A unique formulation of honey may help chemotherapy patients tolerate their treatment with less toxicity. The honey was developed by Zuf Globus, an Israeli company that manufactures and markets concentrated beehive-based nutritional supplements. The products are produced by honeybees which are fed only botanicals with scientifically validated, targeted health benefits. While new to America, Zuf Globus MEL products have been in use for more than 20 years.
Scientists say that as the bees metabolize the special plant extracts, their digestive enzymes significantly increase the potency of each ingredient and create new beneficial compounds that didn’t exist in the original herbs.
Yehoshua Maor, the owner and founder of Jerusalem-based Phytor Lab, says he first encountered the health benefits of the honey product, called LifeMEL, while working on cancer cells.
“We exposed cancer cells to both LifeMEL and honey purchased from the supermarket to compare their survival at different concentrations. We saw that LifeMEL was much more efficient at limiting cancer cell survival,” said Maor. In addition, a team of Italian oncologists studied the effect of LifeMEL on patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. They found that LifeMEL, which supports the immune system, helped manage blood toxicity that often causes patients to stop or pause chemotherapy, says Maor.
“This phase II trial involved 39 adult men and women who were undergoing chemotherapy treatment for their cancer. A teaspoon of LifeMEL, twice daily, was added to their regimen, says Maor, an award-winning lecturer and consultant. “After three months, there was a significant drop in blood toxicity, with 25 of the 39 participants able to continue their chemotherapy on a regular schedule with no interruption. What impresses me the most about this study, and the phase I study that reported on patient’s quality of living, is the idea that a nutrient-dense, natural, body-ready food such as LifeMEL may improve chemotherapy patients’ quality of life as they are undergoing treatment.”
The Zuf Globus nutritional supplement line also includes honey dietary supplements that specifically target respiratory and digestive health, among other benefits, say Maor.
“One spoonful of regular honey has about 120 active ingredients, while one spoonful or LifeMEL contains thousands of active ingredients,” adds Maor. “I am currently delving into the mechanism of action, or MOA, of what these constituents are doing inside the body to bring about health benefits.”