Manuka Honey! - Raw Foods With Super Powers [Native To NZ]
New Zealands native honey has recently been in the spotlight for its medicinal possibilities!
I first heard of manuka honey when I was walking through the Queen Victoria Building. This iconic Sydney shopping hub has all sorts of high end clothes and cosmetic stores. Sitting right in the middle of the walkway was a skin care store selling manuka honey enriched facial scrubs.
I'd suffered with pubescent acne that had now lasted into my late teens. I'd tried everything from Clearasil to salt scrubs and nothing had worked.
A month after making a $200 investment in the product, my skin had cleared up significantly. If only I'd known I could have just used the stuff straight out of a jar.
All honey is delicious!
It has been used for over 8,000 years to treat sore throats, rashes and even sun burn. However not all honey is made equal.
Honey acquires its chemical properties from a number of factors. The bees that manufacture manuka honey source their pollen from flowering Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) plants. These plants are native to New Zealand and the key to the honey's power (and it's name).
It is suggested that Australia may have similar species of flowering plant, allowing for medical grade honey to be available in Australia also.
What give manuka honey it's unique powers is the presence of methylglyoxal (MGO). The presence of this and other natural active chemicals, vitamins and phytonutrients make it the top honey for natural remedies.
Now, I should mention
All manuka honey isn't made equal either. Some has more Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) than others. Ideally you are looking for a UMF rating of between 10-18. This is important when sourcing genuine high quality manuka honey.
So what else is in it?
Before we look at a list of it's properties, lets fully appreciate some of the naturally occurring compounds it contains.
Phenyllactic acid
Isoferulic acid
4-Methoxyphenolactic acid
p-Coumaric acid
Kojic acid
Gallic acid
5-Hydroxymethylfurfural
4-Hydrobenzoic acid
2-Methoxybenzoic acid
Syringin acid
Phenylacetic acid
Quercetin
Methyl syringate
Luteolin
Dehydrovomifoliol
8-Methoxykaempferol
Leptosin
Pinocembrin
Glyoxal
Isorhamnetin
Methylglyoxal
Kaempferol
3-Deoxyglucosulose
Chrysin
Galangin
Pinobanksin
Amino acids
B vitamins (B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid)
Calcium
Copper
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sodium
Zinc
This combination gives us the follow list of health benefits
Anti Inflammatory
Antioxidant
Which can be used to treat
Acne and Eczema.
Staph Infections (MRSA)
Burns, Wounds & Ulcers.
Tooth Decay & Gingivitis.
IBS and IBD.
Sore Throats and Immunity.
Allergies and Sinusitis.
So what's the best way to enjoy this great honey?
A tablespoon of manuka honey every day will help with stomach bacteria, dental health and provide plenty of vitamin B. Adding a spoon to your morning coffee is a great sugar alternative as well. You can also mix the honey with salad dressings for a sweet variation! Or just eat it raw from the tub, it tastes amazing.
If you want to use to to disinfect a wound, treat a rash, acne or any other skin condition. Simply apply a small amount to the affected area and leave on for an hour or so. I use it for any skin issue I have. It has worked wonders for me.
I hope you found this informative! Manuka honey is amazing and is so versatile. Grab a jar from your local health food store. Ensure it is 100% genuine mauka honey, there are plenty of rip offs.
All the best, harrynewman
Sources:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0018229
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4837971/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3758027/
http://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/3/3/420/htm
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0167780
https://draxe.com/manuka-honey-benefits-uses/
This is pretty cool! There's also a honey that's made by Himalayan cliff bees in Nepal that can make people hallucinate but I've heard it also has some health benefits. Bees are awesome!
I have seen a documentary about those bees! The natives climb the cliff and light a fire below it. The smoke calms the bees as they rappel down and collect the hallucinatory honey.
Read more here: http://www.realclearlife.com/food-drink/nepals-hallucinatory-honey/
Buy the highest UMF you can. A little goes a very long way. Its very useful treating healing cuts and grazes. Seems to heal faster and reduce scarring/discoloration
I believe this! My friend had an accident with a belt sander that removed a lot of skin from her finger. Every night she dipped the wound in manuka honey and coconut oil and you can hardly tell it happened now that it's healed.
I'm glad you liked the post :)
The best honey there is for sure. Really love using it daily and would suggest everyone to switch refined sugars to manuka :)
100%! It's so important you source high quality stuff though. Some time you have to pay for the quality though
Indeed, manuka honey has many benefits for our health.
It does, also I think it's delicious! I love how science is finding so many amazing uses for foods nowadays.
Great piece. In the US manuka honey is a bit expensive, at least twice the price of local honey. I had a hormone imbalance for 8 years (high T) and nothing seemed to help my skin till we finally figured out the problem. Now I can mix honey and other products to make face scrubs and it works great.
That isn't surprising. It isn't super expensive here in Australia because New Zealand are our close neighbours. I'm glad you found a treatment that works :)
Right, I imagine it's a pricey import. NZ is on my bucket list.
Thank you for this post, I love to read about miracles of mother nature ☺ upvoted, resteemed and followed!
Thank you man! Followed back to show support :)
NICE!!! I will keep a jar of Manuka in my kitchen now! I didnt know it was so powerful. I know its pretty damn good
Great post. You got my upvote :D
Hi, great article, I want to be careful not to break any rules here through pitching my recent release Manuka Honey business, but I feel its appropriate to mention that you can buy, using crypto, legitimate Manuka Honey shipped direct from NZ, plus the profits go to ecological restoration projects. I like to call it crypto honey. Anyone interested link is through my profile. Win for health and win for the natural environment.
Constructive criticism is welcome.