The Health Risk of Menopause

The increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disease is highly correlated with a late-stage postmenopausal status and hypertension. Women were found to have the highest risk of hypertension five to nine years after menopause due to the decline in estrogen hormone. Women often opt for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to help manage menopausal symptoms. Some choose alternative treatments like using honey and beehive products.

The Health Benefits of Honey

Honey polyphenols have been found to have various benefits for the heart, including improving endothelial function (contracting/relaxing of blood vessels), coronary vasodilatation (expanding the blood vessels), and reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. A study on postmenopausal women found that those who consumed Tualang Honey (TH) had a significantly lower systolic blood pressure than those who received hormone replacement therapy. Honey has also been shown to reduce body weight and improve lipid profiles in diabetic human subjects. Another study showed that honey reduced fasting blood glucose in obese participants by 4.2%, probably due to the fructose, oligosaccharides, antioxidants, and trace minerals it contains. Other beehive products, such as bee bread and royal jelly, have more minerals, vitamins, free fatty acids, proteins, and essential amino acids than honey. A study showed that a three-month treatment using Melbrosia, a combination of flower pollen, Perga (fermented flower pollen), and royal jelly, significantly reduces levels of total cholesterol and LDL and substantially increases the level of high-density lipoprotein in postmenopausal women. The use of products derived from honey and other bee products to treat diseases is called apitherapy. And often, in apitherapy, more than one bee product is used to get the most benefit.

This study aimed to determine if long-term use of bee products like Honey Cocktail (a combination of honey, bee bread, and royal jelly) would benefit better than just TH on cardiovascular markers and anthropometric measurements of postmenopausal women.

The Study Method on Honey for Postmenopausal Women

We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, two-armed parallel study comparing 20 grams (g)/day of TH versus 20 g/day HC among postmenopausal women aged 45-65 years. The 98 subjects were randomly assigned to take either of the two test products, TH or HC, directly from the sachet every morning for 12 months. The cardiovascular parameters and anthropometric measurements were assessed at baseline, six months, and 12 months of the intervention.

The Results

Based on the baseline characteristics of the subjects, all had menopause for more than eight years, which is considered to be a late stage of post-menopause, were overweight, and more than half had hypercholesterolemia (excessive cholesterol) and hypertension, making them highly at risk for cardiovascular disease.

After the 12-month study intervention period, there was a significant decrease in the diastolic blood pressure in the TH group compared to HC. The systolic was also lower in the TH group. However, the difference in the HC group was not as considerable compared to the diastolic. [Note: Systolic pressure (the top number in blood pressure reading) is the pressure exerted on the wall of the arteries while the heart squeezes. Diastolic pressure (the bottom number) is the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats.]

The decrease in the fasting blood sugar (FBS) level in the TH group compared to the HC group was statistically significant. Honey did not have any detrimental effect on the FBS levels of healthy and diabetic postmenopausal women.

The Conclusion

Compared to Tualang Honey, Honey Cocktail supplementation showed remarkable effects on body mass index. However, Tualang Honey had a superior impact on lowering DBP and FBS. The underlying mechanisms of both honey-containing products need further investigation to explain these varying observations.

Reference

Long-Term Effects of Honey on Cardiovascular Parameters and Anthropometric Measurements of Postmenopausal Women