What is pumpkin honey: medicinal properties and contraindications, methods for preparing a miracle cure
In folk medicine, there are many recipes for potent remedies that help no worse than pharmaceutical ones. One of them is pumpkin honey.
It is useful in the treatment and prevention of many diseases, saturates the body with vitamins and minerals. It has few contraindications, but its beneficial properties are varied and numerous. In this article we will get acquainted in detail with the properties of pumpkin honey, and also tell you how it can be prepared.
What is real pumpkin honey?
It is a natural product collected and processed by bees. It contains many substances beneficial to the human body. Some even equate treats with medicines.
Why is he so rare
This honey collected by bees is top-notch, because it is rare. As a honey plant, pumpkin is not very popular among beekeepers. Its productivity is low - only up to 30 kg of honey per hectare.
But the beneficial properties of the resulting product justify all the hassle, so some beekeepers still take their hives to pumpkin fields.
How to distinguish from others
Due to its rarity, pumpkin honey is not cheap. That’s why other species are often passed off as it – for example, sunflower. We advise you to buy products from trusted beekeepers. If you buy honey from an unfamiliar seller, you need to know how to choose it.
Taste and smell
The main distinguishing feature of a natural product – an aroma with a slight pumpkin tint and a taste that leaves a subtle pumpkin or melon aftertaste. Honey itself is sweet, without a hint of bitterness. Color – golden-orange, rich.
Read also about the beneficial properties of other vegetables:
How to use black beans in cooking, cosmetology and folk medicine
Making pumpkin honey at home
An excellent alternative to bee-collected honey is homemade honey.. It will retain most of the beneficial qualities inherent in its natural counterpart, but will be much cheaper.
The foundation is important
The key to good pumpkin honey is a quality base. The pumpkin in which the syrup will be infused must be well-ripened.
To determine the degree of maturity, you need:
- Tap the fruit - if the sound is dull, it is ripe.
- The stalk must be completely dry.
- When you press the skin of a ripe pumpkin with your fingernail, you will not notice any marks.
- The pattern on the skin of a ripe pumpkin is well defined.
Besides, pay attention to the longitudinal stripes of the pumpkin. Winding and broken stripes may indicate the presence of nitrates. It is also important that the fruit is without the slightest rot, dents or damage.
Sugar based
Making nectar is easy - it is enough to follow some rules.
Preparation
Take a medium-sized pumpkin (preferably with a tail) and 1-1.5 kg of sugar, depending on the size of the vegetable. Wash the pumpkin, dry it, cut off the top along with the tail to form a “lid”. We completely clean the fruit from fibers and seeds.
Preparation
Fill the prepared pumpkin with sugar to the top, close tightly with a “lid”, cover with a cotton towel or cloth.We place the improvised keg in a container of suitable size for 7-10 days, until the sugar dissolves. The resulting syrup is pumpkin honey.
Note! To prevent the pumpkin from becoming moldy, the room should be well ventilated and the temperature in it should not be too high.
Based on honey
The recipe for a healthy treat is no different from the recipe with sugar.. The only difference is that granulated sugar is replaced with honey. Obviously, the second recipe is much healthier.
How to store
The resulting pumpkin honey is poured into sterile jars. It can be stored in the refrigerator for about a month. You can significantly increase the shelf life of the product.
To do this, the resulting syrup is heated to 80 degrees or boiled until thick. But high temperatures kill some of the beneficial substances, and the therapeutic effect decreases.
What's good
Honey-pumpkin syrup is a healing product, but Is it always suitable for everyone? Let's try to figure it out.
Harm and benefit
Note that nectar has both medicinal properties and contraindications for use.
Honey should not be consumed if you have:
- diseases associated with low stomach acidity (causes a decrease in acidity);
- large stones in the gall bladder and kidneys - honey has a bile- and diuretic effect, which can cause the movement of stones and blockage of the excretory ducts;
- excess weight - the high calorie content of the product can increase it even more;
- allergy;
- diabetes - pumpkin honey has a high glucose content;
- heart disease - changes in the salt balance in the blood are possible.
Composition of pumpkin honey
Nectar prepared in pumpkin absorbs all its beneficial properties. It contains fiber, pectins, enzymes, and vegetable proteins.It also contains vitamins B, E, C, PP, provitamin A, and small amounts of T and D.
Pumpkin honey contains a high content of such important substances as copper, cobalt, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, potassium, iron.
It will be interesting:
Medicinal properties
Pumpkin honey is used not only in folk medicine. It is also recommended by doctors for a number of diseases.
He helps:
- eliminate chronic constipation;
- get rid of “bad” cholesterol;
- increase hemoglobin in the blood;
- normalize blood pressure;
- regenerate liver tissue;
- adjust the functioning of the intestines and the digestive system as a whole;
- outflow of bile during cholecystitis and bending of the gallbladder;
- eliminate swelling;
- for small stones in the kidneys and gall bladder.
Besides, sweet medicine helps eliminate toxins and improve overall immunity. It can also be used to prevent various diseases.
This is interesting! Honey prepared in pumpkin is useful not only for internal consumption. It is used in the form of compresses to treat wounds and bruises.
Features of use during pregnancy
During pregnancy, a woman needs to be especially attentive to her diet.. To avoid negative consequences, it is important to consult a doctor before consuming pumpkin honey.
For expectant mothers
The pumpkin itself and the syrup based on it are a storehouse of vitamins and other substances necessary for the human body.. These products will provide both mother and child with useful micro- and macroelements.
Besides, will help get rid of swelling, protect against colds, normalize sleep and functioning of the nervous system, maintaining normal hemoglobin.
How to use pumpkin nectar
According to folk medicine, It is recommended to take 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin honey per day.
For liver treatment
The drug restores liver cells. Two to three weeks before the start of treatment, it is necessary to prepare the body: exclude everything fatty, fried, salty, smoked from the diet. Reduce or remove pickled foods and baked goods.
Sweet medicine is taken 3 times a day, 1 tsp. within 3 weeks.
Helps get rid of hepatitis
For hepatitis, in addition to treatment, It is useful to take this infusion: 0.5 tbsp. nettle and yarrow pour half a liter of water. You need to insist for a day in the dark. Every day, drink half a glass of infusion, dissolving 1 spoon of pumpkin honey in it.
For kidney treatment
Carotene contained in pumpkin protects the kidneys from various diseases and helps to cure them. For kidney pathologies, the sweet medicine is consumed 30 minutes before meals, three times a day, 1 tbsp. until the portion prepared from one pumpkin runs out. Then a break of 10 days is needed and another course can be taken.
For immunity
During the cold season or after an illness, take 2-3 tsp. pumpkin honey after eating for five days.
For ulcers
For duodenal ulcers honey nectar take 1 tbsp. three weeks.
Used in cooking
It is useful to use pumpkin honey syrup like this:: 200 g of cottage cheese poured over 20 g of syrup, divided into three doses and consumed throughout the day. It is poured over pancakes and pancakes, and added to sweet dishes. The product goes well with fruit desserts.
Important! Pumpkin honey should not be added to hot drinks or dishes: like any other honey, at high temperatures it loses most of its healing properties.
Reviews
On online forums you will find many reviews from people who have already tried this or that product and evaluated its qualities. We have selected some of them for you:
Nikolay: “You are unlikely to cause yourself any harm from taking a mixture of honey and pumpkin. It has long been known that this composition is beneficial to the human body. Especially for the kidneys and liver. The only thing is, pay special attention to contraindications.”
Alina: “Dad has a diseased liver and poor eating habits. I found out a recipe for pumpkin with honey and immediately decided to try it. My father doesn’t like to take medicine, but he loves sweets. I made pumpkin honey - now dad is happy, and the effect is wonderful. The heaviness, nausea went away, skin color improved. Now I cook it all the time!”
Catherine: “The doctor recommended supplementing the traditional treatment of anemia with pumpkin honey. I can’t say exactly which method helped more, but after a few weeks the condition improved.”
Conclusion
Pumpkin honey has many beneficial properties. There is no harm if you follow simple rules. And it has no side effects like pharmaceutical drugs. Whether to make honey yourself or look for it on sale, everyone will decide for themselves. But the product is definitely worth trying.