Disclaimer: The findings discussed are lab based and further studies need to be done.

You might be wondering, “How can I strengthen my immune system?” Along with getting enough sleep, the CDC recommends eating healthy, well-balanced meals. This can mean adding maple syrup into your diet because of its known abilities to fight infections.

Maple syrup has amazing antimicrobial properties, which can help your body’s immune system fight harmful bacteria. A group of substances obtained by extracting the phenolic compounds from North American maple syrup, called phenolic-rich maple syrup extracts (PRMSE), give maple syrup its antimicrobial properties. Research shows that not only do these maple extracts have the ability to shrink tumor cells, but they can significantly inhibit the growth of the biofilms, which are large colonies of bacteria. Biofilms are much harder to combat because of their size they are able to resist common antibacterial treatments, and PRMSE has stronger antibacterial activity than originally thought according to a recent study.