Honey: A Powerful Anti-Cancer AgentSayer Ji Honey is a superlative healing food. We know it has over 69 health benefits, as confirmed by the biomedical literature itself. But did you know it could be of profound benefit in diseases as life threatening and seemingly incurable as cancer? Indeed, a recent study published the journal Molecules looked at the role of honey in positively impacting the development and progression of tumors or cancers. The review identified the presence of flavonoids and phenolic acids in honey as the primary anti-cancer compounds involved in its beneficial properties. According to the study, flavonoids are biologically active natural compounds with a 15-carbon (C6-C3-C6) structure, comprising two benzene rings joined by a heterocyclic pyrane ring, with honey containing the following: Interestingly, many of theseflavonoids are classified asphytoestrogens, which are phytochemicals structurally similar to mammalian estrogens and therefore can bind to estrogen receptors. While many of these honey-derived flavonoids have been demonstrated to have both inhibitory and stimulatory effects, the vast majority of the cell (in vitro) and animal (in vivo) studies have demonstrated the anti-breast and estrogen sensitive cancer properties of these compounds, indicating that flavonoid rich honeys are likely to positively influence estrogenic activity in estrogen-receptor positive cancers. Unlike chemotherapy and radiotherapy, natural compounds commonly exhibit this do no harm property when it comes to healthy tissue, while at the same time being exceptionally effective attargeting the harmful cells. Another recent study compared the effect of Tualang honey with that of the pharmaceuticaltamoxifen (an estrogen receptor antagonist) in two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). The study found that the anti-cancer effect of tualang honey on breast cancer cells was comparable to that of tamoxifen, a multi-billion dollar blockbuster drug. This is all the more remarkable, considering that Tamoxifen is classified by the World Health Organization and theAmerican Cancer Society to be a human carcinogen, and is technically a xenobiotic chemical inherently toxic and biologically alien to human physiology. According to the study, animal research has established honeys significant anti-cancer properties, specifically in regard to inhibiting metastasis (invasiveness): Honey Kills A Wide Range of Cancers The review focused on the potential of honey to affect a variety of cancers, including: What are the Mechanisms of Honeys Anti-Cancer Properties? There are a wide range of observed mechanisms of honeys cancer-killing properties, which include: The study reviewed all possible avenues through which honey suppressed cancer, with 20 depicted in the image below: The study concluded with following summarization: For additional research on honeys benefits read: This article first appeared at GreenMedInfo. Please visit to access their vast database of articles and the latest information in natural health. 