Mead is one of the oldest drinks, reviving its popularity in our time. Today in the article we will get acquainted with a natural product, and also talk about the features of consumption and storage and its beneficial properties.

Description of Mead

Honey drink was known and popular among many ancient peoples. There is evidence confirmed by archaeologists about the use of sweet mash in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, India, ancient Slavic tribes and the population of the British Isles. According to historical information, a low-alcoholic drink appeared by chance: as a result of not quite proper storage, honey diluted with water fermented, and the taste of the resulting mash was appreciated. Before the emergence of stewing as an industry, alcohol was prepared from wild nectar.

Later, with the development of beekeeping, alcohol began to be prepared in monasteries. A natural product has no more than 16 degrees of strength, which is achieved by long exposure. Today, the process can be accelerated by adding sugar and yeast, but in the Middle Ages, fermentation was achieved by adding berries and time. The aging period could reach 60 years, so the hoppy nectar was not consumed daily, but only on holidays or during religious rituals and significant events.

Mead contains almost the entire composition of useful elements contained in honey. The drink is rich in fiber and organic acids.

Calorie content of 100 g of the product is 64.5 kcal.

What is the difference between honey and mead

Drinking honey appeared much earlier than the alcohol version. Even in the Neolithic era, nectar was diluted with water and so consumed. Information about drinking nectar found by archaeologists dates back to the 6th – 8th centuries. BC e.

Did you know? By adding honey to baking, including bread, you can significantly increase its shelf life.

Mead is a derivative of nectar, with a certain dose of alcohol. The drink contained wild berries, herbs and hops as additional ingredients, which contributed to the fermentation process and made the taste even more saturated. At the end of the 18th century, the preparation of hop-drinking was even further reduced by boiling and adding yeast.

The healing properties of mead

Mead, no matter what it is used for, helps only when it is prepared using natural ingredients.

• The product has many properties that are beneficial for men and women:
• anti-inflammatory;
• firming;
• sedative;
• warming;
• thirst-quenching;
• improving digestion;
• antibacterial.

For the central nervous system

A calming effect will help normalize sleep and relieve anxiety. Natural night rest of the body will trigger mechanisms to combat neurosis or stress. A cheerful morning will determine a day full of good mood and working capacity. When preparing a drink for these purposes, manufacturers add herbs that have a sedative property:

• mint;
• Melissa;
• motherwort;
• chamomile.

For the digestive tract

• The presence of organic acids and fiber in the drink has a beneficial effect on all body processes that are important for the digestive tract:
• water-salt balance;
• exchange BZHU;
• secretion of gastric juice;
• digestive process;
• intestinal microflora state.

Drinking helps increase appetite, removes toxins and toxins, pieces of undigested food. This in turn prevents problems such as flatulence, bloating and constipation.

For diseases of the respiratory system

To treat colds, diseases of the nasopharynx and respiratory tract, it is good to drink warm mead. The product has an antibacterial effect, which warms, helps the lungs and bronchi get rid of accumulated sputum. By removing inflammation of the nasopharynx, drinking helps to restore normal breathing, remove edema from the inflamed mucous membrane of the eyes, and restore the functioning of taste buds.

For the genitourinary system

For women, the drink is indispensable during the cycle: relieves nervousness, dulls the pain syndrome. The benefit with regular use is observed in the reproductive organs. Thanks to the composition rich in minerals and vitamins, the muscles of the vagina and the walls of the uterus are strengthened. A woman receives elements important for conception and bearing: magnesium, folic acid, etc.

• Equally useful is regular use (in moderation, of course) for men, due to which:
• vessels expand;
• blood circulation in the pelvic organs improves;
• potency is normalized;
• improves the quality of seminal fluid.

Mead helps to remove harmful cholesterol, toxins and breakdown products of drugs from the body, thereby improving liver and kidney function.

Did you know? Ethiopia's national drink tej is the same mead, only with the addition of local herbs and plant branches.

To preserve youth and beauty

Youth and beauty through the prism of medicine and cosmetology is an organism saturated with the right amount of useful elements. The honey product contains almost all the vitamins, minerals and acids necessary for healthy hair, skin and nails.

• Elements contained in the mead have the following properties:
• accelerating regeneration processes;
• firming;
• restorative;
• nourishing;
• antibacterial;
• antioxidant.

Contraindications and possible harm to the body

The benefit and harm of the drink are directly related to the method of its preparation: a natural drink with a strength of no higher than 16 degrees, used in moderation, will not bring harm to health. Abuse can provoke alcohol dependence, therefore, this method of treatment or prevention of diseases is contraindicated in people suffering from alcohol dependence. Strong mead is not recommended for children under 18 years of age and pregnant, breast-feeding women.

• Other contraindications:
• gastrointestinal tract diseases in acute form;
• diabetes;
• obesity;
• mental illness;
• allergy to bee products.

The abuse of mead can cause a hangover syndrome with the following consequences:

• headache;
• tremor;
• general weakness;
• nausea and vomiting.

How to drink mead and how to bite it

It is customary to drink mead from small glasses that are shaped like a glass, or from glasses for vodka, if the drink is fortified. Ancient traditions prescribe to bite it with pickled and salted vegetables (cabbage, cucumbers, turnips), soaked apples or berries. Today it can be fresh fruits, pies with meat or fish filling, jerky or smoked meat.

For medical purposes, the method of use depends on the condition that needs to be corrected:

• for appetite - a glass on an empty stomach or half an hour before meals;
• for insomnia - 50–70 g at night;
• from anemia - 50 g three times a day;
• from a cold (in the absence of temperature) - the drink is heated to + 40 ° C, drunk in small sips and wrapped in a warm blanket (it is better to carry out treatment at night).

Important! Strongly heat the drink (more than +50°C) it is not necessary, otherwise the useful elements will decay and the therapeutic effect is leveled.

How to store

If possible, it is best to store honey alcohol in oak barrels. In an apartment, the best containers will be dark glass bottles. Given the main component of the product, light can adversely affect it, causing a repeated fermentation process. If the glass is light, the beverage is stored in a dark place, for example, in a pantry. One or two bottles can be stored in the refrigerator, but in a dark container.

If there is a cellar, a large stock of the product is stored here, observing the temperature regime within + 5 ... + 10 ° С. The room should not be damp, preferably ventilation. Another option for storage on a personal plot is to dig a bottle into the ground, as our ancestors did. Place must be marked.

A bottle made of plastic can serve as a temporary container for transporting the product, but even food plastic reacts with the active substances of the contents, so it is not suitable for permanent storage.

Important! It is strictly forbidden to store the product in metal containers: the interaction of the metal with the honey base will turn a useful product into poison.

Properly prepared and seasoned honey drink will have a restorative and healing effect on the body. Observing the culture of drinking, connoisseurs of natural alcohol can enjoy a special flavoring bouquet of mead.