The Effect of Honey and Diet Education on Symptoms of Functional Dyspepsia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Functional dyspepsia is one of the most common and disturbing symptoms that affect many patients visiting health care centers.

This study was intended to examine the efficacy of honey and diet education in functional dyspepsia symptoms.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients with functional dyspepsia symptoms in two groups. Patients from both groups received necessary education provided by a gastroenterology subspecialist for modifying their dietary patterns. Experimental group patients also received a teaspoon of honey per day, 30 minutes before each meal for 30 days. The severity of each symptom was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale.

A total of 30 patients in each group were assessed. Patients' mean age was 35.07 ± 12.24 and 40.22 ± 11.43 years in the experimental and control groups, respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of demographic characteristics (P ≥ 0.05). There were significant differences in the signs of functional dyspepsia before and after the intervention in both groups (P < 0.05). Mann-Whitney U test showed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups in any of the symptoms after the intervention (P ≥ 0.05).

The consumption of honey alone was unable to affect gastrointestinal factors in patients with functional dyspepsia. However, the improvement of symptoms in both groups due to the dietary pattern education is worth considering.