Honey from Plants and Medicinal Flowers: Properties and Benefits

Nature has the most beautiful, nourishing and healthy way to sweeten our dishes, pastries and beverages.  The medicinal properties of flower and plants also are great for fighting illnesses and nourishing the body without taking away from our enjoyment of the sweetness of life.  If you’re looking for a natural and health sweetener, we are going to give you a list of honeys and properties that each one has.

General note: Try to consume organic honey so that the properties are more accentuated.

Types of honey and their properties

1,000 flower Honey (bee’s honey): one of the most well-known types, known as bee’s honey because this honey is extracted by the gathering efforts of worker bees.  They gather nectar from different flowers according to the area and time of the year.  In its pure state, this honey has several medicinal properties, including outstanding antimicrobial and antiseptic properties.  It is perfect for preventing respiratory diseases and coughs, among several other things.  The qualities of flower honey depends on the area and the flowers.  Flower, or bee’s honey, can be used to sweeten all sorts of things, from beverages, to pastries, sweets, etc.  This honey also have properties that are very beneficial for health, it is rich in vitamins, like B vitamin, and calcium.

Orange blossom (Azahar) honey: possesses orange-blossom properties, which stand out as a flower that produces very sedative and calming effects.  It is recommended for tense or nervous individuals before an exam, or people with gastritis, colitis or anxiety.  In order to benefit more from this honey, prepare lettuce tea and sweeten with two tablespoons of azahar honey.  Drink warm before going to bed, and in the mornings and mid-day.

Agave nectar: with a long list of properties, it is anti-inflammatory, cleansing, antiseptic, etc.  It is perfect for treating problems with coughs, helps in weight loss because it is very low in calories, fights constipation and is an intestinal cleanser.  If you want to lose weight, drink daily before breakfast in a horehound tea or green tea, with half a squeezed lemon.  Sweeten with agave nectar.  Avoid eating refined or processed products, or those that contain chemical additives.  This will prevent your body from storing toxins.  Agave nectar is extracted from the Agave plant, native to Mexico.

Eucalyptus honey: excellent for treating anything related to respiratory conditions, like coughing, phlegm, hoarseness, asthma, etc.  It is a great ally for treating urinary tract conditions.  To benefit from this honey we recommend drinking pineapple juice or eating pineapple pieces, sweetened with this honey.  If you have an intense cold or respiratory problems, follow a diet including pineapple juice with eucalyptus honey and lemon.  You could also use grapes (with the seeds) sweetened with honey.  Eating the seeds is a wonderful tonic.

Heather honey: heather is a tiny plant named for its striking red or purple flower, from which this honey is extracted.  This honey is rich in iron, with anti-inflammatory, digestive and calming properties.  It benefits the nervous system, digestive system and dermatological system.  It is also great for treating anemia or for pregnant women, due to its iron content.  If you want to use this honey, use it to sweeten your smoothies in the morning.  In order to treat digestive problems, use half a papaya, water, a bit of linseed, and sweeten with heather honey.  You could also make apple candy with heather honey to treat diarrhea or cramps.  If you have anemia, or if you are pregnant, prepare apple juice with oats and chia, and sweeten with heather honey.  This makes a super nutritive breakfast and a happy stomach.

Rosemary honey: Great for treating liver problems.  It has toning and stimulating properties for the body.  Recommended for asthma, dry coughs or cough with phlegm, nervousness, hepatitis, etc.  Use rosemary honey to sweeten diced papaya, add raw oats and eat before breakfast.  This can be used to treat the liver.

Lavender honey: this is great after eating.  It is refreshing and delicious and has sedative properties.  Prepare an orange blossom tea and sweeten with lavender honey.  Drink when you feel anxious or nervous.

Lavender seed honey: great for calming coughs and treating throat conditions.  For this, prepare a ginger and lemon tea and sweeten with this honey.  If your cough or throat infection doesn’t go away, sweeten bits of pineapple with lavender seed honey, and eat pineapple for one full day, along with two liters of water.  This will clean your body and will help you to heal more quickly.

Dandelion honey: this is especially beneficial for treating liver conditions, as it helps to cleanse it.  For this, prepare a dandelion infusion and sweeten with dandelion honey.  Add a few drops of lemon and drink daily before breakfast.  If you have liver problems, avoid meat and cow’s milk, in any form.  Your diet should be based on raw or steamed vegetable for a while.

Chestnut honey: this has stimulating effects on circulation, and can also successfully be used to treat dysentery or bloody diarrhea.  If you want to treat diarrhea with this honey, prepare one liter of rice water, using two cups of water and one cup of rice.  Boil, and if the water boils off, add a bit more.  Once you see that the rice is cooked, strain off the remaining water and add enough water to get a full liter of rice water.  Sweeten with this honey and a few drops of lemon, along with a pinch of sea salt.  Drink every morning and don’t drink any cow’s milk or eat refined flour.  Another way of helping to have good circulation is to prepare a carrot juice with beets, and sweeten with chestnut honey.  Drink fresh three times a week.

Acacia honey: this has laxative and anti-inflammatory effects.  It is great for constipation, colitis, gastritis and inflammation.  In order to benefit from this honey, prepare a papaya smoothie or juice in the morning, add a bit of linseed and sweeten with acacia honey.  This will be one of the best medicines for treating constipation and gastritis or colitis.  Do this daily.

Oak tree honey: this helps heal wounds and fight colds and coughs.  Use it just like pine honey.  If you want to quickly heal wounds, make some orange or mandarin juice with guava, daily, and add oak tree honey.

Pine honey: this is refreshing and detoxifying, it helps cleanse the respiratory system.  It is recommended for coughs, respiratory problems, asthma, etc.  Make a ginger infusion with lemon or orange, and sweeten with pine honey.  Drink especially at night before sleeping.  This is a good remedy for irritable or anxious children, or for those with frequent colds, coughs or asthma.

Blackberry honey: Good for fighting throat infections.  Prepare lemon tea with ginger, which is an inflammation reducer and cleanses.  Sweeten with blackberry tea and drink warm before going to bed.  You could also sweeten a pineapple salad with this, and include orange slices.

Hawthorn honey: this is calming, but is also a heart stimulant, which is why it is recommended for sadness or depression.  To accentuate its properties, prepare an orange blossom tea and add a few drops of lemon.  Sweeten with this honey, and drink while you work.

Thyme honey: this is one of the best honeys with the most potent tonic and antiseptic properties.  It is used primarily to treat colds and bronchitis, but it also helps treat conditions with the digestive tract, and fights both physical and mental or emotional exhaustion.  Prepare a mint infusion with lemon, add thyme honey and drink warm, at night.

Strawberry Tree honey: if you’re looking for a natural treatment for asthma, there’s nothing better than using strawberry tree honey in a cup of chamomile tea, with lemon and ginger.  Strawberry tree honey has very beneficial properties for treating this condition.  If your child has asthma, remember that at that age, asthma is primarily caused by excessive over-protection.

Honey for babies: the best is corn syrup made especially for children.  You can start to give flower or bee’s honey after your baby is one year of age.  Always remember not to get your child used to very sweet flavors.  

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 03/08/2020

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