Honey is a staple in my diet, I use it as a sweetener in herbal teas, on my breakfasts and in many of the dishes I cook. But I don’t only use it as a food, I also recognise the amazing health benefits it can infer; honey has natural anti-bacterial properties, it can help to alleviate digestive problems and allergic reactions, it can also aid wound healing and much more, the list of benefits is endless.
Bourne from some of the most exciting scientific discoveries of our time, one honey in particular has been recognised as having highly potent anti-bacterial properties, this honey is Manuka honey.
Manuka is a wild shrub, native to New Zealand’s North and South islands, and has high antibacterial potency and medicinal properties which led the Maori to use parts of the plant in natural medicines. This shrub donates it amazing properties to honey, via the bees which feed on it, resulting in what we know as Manuka honey. The shrub also gives Manuka honey it’s herbal tangy flavour.
I have been using Manuka honey as a topical treatment for some time now, to help heal wounds and treat a condition I suffer from - Hidradenitis suppurativa, and it really does speed up healing far faster than many of the other potions and lotions I have been recommended.
However, I have found out it can also be used internally to help treat digestive problems. Most honeys cannot survive dilution by the body’s gastric juices, but Manuka honey not only survives dilution, it becomes more potent in the stomach and duodenum. These properties are due to Manuka honey’s unique Activity levels.
What is an Activity Level?
The standard laboratory practice for measuring antiseptic activity it to compare the control with phenol. Therefore, a Manuka honey with 10+ Activity has 10 times the antibacterial, antiseptic and antimicrobial power of a 1% phenol solution. Generally, 15+ Activity Manuka honey is suggested when acute infections are suspected, whilst 5+ and 10+ Manukas are usually employed for general health maintenance.
I have some Rowse 10+ Active Manuka honey, Rowse were the first to introduce Manuka honeys into the mainstream retail trade and they are proving extremely popular. I have been recommended to eat a teaspoon full about half an hour before eating a meal, in order to help with my IBS. I am extremely interested to see what results it gives and I’ll let you know how I get on.
If you would like more info about Manuka honey, the wonderful health benefits it has, or how to use it, take a look at the Rowse website which is full of info about this liquid gold.
I am also very interested to know if any of you also use/eat Manuka honey and what sort of results you have experienced, so please let me know!
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2 Comments on "The miracle of Manuka honey"
Very informative article about Manuka Honey. It’s good to see someone spreading the word on how amazing Manuka Honey is for therapeutic use. I believe Manuka Honey will receive its well-deserved notoriety as a natural healing agent in the future. Right now, it’s natures best kept secret.
HoneymarkProducts.com
While it is good to see honey being promoted, and manuka honey mentioned for its healing properties, there are a few very important clarifications to be made.
Firstly, not all manuka honey is the same. It naturally occurs with different levels, and not all manuka honey contains the special healing properties that have made it famous. All honey is good to a greater or lessor extent through the generation of hydrogen peroxide, which acts as an antiseptic. *SOME* manuka honey also contains an extra antibacterial property, over and above the hydrogen peroxide, that has been called the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF), after research led by the honey research unit of the Waikato University in New Zealand. Not all manuka honey contains UMF, and that which does can have it in different levels.
The research that has been done that has generated a lot of interest in Manuka Honey for its healing properties, and the clinical trials that have been done for its use on things such leg ulcers, has been based on using manuka honey with a properly tested UMF® level of 10+ or higher.
UMF® is an industry trademark, and only some manuka honeys are able to carry it. The Rowse honey does not, for good reason. Rowse (and other brands) that call their manuka honey ‘Active 10+’ is misleading to consumers. Their honey does not contain the UMF® 10+ level - and this can be proven by proper testing. While their honey may be better for you than another ordinary honey, it is NOT the same manuka honey as used by people such as Professor Molan (New Zealand), Dr Rose Cooper (Wales) and other scientific researchers, whose work has used UMF® labelled Manuka Honey.
If people open up and compare a jar of Rowse honey with one that is a UMF® manuka honey they will notice an obvious difference in how it looks, and tastes. I also feel it is inappropriate to refer to it with the term “miracle”, as there is actually some proper research behind the UMF honey, and for example there have recently been some manuka honey products approved by the FDA in America.
Some more useful links for interested readers are:
Waikato University Honey Research Website
UMF Manuka Honey Information
Active Manuka Honey Association
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