Have you noticed the honeybees’ attraction towards clover plants? Is it only because of its bright and beautiful flowers? No, it is not only the flowers that attract them. The nectar of this plant produces light-colored honey that is praised for its health benefits. Named clover honey, this mild-tasting honey has numerous health benefits. What are they? How does clover honey differ from the regular honey?
Continue reading if you are confused by these questions. This article will provide an overview of clover honey, including its benefits, nutrients, and other factors.
What is Clover Honey?
There are different varieties of honey available in the market. Clover honey is the most popular variant of natural honey. It is a thick, sweet honey with numerous health benefits. As the name suggests, the major component of clover honey is the nectar collected from the pollen flowers. The nectar collected by the bees makes the clover honey more delicious and healthy. Due to its medicinal properties and pleasantly mild taste, clover honey is often considered the standard honey.
The increasing affinity towards healthy alternatives has made clover honey a favorite among fitness freaks and health enthusiasts as it can be a healthy alternative to table sugar. In addition, food manufacturers also started producing honey-sweetened products. Furthermore, as it has high antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties, clover honey is used in several medicines and home remedies to treat various diseases.
Clover Honey Nutrition
As mentioned above, clover honey is a nutrient-rich honey with several health benefits. The nutrients in one tablespoon of clover honey are:
- Calories: 60
- Carbohydrate: 17g
- Sugar: 16g
It also contains the following components in small amounts.
- Calcium
- Vitamin C
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Zinc
Potential Benefits of Clover Honey
Clover honey has several benefits that help to enhance the overall health of an individual. Some of the potential benefits of clover honey are:
- Reduces inflammation
Clover honey is rich in anti-inflammatory components such as flavonol and phenolic acid. These components help to reduce inflammation and improve heart and lung health by reducing the risks of tumors. The phenolic acid also strengthens the central nervous system. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory properties make clover honey a good medicine for minor burns.
- Rich in antioxidants
Clover honey is rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants fight the free radicals in the body and reduce the cellular damage caused by them. In this way, the antioxidants lower the risks of several diseases and health problems.
- High antiviral and antibacterial elements
Several components in clover honey have antiviral and antibacterial properties. These components help to prevent bacterial actions against the body. Studies reveal that this property of clover honey makes it an ideal option to treat wounds and burns. The antibacterial properties help to reduce the bacterial actions in wounds and burns. They also make clover honey a better option to treat diabetic wounds.
- Healthier than table sugar
Clover honey is a healthier alternative to table sugar, which makes it a better option for diabetic patients. Although it has a sweet flavor, clover honey does not cause the side effects possessed by normal sugar. So, it can be used as a healthy alternative to table sugar.
Ways to Incorporate Clover Honey into Your Lifestyle
Honey can be incorporated into your diet in multiple ways. You can either consume it directly or by adding it to your food items. Even if you do not like taking honey directly, adding it to your favorite dishes will improve their taste. Some of the ways in which you can incorporate honey into your diet are:
- Salads: Honey can be added to your healthy salads. A topping with honey will enhance the taste and nutritional benefits of your salads.
- As a marinade: Honey can be used as a marinade with a variety of foods. It can be used with both vegetable and meat items.
- Honey butter: Honey can be mixed with salted butter along with cinnamon and ground ginger to make honey butter. This spread can be used with toast, pancakes, and brioche.
- Tea and other beverages: mixing a little bit of honey with tea, coffee, or other drinks will provide a sweet flavor to them. As it is healthy and more beneficial than table sugar, clover honey can be used to replace it.
- Baked goods: Clover honey can be used while baking different foods such as cookies, bread, and cakes. Honey makes it delicious and healthy.
Clover Honey vs. Other Types of Honey
Honey is available in different varieties, depending on the nectar. Raw honey or unpasteurized and unfiltered honey are the ones extracted directly from the honeycombs. It has several health benefits. It contains a variety of nutrients such as amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. The polyphenols and flavonoids in raw honey make it rich in antioxidants. They also provide antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties to raw honey.
As mentioned, clover honey is a nutrient-rich mild-tasting light-colored honey. It is said that clover honey has high amounts of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-bacterial properties. Several other varieties of honey such as manuka honey, alfalfa, orange blossom, and wildflower honey are also healthy and beneficial like clover honey. Although there have been disparities in opinions on which variant of honey is more beneficial, all varieties have their own benefits. However, recent studies suggest that clover and manuka honey are equally effective with similar amounts of antioxidants and other properties.
Conclusion
Similar to all varieties of honey, clover honey is healthy and rich in antioxidants. Clover honey is made out of the nectar collected from the clover flowers, giving it the name. It has anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-bacterial properties. These properties aid this variant of honey in reducing inflammation, treating wounds and burns, and preventing infections from bacterial actions.
The medicinal and health benefits of clover honey make it a better alternative to table sugar, making it a favorite option for fitness freaks and diabetic patients. Clover honey can be used in salads, smoothies, baked goods, and even in teas and other beverages. Furthermore, studies suggest that clover honey has high antioxidants which makes it as good as regular honey. So, in conclusion, clover honey is one of the healthy variants of honey that provide medicinal and health benefits.
FAQs
Yes. Similar to regular honey, clover honey is also rich in antioxidants and it has lower calories than regular honey.
Yes. Clover honey is popular among fitness freaks and honey enthusiasts due to its high antioxidants, antivirus, and antibacterial properties.
Yes. Some studies suggest that clover honey helps in the slight reduction of blood sugar levels.
As the name suggests clover honey is the honey collected by the bees from the clover flowers.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, 100 grams of clover honey contains 76.2g of sugar.
When compared with other types of honey, clover honey is more sweet and pleasantly mild in taste.
References
Ciulu M., Spano N., Pilo M.I., Sanna G. Recent Advances in the Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Unifloral Honeys. Molecules. 2016;21:451. doi: 10.3390/molecules21040451. [PMC free article]
Abell D.C., Friebe H., Schweger C., Kwok A.S.K., Sporns P. Comparison of processed unifloral clover and canola honey. Apidologie. 1996;27:451–460. doi: 10.1051/apido:19960603. [CrossRef]
