Honey to help with ageing?

A recent study, reported in the New Scientist magazine among other places, suggests honey may help with aiding memory in ageing. The research done at the Waikato University in New Zealand by Lynne Chepulis and Nicola Starkey involved rats. Raising them on a diet that involved either 10 per cent honey, 8 per cent sucrose, or not sugar at all for 12 months, they were assessed every three months with test to measure anxiety and spatial memory.

It was found that honey fed rats spent almost twice as much time in the open sections of an assessment maze than sucrose-fed rats, suggesting they were less anxious. They were also were more likely to enter novel sections of a Y-shaped maze, suggesting they knew where they had been previously and had better spatial memory.

The researchers concluded that "Diets sweetened with honey may be beneficial in decreasing anxiety and improving memory during ageing". They received funding from Fonterra, a dairy company interested in sweetening yoghurt with honey, for the research.

It was suggested the findings may be due to the antioxidant properties of honey, which have previously been demonstrated in humans.

However this is still early research so the results shouldn't be relied on for human relevance just yet. It is an interesting start though.

Bee Pollen in Capsules - now added

Bee Pollen has been described as one of the most complete natural foods. It contains a high level of vitamins, minerals and proteins.

Personally, I quite like to take my pollen sprinkled over a bowl of fruit - using pollen granules.

However not everyones taste buds are the same, and we have had request for bee pollen in capsule form, as an easy to take option. We are glad that we have now been able to provide you with that. With the Bee Pollen Capsules from Comvita now in the UK, you only need to choose your preferred form to get your bee pollen boost.

There are two sizes available, 100 or 200 capsules.