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21.03.2025

Overtrained? Honey protects your muscles

If you exercise more and more intensively than your body can actually tolerate, supplementing with honey may protect your muscles from breakdown. This is suggested by a small human study from Iran, which was published in Health Science Reports in the spring of 2025.

Study
Physiologists from the University of Medical Sciences in Tehran experimented with 42 young soldiers. The soldiers underwent intensive training and were, judging by the concentration of the hormones testosterone and cortisol in their blood, overtrained.

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. The amount of honey depended on the body weight of the soldiers. A soldier weighing 70 kilos was given 42 grams of honey twice a day. This amounts to 2 tablespoons of honey twice a day.

Results
After the period in which the subjects had received honey or a placebo, the concentration of TNF-alpha, CRP and aldose A in the blood of both groups had increased further.

Aldose A is an enzyme that is involved in the production of glycogen in the muscles. The more of it you find in the blood, the greater the damage that muscles have suffered from intensive exercise. High concentrations of TNF-alpha and CRP are also markers for heavy physical exertion.

However, after 6 weeks of supplementation, the values ​​in the honey group were significantly lower than in the placebo group. Apparently, the supplementation with honey had slowed down the increase.

Click on the table below for a larger version.

Mechanism
The researchers suspect that honey or its components reduce inflammation. They emphasize that the type of honey they used - astragalus honey or Milk Vetch Sahand honey - "is recognized for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which boost the immune system and scavenge free radicals."

That's an interesting theory. It would be even more interesting if the researchers had 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.

Conclusion
"These findings support the inclusion of honey in dietary strategies aimed at reducing overtraining related injuries", the researchers summarize.

"To confirm these results and explore their applicability in broader populations, further research with larger sample sizes and extended follow-up are recommended."

Source:
Health Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 13;8(2):e70428.

More:
Honey, an effective cough remedy 27.10.2022
Mad honey boosts free testosterone by factor 10, in animal study 09.12.2017
The best carbs for your whey shake are found in honey 01.05.2015

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