If youâve ever thought about heading up to Canada, Iâd advise making a trip to Ontario or Quebec anytime from mid-March until about late April. Why? Itâs prime-time maple syrup season…and that liquid gold wonât only tantalize your taste buds, it might do your body good, too.
How can this sugary syrup do anything for your health that doesnât involve gaining weight, boosting blood sugar, or enticing you to make some bad dietary choices? Well, according to some preliminary research from McGill University in Montreal, it may supercharge the effectiveness of certain medicationsâparticularly antibiotics.
How Maple Syrup Could Boost Your Antibiotics
The researchâconducted on fruit flies (like I said, itâs preliminary)âshowed that maple syrup extract allowed for greater penetration of cell walls, allowing for much greater effectiveness of administered antibiotics. The researchers noted that taken with the extract, only 10% of a regular dosage of an antibiotic was required to effectively kill off infection.
Not only does the extract appear to increase the potency of antibiotics, but it also appears to disable âpumpsâ inside cells that would typically push out antibiotics. In the tests, flies that received the maple syrup extract mixed in with their antibiotic fought infection faster and went on to live longer lives than their counterparts that didnât receive the extract. It will be interesting to see ifâand howâthese results translate to humans.
A Word on Antibiotics
Now, to some, âantibioticsâ is a bad word. But the truth is that they are effective and, in some cases, completely necessary. The problems with antibiotics arise when they are prescribed too often. Too many cycles of antibiotics can remove âgoodâ bacteria (gut flora) along with invaders by effectively acting as a carpet bomb. But when taken only when absolutely needed for conditions that cannot be treated any other way, you will likely be fine. Just donât ask your doctor for them, especially if they arenât required.
Maple Syrup: A New Natural Remedy?
Maple syrup has long been recognized for its healing properties by the Aboriginal peoples in Canada. And now the nutrient-dense natural sweetener may be at the center of the fight against âsuperbugsâ in the future.
But donât worry; if you canât get up to Canada, about 65% of Canadian maple syrup makes its way down to the United States.
Sources
âNo more âsuperbugsâ? Maple syrup extract enhances antibiotic action,â American Chemical Society, April 2, 2017; https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2017/april/no-more-superbugs-maple-syrup-extract-enhances-antibiotic-action.html, last accessed April 20, 2017.
âThe most Canadian scientific discovery ever,â CBC News, April 8, 2017; http://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/photographing-a-black-hole-the-curse-of-the-monkey-god-and-as-canadian-as-1.4060794/the-most-canadian-scientific-discovery-ever-1.4061050, last accessed April 20, 2017.