Sunflower honey is the most common and affordable healthy product. On the market, it is not valued too highly due to strong competition between sellers, but this does not reduce the beneficial properties of the product. The main thing that characterizes sunflower honey is fast crystallization. But this is not considered a serious drawback of the product, because its beneficial properties are not lost from this. The variety is not very sticky, if it is not a fake, honey acquires light tones over time, thickens. Below are the description and useful properties of the product.

Colour

The honey collected by the bees on a sunflower and pumped out by the beekeeper is light. When it settles, the crystallization process starts, the color darkens, becomes a mustard hue. On frozen honey, a thin white glucose layer is always formed.

Scent

Honey collected from sunflower fields does not have a particularly pronounced aroma. A keg with such honey can smell like notes of hay and raw pollen, sometimes the smell is even more like fried potatoes. After the honey is infused and crystals begin to form, the smell will be less felt.

Honey of this variety is rich in glucose, otherwise it is the same as other types of bee processed products.

 

Sunflower honey is the most common and readily available variety.

The nutritional value

It is estimated that in 100 grams of honey, 320 kcal is a lot. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat a large amount of sunflower honey at once. The daily rate must be calculated based on the person's body weight. On average, the acceptable daily range is 55-95 g.

Natural sunflower honey contains:

  • carbohydrates - 79%;
  • water - 17%;
  • proteins and vitamins - 3%;
  • minerals - 1%.

Minerals and vitamins

Sunflower nectar combines many vitamin and mineral components - scientists have counted almost 300 of them. At the same time, the body is able to assimilate them with ease. These useful components of the bee processing product have a positive effect on the human body. This type of honey contains the following bioactive substances:

  • vitamin complex C, H, K, beta-carotene;
  • proteins, amino acids;
  • minerals.

The honey also contains a small dose of choline, betaine, and solanic acid. It also contains organic acids. Sunflower honey also contains 27 amino acids that are essential for the normal functioning of the body.

 

Sunflower nectar combines many vitamins and minerals

Benefit

What are the benefits of using honey? Its constant use can strengthen the immune system, improve overall well-being. The list of useful properties includes the following:

  • Restoration of the liver and digestive system.
  • Strengthening the immune system, fighting colds and flu.
  • Preventive use for medical purposes prevents arthritis and arthrosis from developing.
  • An effective remedy for the treatment of genitourinary diseases.
  • A cardiologist may recommend honey for the prevention and treatment of heart disease.

Sunflower honey, about the medicinal properties of which not everyone knows, helps in the complex therapy of many diseases. A significant amount of glucose in a product such as honey from sunflower flowers makes it possible to put it in a number of remedies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

 

Honey strengthening immunity, fighting colds and flu

Sunflower honey is a good cleanser that can remove toxins from the body.

Important! Regular consumption of sunflower honey lowers cholesterol levels.

A positive effect was also established in the treatment of the digestive system, thanks to honey, cells regenerate faster. Thus, sunflower honey is an effective remedy in the treatment of gastritis, ulcers and colitis. This product can be used as a diuretic, it is also used in complex therapy for kidney disease.

Contraindications

Together with the beneficial qualities, sunflower honey hides several negative ones. For example, pollen can cause allergies in people. This means that honey collected from a sunflower field can harm the body of allergy sufferers. In controversial cases, you need to apply a drop of honey on your wrist, if an allergic reaction appears in the form of redness or itching, you should not use nectar.

It is not recommended to eat honey during pregnancy and lactation. A sweet product can cause diathesis. Glucose and sucrose in the composition are dangerous for some people, mainly for people with diabetes and those who are actively fighting obesity.

Sunflower honey for wintering bees

Omshanik will help bee families to endure severe winters, which the beekeeper must take care of. This is a basement room where hives are placed for the winter.

 

During the cold weather, bees need not only a warm place, but also food.

During the cold weather, bees need not only a warm place, but also food - this is the only way they can survive until the arrival of spring. In most cases, they are left with sugar syrup, candy and honey products.

The overwhelming majority of beekeepers do not accept the wintering of bees on natural sunflower honey due to the fact that it quickly becomes sugar-coated, and the bees may develop diseases of the digestive system. Hardworking insects do not need such honey, they change it to sweet sugar syrup - it is quickly absorbed by small organisms in the winter cold.

And yet there are beekeepers who are inclined to leave a little sunflower honey to the laborers for the winter. The outcome of wintering will be successful only if the frosts are not too strong, and the air is sufficiently humid. Under such conditions, crystallization will proceed slowly, which means that its final stage will come late. Thus, insects will not overtake problems with the digestive system.

Advice! Professionals advise feeding bees with a different type of honey that is slower to sugar and more nutritious in winter.

When deciding on the variety that will be left to feed the bees in the winter, you need to remember the fact that sunflower honey has a very high level of vitamins, minerals and nutrients in its composition. And all these components are simply irreplaceable for the stability of the state of bees in winter.

Experienced beekeepers often mix sunflower honey with water and sugar syrup. This is how it is possible to keep unwanted crystallization to a minimum. The bees will consume light types of sugar at first. But when spring comes, it will be impossible for insects to find traces of artificial feeding on the surface of the combs. This is a guarantee of the quality of the product without sugar.

Selection and storage of honey

Sunflower honey can be from mustard to amber.

When buying honey, you must first of all pay attention to the following factors:

  • Price. Sometimes honey is sold for much cheaper than competitors. And this is a reason to be wary - it is possible that the composition contains sucrose, sand, chalk, starch or molasses. Sugar syrup is often used as a feed for bees, as a result, they process it and give out a mass similar to natural honey.
  • Colour. Sunflower honey can be mustard to amber in color. Refined sugar has an unnatural light tone, while dark shades can indicate the melting of old honey, it certainly will not bring benefit to a person.
  • Taste.The real result of bee labor dissolves in the mouth without any crystals, after swallowing it slightly stings in the throat.
  • Structure. They stick a toothpick into the honey, raise it: if it's real, it will stretch with a thread. When it is interrupted, it will go down, turning into a small elevation, which quickly diverges along the surface.

In the autumn-winter period, honey is always sugared faster, but in the warmth it a priori cannot become solid. That is why the healing and nutritional properties are preserved. It is necessary to maintain one specific temperature throughout the winter - this will preserve honey production.

Sunflower pollen honey has a pleasant taste, aroma, shade, is easily absorbed by the human body. Knowing all its useful qualities, as well as how to choose and save a product, you can not only enjoy nectar, but also strengthen the body.