On many sites devoted to health and proper nutrition, you can read about the dangers or even carcinogenicity of honey that came on Wednesday with a temperature above 60 ° C. We checked whether such statements have the foundation.

The Internet is full of articles on the beneficial properties of honey. But on some pages of the reader there is also a spoon of tar: “The honey contains oxymethylfurfurol, in a natural honey, not heated, it is in a safe amount. Heating of honey over 40 ° C begins to rapidly increase its quantity if heated honey to 60 ° C - the OMF content becomes dangerous to health. Oxymethylfurfurol has carcinogenic properties and affects the central nervous system, promotes the development of malignant tumors. ”

Because of this properties, it is strictly not recommended to add honey to hot tea or hot milk. Such a representation is distributed as just information sites ("Russian seed", 7lafa.com, Unotices) and social networks (Vk), and the official resources associated with medicine. For example, a site Yaroslavl Clinical Hospital No. 2. Know about this property of hot honey and on West.

The first warnings about the heating of honey can be found in sources dedicated to the traditional system of Indian folk medicine Ayurveda. There is there words: "Honey kills if it is used by hot those who suffer from heat, if used in a hot season, in a hot country and with hot food."

Russian doctor, specialist in eastern medicine, Igor Vetrov comments on this quote as follows: “Many of the honey includes many important enzymes: amylase, oxidase, invertase, catalase, peroxidase and proteolytic enzymes. Heating of honey to a temperature above 60 ° C leads to the destruction of enzymes; At the same time, essential oils and natural antibiotics are disappeared, honey loses its aroma and turns into a simple mixture of sugars. In addition, honey in this state is extremely unfavorable for the people indicated in this slate [double -playing. - approx. Aut.] ".

Another website Ayurveda gives a similar quote with a similar interpretation: “Honey is heated, accepted in the hot season, mixed with hot or accepted by those who have excessive heat, destroys. Undoubtedly, the heated honey, used in the compositions for therapeutic vomiting or for cleansing enemas, goes out, not having time to digest, and therefore is not dangerous. "

At the same time, resources With reference to Ayurved, instead of 60 ° C, 42 ° C is mentioned. It can be assumed that it was this ancient, but very popular teaching around the world has become the original source of information about the danger of hot honey. But our task is to understand how modern evidence -based medicine is looking at this idea and the mysterious oxymethylfurfurol has to do with it.

In 2010, scientists not from somewhere, but from India, the Motherland of Ayurveda, took up the clarification of the truth in this and several adjacent controversial issues. The results of several biochemical experiments resulted in article Under the name “Studies of the physicochemical characteristics of heated honey, as well as a honey mixed with ghee, and the nature of their consumption rates for food”, posted on the website of the US National Medical Library. Scientists studied in detail what is happening with this useful product if it is heated to a temperature of 60 or even 140 ° C. As studies have shown, under the influence of high temperatures, honey has somewhat changed its properties - humidity, color, content of nutrients. And in it the content of the same oximethylfurfurol increased slightly.

But what is oximethylfurfurol (HMF)? This is an organic compound that is formed from sugars in honey and various processed foods in an acidic environment, when they are heated as a result of the so -called Mayar reaction. At the same time, the HMF concentration increases even with prolonged storage of honey at room temperature from 11 μg/kg up to 39 mcg/kg. Heating to 60 ° C increases the amount of substance to 68.8 μg/kg (relatively safe amount), and when heated to 140 ° C, its amount does not significantly increase. And most importantly: despite the numerous mention of carcinogenicity of oxymethylfurfurol in the media and even in "Methodological recommendations of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs for expert research of honey", today this statement Not proven. From research German scientists from the Food Safety Department can be found out that this substance appears in almost any products where sugar in the presence of acid has passed heat treatment - for example, in jam, coffee, sweets or Kolya. However, the fame overtook the honey.

Thus, according to the data available for today, honey can be safely consumed with hot drinks, without fear of poisoning or getting a large dose of carcinogen.