Remember the fictional teddy bear character Winnie – The Pooh created by the British author AA Milne, who used to obsess over the honey and had OCD?
Well, it seems like the world has found a real-life Winnie-the Pooh, who gobbled up too much honey and got so high that it made the baby bear so heavy and weak that he passed out in the Düzce national park and had to be rescued by the forest rangers in Turkey.
The bear cub was brown in colour and got into this condition as she drank some ‘mad honey’.
As per a statement issued by Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the female bear cub was taken to the veterinary care centre and was treated for the after-effects of the honey.
Here is all you need to know about it.
What is ‘mad honey’?
Popularly known as ‘mad honey’ for its hallucinogenic properties, this honey is cultivated by beekeepers in the Black Sea region and the Himalayas for centuries. It’s a type of rhododendron honey that can have hallucinogenic effects on a person consuming it.
Effects of ‘mad honey’
Due to the bitter sharp taste of this honey, it is also known as ‘bitter honey’. This honey contains a substance called grayanotoxin, which is found in rhododendron bushes. The after-effects of this honey is such that upon consumption, anyone can become intoxicated, feel dizziness and experience hallucinations. The effects are not just limited to these as the ‘mad honey’ can even give you temporary paralysis.
Benefits of ‘mad honey’
You will be surprised to know that just like other honey, it also offers several benefits. Some of the popular properties of this honey are anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and insecticidal which makes it beneficial to living beings. As per a study published in the journal RSC Advances, mad honey has been used in the past as an aphrodisiac, diabetes, arthritis, in alternative therapy for gastrointestinal disorders such as peptic ulcer disease, dyspepsia & gastritis, and for hypertension for a long time. In another study published in the journal Talanta, it was found that ‘mad honey has the highest level of antioxidant activity among other types of honey and thus can be super healthy’.
Conclusion
With all the data available on this ‘mad honey’, we can assume that this is safe to consume, but with limited quantity. In order to make sure that it has positive effects on the body and mind, one should make sure that it is consumed in a very small quantity and that too after consulting with their nutritionists or doctor.
