireweed honey: contraindications

Although the taste of fireweed honey will definitely appeal to those with a sweet tooth, its consumption should be limited. This product should not be perceived as sweetness - it is first and foremost a medicine. When consuming such honey, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of allergic reactions, so those who are allergic to bee products should use it with caution.

It is advisable for people with hypotension not to get carried away with consuming this delicacy due to the vasodilating properties of honey (which leads to a decrease in blood pressure). Honey contains large amounts of sucrose and glucose. Therefore, diabetics should limit their consumption.

At the same time, fireweed honey in small doses is even recommended for consumption, moreover, it is even indicated for pregnant women.

What does fireweed honey look like?

Such a useful product, according to the law of the genre, has a very unpresentable appearance. It differs from ordinary honey in its more liquid consistency, similar in density to liquid sour cream. Fresh fireweed honey is similar in color to regular honey, but has a slightly greenish tint (and the larger the container, the brighter the green color appears). During crystallization, honey brightens and becomes similar to butter whipped with sugar.

The fresh product has a very subtle aroma, reminiscent of fireweed. But this smell is not as strong as the smells of other types of honey.

Characteristic of fireweed honey is rapid crystallization. Don’t be surprised if, soon after purchasing, the honey turns into a thick mass with white “snowflakes” - this does not indicate low quality of the product or fraud on the part of the seller - fireweed honey is supposed to look like that.

The combination of this appearance and aroma scares off the buyer, but do not worry - all the characteristics of honey described above indicate its authenticity and naturalness.

Features of the variety

This product has an unusual white color. This is quite unusual for honey, but the unusual shade does not affect its functions in any way. At the very beginning it has a light green color and only after a few months it becomes rich white. In this regard, buyers are very wary of this variety and are afraid to buy it, even knowing what benefits it can bring.

The beneficial properties of white fireweed honey are due to the presence of vitamins B, C, glucose, fructose and other substances.

The taste of the fireweed variety is quite unusual: soft and delicate. Sometimes it is called delicate. You can safely add this honey to tea or baked goods. The aftertaste has a slightly bitter undertone and a very sweet floral aroma. It is thanks to the unique smell that this variety is difficult to confuse with any other.

How is fireweed honey made?

Fireweed honey is obtained in exactly the same way as all other types of honey. Unless the bees collect nectar precisely from the edges where fireweed grows.

All summer long, bees fill the honeycombs with their product, flying hundreds of kilometers over and over again. As honey plants (those plant species whose nectar is collected by bees) fade, beekeepers begin to pump out honey. The very first - May - honey is obtained at the end of May and June. The beginning of honey collection depends on the climatic conditions of the region.

Fireweed usually blooms from late June to late July, approximately 4-5 weeks. Therefore, the collection of honey from fireweed begins in late July and early August.

The process of pumping out honey has its own specifics depending on the equipment, but the general principle is the same:

• Bees are neutralized;
• Frames with full honeycombs are removed from the hive;
• Already in a special room, the wax that seals the honeycomb is cut off;
• The frames are inserted into a pumping device, which operates on the principle of a centrifuge;
• At the bottom of the pumping device, honey remains, which is drained into containers for transportation or storage, having first been filtered to remove all excess.

Beekeepers often add royal jelly to purified honey to enhance its beneficial properties.

When does fireweed honey set?

Fireweed honey sets very quickly; by the end of November, all the honey in the container should already be a uniform white color. Otherwise, if the honey does not acquire the required characteristics, there is a high probability that the honey you purchased was fake.

Sometimes in a thick honey mass you can find lumps of honey - in this case there is no need to worry about the honey being fake, because this phenomenon is also typical for fireweed honey. After thickening, honey can turn into a kind of “snowflakes”, which also indicates the authenticity of the product.

Storage rules

Under what conditions is it better to store valuable honey so that it does not lose its properties? Some people keep the product in the refrigerator, but they make a mistake because at low temperatures it acquires a very dense, thick consistency.

Due to its strong bactericidal properties, honey can be stored for a very long time, at least ten years. Science knows of cases where during excavations a bee product was discovered that, according to the most conservative estimates, was at least 100 years old. It was stored in jars with the holes sealed with wax. The discovered product was perfectly preserved and ready for use.

It is best to keep it in glass jars with a tightly sealed lid to limit air access. The dishes must first be sterilized. Bee product attracts moisture and absorbs odors from the environment. Therefore, it is better to store it in a dry place. A product that has absorbed moisture quickly deteriorates and turns sour, since its bactericidal properties are lost.

The room in which the honey is located should be cool, with good ventilation. You should not store foods with a strong smell nearby, for example, herring, sauerkraut, garlic, as well as paints and gasoline. The bee product is instantly saturated with foreign aromas. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to sit down to even a spoonful of the sweet delicacy soaked in the smell of garlic or herring.

The temperature should be low and constantly stay at the same level of 5 - 10. Both high and low temperatures are undesirable for bee products, at which they can lose their valuable qualities. But it is better to deviate towards negative temperatures, as it loses its properties starting from -35 degrees and below. At room temperature, bee products can be stored for no more than six months.

Fireweed honey crystallizes quickly (for 2 months), but its beneficial properties are preserved.

If you put the product in the freezer, it will retain its sweetness and taste, but will lose its beneficial properties.

Important! In no case should you heat honey, do not add hot liquids to it (over 40 degrees Celsius). At high temperatures, honey produces a carcinogen and loses all its beneficial properties.

Honey retains its beneficial properties for 1 year; it can be stored as a sweet for no more than a year and a half. At room temperature, shelf life is reduced to 6 months.

For long-term storage, containers made of glass are suitable; for shorter periods, containers made of plastic or metal are suitable.

Fireweed honey is a unique product that is endowed with many beneficial properties. The main thing is to choose a high-quality natural product and follow all the recommendations written in this article. Then the product will become a real find.

How to distinguish real honey from fireweed?

Before purchasing a healing jar of fireweed honey, you need to know the signs that distinguish real honey from fake:

• Firstly, consistency. Real fresh honey stretches behind a spoon, and this stream of honey delicacy will be approximately the same thickness throughout its entire length.
• Secondly, the smell. Natural honey does not have a very strong smell. At least it doesn't irritate the nose as much as an artificial fragrance.
• Thirdly, color. Each type of honey has its own color. And it should be uniform and homogeneous.
• Next is the taste. If you can try it before buying, keep the honey on your tongue longer. As soon as you start to feel warmth or burning, you can calm down - this is real honey. It will leave a bitter taste in your throat - even better. It's all about the enzymes contained in this beekeeping product. They tend to affect the mucous membrane with a kind of tingling sensation.
• Honey weight - a regular liter jar of honey weighs approximately 1.4 kg.

Often in late spring and early June you can find sellers offering early fireweed honey. Unfortunately, this honey is fake. The fact is that if you heat up old honey, it darkens and becomes thinner. But such a product can no longer be called honey, because when heated it loses all its properties.

How to distinguish honey from Ivan tea from the rest:

• Let us recall the dependence of the color and state of aggregation of honey on the time of year. At the end of summer and beginning of autumn, fireweed honey can still be liquid, but by the end of September it begins to gradually thicken. In winter and spring it must already be white.
• Fresh honey should have a light aroma of fireweed and a greenish color.

Many unscrupulous beekeepers, in order to increase the volume of goods, dilute honey with caramel molasses. It is difficult to distinguish it from the real thing by sight and color. Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Place a drop of honey on a piece of toilet paper. If there is molasses in it, then after a few minutes it will begin to saturate the paper, and a liquid stain will appear on the back side.
• Drop some honey into a glass and add iodine. Honey has turned blue - there are starch impurities. This means that the honey is not entirely real.
• Sometimes chalk is added to honey. To identify it, you need a drop of vinegar, which will extinguish the chalk, like soda.
• You can dilute honey with distilled water in a 1:1 ratio and leave it for some time. If a precipitate has formed - it could be chalk, starch, flour - then you have falsification.

There is also such a thing as honey maturity. This is the consistency of the honey after it has been pumped out - fireweed honey must be viscous enough to be considered ready for consumption.

To check maturity there is a fairly simple test:

• Use a knife (stick or flat spoon handle) to scoop out some honey
• It should not immediately flow down, but rather linger a little on a flat surface
• Twist the knife. A stream of mature honey will curl around the blade rather than fall down
• A slide should form on the surface
• The last drop of falling honey should spring upward, as it were.

The viscosity of honey is an indicator of its quality. Let us briefly explain what this means. Bees collect nectar and transport it to the hive. There it is processed and sealed with wax when ready. This honey is thick and does not flow out of the honeycomb easily. Unscrupulous beekeepers, in pursuit of profit, pump out the spray - honey not sealed with wax. This honey has a higher moisture content than ready-made honey (no more than 21%). The spray can ferment and deteriorate, because it cannot be stored for a long time.

Napyrsk is characterized by:

• liquid consistency
• foam
• small bubbles
• slightly noticeable smell of vinegar

How to take honey with royal jelly

Royal jelly is used for medicinal purposes for oral administration, compresses and rinses. The first method is the most common, since in this case honey with royal jelly has the maximum positive effect.

The general dosage regimens are as follows:

1. For prevention. Royal jelly is taken in the amount of a small spoon once a day in the morning or lunchtime. The product activates the immune system and helps protect against colds and infectious diseases.
2. For treatment. Royal jelly is consumed in the same volume, but four times a day, with or shortly before meals. The course must be continued for a month.

In both cases, it is recommended not to swallow royal honey immediately, but to slowly dissolve it in the mouth.

Honey and royal jelly for cardiovascular diseases

Royal jelly has a beneficial effect on the myocardium, helps equalize blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attack. It is recommended to use it for cardiovascular diseases three times a day in a standard dosage - a small spoon. Take the medicine before meals, and the treatment is continued for a month.

Honey with royal jelly for sore throat

The healing remedy helps to cope with inflammation in the throat and eliminates pain. For treatment, it is recommended to stir a small spoon of royal jelly in a glass of warm water and drink in small sips. After such a procedure, it is useful to inhale propolis to enhance the effect of royal jelly.

For a sore throat, an aqueous solution of royal jelly is easier to swallow than a thick product

Honey and royal jelly for gynecological inflammations

Royal jelly has pronounced anti-inflammatory properties and also normalizes hormonal levels. It is recommended to take it for diseases of the reproductive system, menstrual cycle disorders and the onset of menopause.

The dosage of royal jelly with honey remains standard - one small spoon. You need to use the product once a day, every morning.

Royal jelly for cough

The benefits of honey with royal jelly are manifested in case of colds and bronchitis when taken orally; the product is taken in a small spoon up to four times a day. Treatment should be continued until symptoms subside.

In addition, it is useful to make warm compresses. Royal jelly is mixed with propolis in equal proportions and slightly melted in a water bath. The semi-liquid mass is applied to the chest, covered with film, and wrapped with a warm scarf on top. You need to keep the compress for 4-5 hours.

Honey and royal jelly for immunity

The following medicine has a good strengthening and tonic effect:

• stir a large spoonful of royal jelly in a glass of lukewarm water;
• add a small spoon of apple cider vinegar;
• beat the mixture until the ingredients are completely dissolved in the liquid.

You need to take the drink once a day on an empty stomach. The product has a pleasant refreshing taste, has an invigorating effect and improves the body's natural defenses.

Compress with royal honey for lactostasis

During breastfeeding, the following folk remedy helps with lactostasis:

• make several cuts on a fresh white cabbage leaf;
• spread a thick layer of honey and royal jelly on top;
• Apply the cabbage to the problem area of ​​the chest and wrap it with cling film on top.

The compress should be covered with a woolen scarf or handkerchief and left for an hour. Treatment is carried out until significant improvements appear.

When applying a compress, valuable substances in royal honey penetrate the skin

Royal honey for toxicosis

If a pregnant woman is not allergic to bee products, then the following remedy will help get rid of nausea in the early stages:

• 5 g of royal honey are diluted in a glass of cool water;
• Stir thoroughly until completely dissolved.

You need to drink honey medicine three times a day on an empty stomach; the therapy is continued for ten days in total. If nausea occurs in the second trimester, you can simply consume half a small spoon of the product before meals for a month.

White fireweed honey: photo

In order for you to be able to determine whether the fireweed honey in front of you is real, you need to know its appearance well. We offer a selection of photos that will reveal its visual characteristics: