A new Turkish study suggests honey man help prevent tumors from recurring.
The research, which was done on 60 mice, showed that honey helped prevent tumors from returning after colon-cancer surgery.
Mayo Clinic experts have said the results are interesting and shouldn't be dismissed.
Laparoscopy colon-cancer surgery may cause tumors to develop along the path of the surgical instruments. Yet, substances in honey may help dissolve the tumor cells.
Laparoscopies require a small incision where a slender viewing tube is inserted. The area is inflated with carbon dioxide to give surgeons space to work. Although some think the gas may cause cancer cells to shift and form tumors, others think surgeons may inadvertently leave some malignant cells, which continue to grow.
Using this information, Turkish researchers inserted 60 mice with tumor cells. After making a small incision, they spread honey inside the incisions in one group of mice. Every mouse in the group without honey developed a tumor, in comparison to eight mice in the second group.
Honey has been used as a folk remedy since biblical times. Doctors suggest honey has anti-bacterial properties and may also help treat burns.
Information from www.nytimes.com
