Raw Honey Relieves Anxiety and Stress

The scientists tested different amounts of honey on the rats using two special tests commonly used to determine how a substance effects anxiety levels and movement/locomotion. (the Hole Board test and the Open Field test for those science types out there!)

The animals consumed honey in the doses of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 grams per 1 kg of body mass. Among the doses tested, only the higher ones induced considerable changes in the behavioral indices.

The highest dose (2.0 g/kg) provided a more than twofold increase in the number of examined holes in the Hole Board test.( what this indicates is a much more relaxed animal. The more holes examined, the less anxiety the animal is under)

The scientists went on to conclude that the "experiments demonstrated a rather significant ability of honey to relieve anxiety and intensify motor, research/orientational, and grooming aspects of behavior even upon single acts of consumption."

So, what they are saying is that they were able to obtain these results with single doses of honey and there was no need to consume the honey over long periods of time. Ultimately, honey works fast - same day!

Now, the dose of honey required in this study is rather high. Based on the results, honey relieves anxiety at 2.0 grams per kilogram - that is a lot of honey! A 130 pound person (59 kilograms) would need to consume 118 grams of honey based on this study. That is almost a quarter jar of our 500 gram bottle so it is likely not feasible for most people, unless you stop eating all other carbohydrates and switch solely to honey!

More studies definitely need to be done on this topic as it is just not reasonable to consume over 100 grams of honey per day. Hopefully very soon the compounds in honey that relieve stress and anxiety will be identified so that we can further harness the powder of the bees!

The complete study can be found in the journal Neurophysiology,43, No. 1, pp. 46–50, January-February, 2011.

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