Thought for the day :"I don't need a reason to enjoy a little wine. All I need is a glass."
A thought about mead..
Honey-based mead may curb antibiotic resistance, say makers
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - 02:08
Scientists in Sweden say that mead - the age-old beverage made of honey
and water - could help in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Jim
Drury reports.
The word Elixir means medicinal potion.....Swedish scientist Tobias
Olofsson says his new alcoholic drink Honey Hunter's Elixir is just
that.
It's a new type of mead - a honey-based brew dubbed 'the
drink of the Gods' by Vikings.
But Oloffson has a secret ingredient - 13 lactic acid
bacteria found in the honey stomach of honeybees.
Alongside Lund University colleague Alejanda Vasquez,
Olofsson revealed last year that the bacteria contained antibiotic
properties.
He says Elixir could have wide ranging health benefits.
LUND UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER, TOBIAS
OLOFSSON SAYS:
"We've seen in our research that the honey bees actually
add great flora of lactic acid bacteria in honey so the mead, when
produced, is actually fermented by these lactic acid bacteria together
with wild yeasts and the lactic acid bacteria can really kill off all
the dangerous pathogens that are even resistant against anti-biotics. So
our thinking is that the mead, when you consume the mead, these lactic
acid bacteria in the drink can actually be transferred to your blood and
help you when you are infected with dangerous bacteria or promote
health, preventing infections."
In lab tests the bacteria killed all human pathogens it
came up against.
The pair already sell H13, a honey containing the
bacteria. By contrast, commercial honey is sterilised during production.
Vasquez hopes Elixir will be shown to improve our health.
LUND UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER ALEJANDRA
VASQUEZ SAYS:
"We will have volunteers drinking this drink and measure
different parameters to see if the compounds the bacteria produce could
end up in the blood system and for that to cause a prevention or a cure
for infections."
Scientists world-wide are seeking new ways to combat the
growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
Its makers say Honey Hunter's Elixir could be part of the
answer and have launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.
Finding an alcoholic drink that both raises the spirits
and keeps you healthy has long seemed a fantasy.
And if Elixir proves to be that elusive tipple, drinkers
everywhere will happily toast its success.
And on another matter - a missive from the pen of Mr Roger Morgan - the Barber Surgeon..
What a day it has been. You see The Colours are at the centre of a
Regiment or Corps. They are basically flags with the battle honours of a
Regiment embroidered on them and as such they become the very soul and
heart of a Regiment. Men have died to save the colours from the enemy
and they are treated with huge reverence and honour. Well, today the old
colours of the Royal Welsh were marched off parade for the last time,
to be laid up in a suitable place, and the new colours m
arched
on.
More than that, the new colours were presented by the Queen today
in Cardiff, you may have seen it on the news. For me it was very
special, because along with good friends from the 41st (Wales and
Canada) the Great War Society, the Welsh Reg and of course the 1879s we
stood as historical soldiers for the present Regiment in the presence of
the Queen.
And as she walked between the two columns of soldiers of the
past, within a foot or two distance, smiling and acknowledging us as
she went, I couldn't help thinking of two men without whom I wouldn't be
here. My grandfathers. Jim Morgan and Jim Irvine. Both South Wales
Borderers who 'did their bit' in WW1 and were proud of serving their
country and King. They never got close to their monarch, but in standing
as a SWB in the uniform of the Boer War I hope that I stood as much
them as for the men of 1902 in the presence of my Queen today. Like I
said, what a day it has been.
I'll drink to that ... in fact - that sounds lie a good idea..
Cheers!
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