Nature provides humans with many beneficial plants that help maintain health. Among them there are species used by insects for the production of melilot honey, which eliminates some diseases. In ancient times, it was also called bottom honey, although today this name is already considered erroneous.

General characteristics of the plant

Melilot belongs to the legume family. It is a perennial herb that grows in wastelands and meadows. Traditional medicine uses this plant as an expectorant, wound healing, pain or cramps relieving remedy.

The description of the herb is as follows:

  • The height of the stem reaches 2 m. It has several branches. The roots of the sweet clover are of the rod type.
  • Each sheet consists of 3 parts. Near the petiole, 2 stipules develop, which are distinguishable in shape and size from a secondary formation sitting on a longer branch.
  • The flowers are colored white or yellow, and their length ranges from 20 to 70 mm. Framed with narrow tassels.
  • The beans are inserted into the cups. The fruits are small.

The plant is widespread almost all over the globe, but Eurasia is considered its homeland. It is very fond of bees, which then produce melilot honey. Melilot is famous for its unique medicinal properties, which are completely and completely adopted by the honey obtained thanks to it.

Melilot honey

Composition of the product

Red honey

Melilot honey consists of carbohydrates (80 g per 100 g of the preparation) and proteins (0.7-0.9 g per 100 g). There are practically no fats in it. The composition also includes the following components:

  • vitamins of groups B, E and C;
  • flavonoids;
  • some organic acids;
  • tannins;
  • dicumarol and gums;
  • various glycosides;
  • essential oils;
  • coumarin.

The calorie content of the product ranges from 306 to 310 kcal.

Properties of honey

Which honey is better, lime or flower

People are often interested in honey from sweet clover - what kind of medicinal preparation it is, how it is used. You can use it in pure form or by adding the product to food. This product has a vanilla scent. It is white or yellowish in color and crystallizes quickly (in 1 month), so it can be purchased in liquid form only from a beekeeper in an apiary.

In medicine, this honey is used due to the following properties:

  • It calms the nervous system. Most often, the product helps with insomnia, headache or neurosis. An adult patient is given 1-2 tbsp. spoons per day, and children under 10 years old - 1 tsp.
  • For bronchitis and colds, healing melilot honey is used as an expectorant. The patient is given 1 tbsp. a spoonful of medicine per day.
  • To relieve inflammation on the skin, the product is used externally. For 20-30 days, a bandage soaked in melilot honey is applied to the affected area. It is better to do this under the supervision of a doctor.
  • The agent can dilate blood vessels. It is used for varicose veins and high blood pressure.
  • The product improves immunity. For this, adults are given 20-25 g, and children 10-15 g per day.
  • Sweet clover honey helps women during lactation. Doctors recommend that they eat 1 teaspoon every day after meals.
  • At the initial stage of an ulcer or gastritis, as well as during intestinal atony, the remedy allows you to eliminate the symptoms of the disease.

For treatment, you can use both white honey (sweet clover means it was with white inflorescences), and its yellow counterpart.The only difference between these species is that the bees collect nectar from 2 different types of the same plant. What type of medicine to use, the patient will find out at a consultation with a doctor.

Determination of the authenticity of melilot honey

Often, buyers confuse a medicinal product with the same type of rapeseed product. To distinguish between these two honeys, it is enough to smell them or eat 1 teaspoon. Melilot has a vanilla aroma, but rapeseed does not. When tasted, the first food has a normal sweetness, while the second is so sweet that most people cannot eat it without dilution.

What bees collect honey from

Linden honey

There is another way to detect a fake: two test samples are diluted in water. Melilot honey quickly dissolves in liquid, and the rapeseed analog remains the same for a long time.

There is another method to distinguish these 2 types of product from each other. You just need to leave the honey at room temperature for 1 day. The natural remedy will hardly change its consistency, the fake drug will begin to ferment.

Important! Buyers need to know that real sweet clover honey cannot be found in a supermarket or bazaar, it is sold only in apiaries.

Counterfeit medicinal products can also be found at specialized fairs organized by honey producers. To recognize them, you need to take a close look at the appearance of the product.

This product must have:

  • white or amber surface;
  • faint vanilla smell;
  • medium sweetness;
  • fine-grained structure.

If a person cannot recognize honey by the indicated signs, then after the purchase the authenticity of the product will appear in a month - after sugaring it will turn white or look like a colorless mass.

Benefit and harm

Positive properties are shown in the treatment of certain diseases of the stomach and other organs. The medicinal properties of melilot honey are as follows:

  • increased immunity;
  • elimination of soreness with intestinal lesions;
  • calming effect;
  • the ability to heal wounds;
  • decrease in pressure in the arteries;
  • relief of the patient's condition with colds.

Collecting nectar for honey

Product harm:

  • if the amount of honey consumed by a person differs from that indicated in the recipe upwards, then allergic manifestations are possible;
  • when using the product as a food additive, it is necessary to accurately determine its amount, otherwise, an increase in urine excretion is possible.

Important!It is recommended to cut back on tea, coffee, tonic and energy drinks while drinking sweet clover honey.

Contraindications and restrictions

When using an agent for treatment, it is necessary to take into account its characteristics, which make it possible to obtain a healing effect. At the same time, it is important not to forget that, like any drug, sweet clover honey has its own contraindications and limitations:

  • its use is prohibited by those who are allergic to beans;
  • cannot be treated with a remedy for patients with indigestion;
  • it is forbidden to use the drug with dairy products due to the onset of symptoms of flatulence;
  • the use of honey is completely excluded for diabetes, obesity or serious disorders of the stomach and intestines.

Important!Treatment with the product is limited to children under 1 year old and women during pregnancy.

Dosage

Doctors have established the maximum intake of sweet clover honey throughout the day for an adult. It is equal to 100 g. With a larger amount, indigestion begins.

Typical daily doses for different age groups are as follows:

  • children from 1 to 3 years old are given 0.5 tsp;
  • for children from 3 to 12 years old, the doctor can prescribe 1-2 tsp;
  • adolescents over 12 years old and adult patients are recommended to take 1-2 tbsp. spoon.

Note! Elderly people have a norm - Art. spoon in 24 hours, and this dose helps to slow down the aging process, improves memory, stimulates the correct functioning of various organs.

For patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus, sweet clover honey can be used only as directed by a doctor. Dose - no more than 1 teaspoon per day.

Use honey in its natural form or dilute in water. For hypertensive patients, doctors recommend its constant use in a dosage of 0.5-1 tbsp. spoons per day. This helps keep blood pressure within the normal range.

To combat skin rashes (boils, pimples, etc.), cosmetologists use the product in face masks and as wraps. During the procedures, medicinal mixtures are used, in which 2 tbsp. tablespoons of honey are dissolved in 1 liter of warm water.

Thus, the product is indispensable both as a sweet treat and as a medicine. However, in the second case, any use of sweet clover honey must be coordinated with the attending physician.