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Overtrained? Honey protects your muscles
If you push your workouts beyond what your body can comfortably handle, taking honey as a supplement might help shield your muscles from breaking down. That’s the indication from a small Iranian human study published in Health Science Reports in early 2025.
ABSTRACT
Aims and Objectives
Honey possesses specific anti-inflammatory properties. We evaluated the effects of oral honey supplementation on skeletal muscle-related inflammatory markers among military graduates after overtraining.
Methods
This randomized double-blind controlled trial was conducted on 42 overtrained military graduates who were randomly assigned to receive either honey supplementation (5 mL of 12% honey solution twice daily for 6 weeks) or a placebo for 6 weeks. In our study, we utilized Milk Vetch Sahand honey as the intervention. Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), aldolase A, and creatine kinase (CK) were evaluated using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method before and after the intervention.
Results
A total of 21 male participants with a mean age of 20.75 years were included in each group. No significant differences were found between the groups in the pre-intervention assessment of inflammatory biomarkers. However, in the post-intervention assessment, participants who received honey exhibited significantly smaller increases in CRP (p < 0.001), TNF-α (p = 0.001), aldolase A (p < 0.001), and CK levels (p < 0.001) compared to the controls. The mean changes in these biomarkers were notably lower in the honey group indicating a potential anti-inflammatory effect of honey.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that honey supplementation significantly reduces inflammatory biomarkers such as TNF-α, CRP, aldolase A, and CK in military graduates experiencing overtraining, underscoring its potential to alleviate inflammation associated with intense physical training. To confirm and extend these findings, further research with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods is recommended.
Source:
Health Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 13;8(2):e70428
The Flaw (imo):
The researchers divided the soldiers into 2 groups. They gave one group two glasses of water every day for 6 weeks, in which they had dissolved a low-calorie sweetener. This was the placebo group.
The subjects in the experimental group were given a glass of water with honey twice a day.
Researchers should have given their placebo subjects the same amount of sugar as the honey subjects. They got about 260 extra calories a day from the carbohydrates in their honey.
If you push your workouts beyond what your body can comfortably handle, taking honey as a supplement might help shield your muscles from breaking down. That’s the indication from a small Iranian human study published in Health Science Reports in early 2025.
ABSTRACT
Aims and Objectives
Honey possesses specific anti-inflammatory properties. We evaluated the effects of oral honey supplementation on skeletal muscle-related inflammatory markers among military graduates after overtraining.
Methods
This randomized double-blind controlled trial was conducted on 42 overtrained military graduates who were randomly assigned to receive either honey supplementation (5 mL of 12% honey solution twice daily for 6 weeks) or a placebo for 6 weeks. In our study, we utilized Milk Vetch Sahand honey as the intervention. Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), aldolase A, and creatine kinase (CK) were evaluated using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method before and after the intervention.
Results
A total of 21 male participants with a mean age of 20.75 years were included in each group. No significant differences were found between the groups in the pre-intervention assessment of inflammatory biomarkers. However, in the post-intervention assessment, participants who received honey exhibited significantly smaller increases in CRP (p < 0.001), TNF-α (p = 0.001), aldolase A (p < 0.001), and CK levels (p < 0.001) compared to the controls. The mean changes in these biomarkers were notably lower in the honey group indicating a potential anti-inflammatory effect of honey.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that honey supplementation significantly reduces inflammatory biomarkers such as TNF-α, CRP, aldolase A, and CK in military graduates experiencing overtraining, underscoring its potential to alleviate inflammation associated with intense physical training. To confirm and extend these findings, further research with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods is recommended.
Source:
Health Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 13;8(2):e70428
The Flaw (imo):
The researchers divided the soldiers into 2 groups. They gave one group two glasses of water every day for 6 weeks, in which they had dissolved a low-calorie sweetener. This was the placebo group.
The subjects in the experimental group were given a glass of water with honey twice a day.
Researchers should have given their placebo subjects the same amount of sugar as the honey subjects. They got about 260 extra calories a day from the carbohydrates in their honey.
