| Sweet science USA WEEKEND - Jan. 26-28, 2001 |
| Two studies suggest
honey may keep cancer from spreading, as well as prevent a hangover.
Interestingly, honey has been used as a medicine for millenniums,
often rubbed on cuts and wounds. Why? The concentration of sugar
is so great it actually prevents bacteria growth, and it's been
shown to speed the rate at which wounds heal. Turkish researchers say applying an ointment of honey on instruments used to operate on cancerous tumors in mice prevented secondary tumors that often grow along the instruments' path in such operations. Their early studies hint that substances in the honey may help dissolve the cancer cells. In a less serious study, a group of American scientists say honey can prevent hangovers. The Chicago-based National Headache Foundation says fructose, the sugar that makes honey sweet, competes with alcohol for the enzymes that help break it down in the liver. So a spoonful of honey before you drink might fend off a hangover. |