Australia-based Capilano Honey is setting the industry abuzz with the launch of the world’s first clinically-tested honey with naturally occurring prebiotics, Beeotic®.
Hitting shelves from today, Beeotic® is the result of extensive research and a world-first clinical study conducted through the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to identify the widely recognised, but until now unproven, prebiotic health potential of selected Australian honeys.
What are prebiotics?
Clinically speaking, prebiotics are ‘selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific changes, in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus conferring benefit(s) upon the host’¹. In other words, prebiotics are natural, non-digestible fibres that pass undigested through the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract and stimulate the growth or activity of advantageous bacteria (a.k.a. probiotics) that colonise the large bowl by acting as “food” for them.
Capilano Managing Director, Dr Ben McKee, said the launch of Beeotic® allowed Capilano to cement its role in the lives of health-conscious consumers around the world. “We know that our consumers care about their health and wellbeing, and we are immensely proud to be able to deliver an industry-first honey product that gives people the option to improve their overall digestive health whilst enjoying their favourite great-tasting honey.”
“We very much value our beekeeping partners and are proud to lead the honey industry into a new health and wellness space. The scientific community has long believed honey to be a good source of prebiotics, but as Microbiology and Immunology specialist at UNSW Professor Patricia Conway explained, until now, there has never been any human clinical studies to support this.”
“Honey has been used to help normalise digestive balance for many years. The focus of the clinical study was to scientifically validate the specifications of a prebiotic honey to deliver consumers certainty around its potential health and wellness benefits,” Professor Conway said.
What are the benefits of consuming prebiotics?
“Consuming prebiotic rich foods can help the good bacteria in your gut grow, improving the good-to-bad bacteria ratio and therefore helping improve your digestive health.
“The results of the clinical study found that at a dose of 14ml, approximately one tablespoon per day, certain kinds of honey significantly raised the levels of good bacteria and suppressed potentially harmful bacteria in the digestive tract. Furthermore, levels of good bacteria decreased once the participants stopped taking the honey for a period of time.”
Dr Ben McKee said Capilano had made a considerable investment into developing industry-first testing methods to identify honeys that deliver this prebiotic content.
“Each batch of Beeotic® honey is independently tested using our pioneering technology which we are in the process of patenting,” Dr McKee said. “The tests look for particular sugar profiles in order to identify which honeys contain the required prebiotic components. Nothing is added, nothing is taken away, Beeotic® is just 100% pure Australian honey. Best of all this premium quality honey with naturally occurring prebiotics is made right here in Australia, hand collected by our network of Australian beekeepers.”
Where else can you get prebiotics?
Some foods such as the Jerusalem artichoke, chicory root, onions, garlic, leeks and asparagus naturally contain prebiotics. However, in order to achieve similar beneficial effects, you would need to consume a lot more portions of these foods compared to the 14ml of Beeotic®. Great part is that Beeotic® is 100% natural, free of additives, preservatives, artificial colours and flavours, refined sugars and gluten. Do note that as with all pure honeys, Beeotic® may contain traces of pollen.
Can you consume prebiotics and probiotics at the same time?
Upside down PET bottle with an easy-squeeze cap that prevents drips
One can definitely consume both pro and prebiotics together! In fact, we at The Wellness Insider have been happily added Beeotic® honey into our daily dose of kombucha. The benefit of consuming both is that you’re effectively covering both grounds; replenishing the body’s good bacteria and also feeding good bacteria already present in the gut. This is probably why the folks at Beeotic like to call their latest product the “Happy Tummy Honey”!
Beeotic® will be available in all leading supermarkets in Singapore in two BPA-free PET variants: 500g jar (RSP with GST: S$22) and 340g upside down (RSP with GST:S$16.80).
1. Gibson et al. 2010
Photo credits: Capilano and Pixabay
