Honeydew Honey

It is the only assortment of honey that does not come from nectar of flowers, its provenance being credited from two sources: the most important is the sweet secrets of the trees. On its trunk on the fir tree, pine, spruce or even beech or willow trees, resin or sweet sticky substances are hidden. These substances are harvested by bees, especially during spring and autumn, when there are few flowers or little nectar.

The second source of honey is the sweet excrements of aphids, small green insects. The plant savage, which the aphids consume, contains a large amount of carbohydrates and fewer substances required for protein synthesis, and aphids are forced to digest a lot of juice with their digestive system. The surplus of carbohydrates is thus excreted as small sweet drops (honeydew). Bees are attracted to the sweetness of the honey and take these sweet drops, especially if the surrounding flora does not cover their nectar requirement.

Thus, we can consider that honey may be either plant-derived, the result of plant secretion, or animal, taken from the excretion of aphids.

Honey is highly appreciated, especially because it can also be eaten by people allergic to floral pollen. It is rightly considered a true mineral cocktail, the mineral content in honeydew honey being, for example, six times higher than in acacia honey. This range of honey also contains antioxidant substances such as phenols or flavonoids. Also, a high content of bioactive components was revealed in relation to other types of honey, the content of enzymes and antibiotic substances being much higher than for honey from nectar of flowers.

Honey has a special value for human consumption and because of the content of organic acids, bioflavonoids, vitamin C and B vitamins. Due to the high mineral content, it is frequently recommended for the treatment of spasmophilia in adolescents, rickets in children and adolescents, osteoporosis and joint disorders in both adults and the elderly. It is also useful for people with a weakened immune system.