Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Honey in Diet ‘Cuts Anxiety’

By Emily Cook, The Mirror (UK), 4/7/2008

Honey could help counter the effects of ageing and decrease anxiety, according to a study.

Scientists found a diet sweetened with honey improved memory and reduced stress.

They conducted their tests on rats who were fed either a diet of 10 per cent honey, or eight per cent sucrose or no sugar. The experiment was over a year.

The rats, which were two months old at the start of the trial, were assessed every three months.

The study claims honeyfed rats displayed better spatial memory. They also spent twice as much time in the open section of an assessment maze than the sucrose-fed rats, suggesting they were less anxious.

Dr Nicola Starkey at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, said: "Diets sweetened with honey may be beneficial in decreasing anxiety and improving memory during ageing."...

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