Manuka honey

[dinger]

I want to get some manuka honey can anyone advise me on which strength I should buy as don't quite understand the benefits of it . I went to the health shop yesterday but felt a bit daft not knowing which or why there are different strengths .

[Ivy]

Why do you want to buy manuka honey? Local honey not heated is far better than imported ones, because it contains the pollen of your area and therefore is a real boost to your immune system. (and a support for the local bee-keepers who are struggling badly with all that cheap imported honey flooding the market)

[Katelb]

Manuka honey is very expensive ,and in many cases ,as Ivy says, it is as good as a local one,but I have been taking Manuka for ages,and it does seem to have something about it which ordinary ,even local honey, doesn't have. If you don't want some to help a specific symptom dinger I think you would be alright to start with with 5+,but the 10+ is a good average for most things,the 15+ is not really needed except in extreme cases and it does have quite a strong flavour. I have always used the 10+ but see how you take to it first.

[bonnie]

What does it do?

[Shelli]

Funnily enough - there's an article on a great website I look at from time to time !! (see homepage of something called "Rural Muse" - whatever that is!)

Honey is widely available on the shelves of our supermarkets, and is well known for its healthy qualities. Quite a few of us like to spread some honey on a slice of toast, and it is frequently used in cooking recipes. Most of us think of honey as being purely a food, but there are many honey health benefits.

However, there is one type of honey that benefits not only the inside of our bodies, but for some of us it has practical applications for the outside. A variant of “Manuka Honey”, available from New Zealand, provides health benefits and treatments and has had clinical trials, resulting with acknowledgement on a scientific and medical level.

“Active” Manuka Honey, as it is known, is beneficial both as an internal cure for some medical conditions, as well as a skin treatment with antibacterial qualities. Treatment with honey is not a new concept - it has been used by many different cultures throughout history via a process named “Apitherapy”. This term describes the treatment of ailments with natural honey.

Unique Properties of Active Manuka Honey
On the basis that Active Manuka Honey has enjoyed growing acceptance by both the academic and medical world in recent times, it is therefore no surprise that reports of the unique properties of this amazing find have proliferated in the world’s press and media. It is definitely an amazing discovery and will help thousands of people with various ailments, some of which have failed treatment under traditional medical care.

So what is so special about Manuka Honey? In order to understand this we need to look at where it comes from and how it gains its unique properties. If you’re lucky, by venturing into the parts of New Zealand with unspoiled and undeveloped terrain you may find a Manuka Bush. Manuka Honey produced by the bees originates from the flowers of this rare plant. However, for honey from the Manuka Bush to be classed as “Active”, it needs to have a Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) property. Not all Manuka Honey has the UMF standard and therefore Active Manuka Honey is a very limited resource indeed.

Active UMF Manuka Honey
Active UMF Manuka Honey has two properties which give it an advantage over ‘ordinary’ Manuka Honey - hydrogen peroxide, and its own natural antibacterial property. Many doctors believe the Active Manuka Honey provides many therapeutic uses. This unique distinction provides the basis of the UMF rating provided the industry. UMF is now an official trademark, and is usually sold in jars as “honey cream”.

Honey Health Benefits
Active Manuka Honey has proven health benefits in both internal and external applications. For example, external ulcers, and other skin disorders have been found to benefit from treatment with the honey cream. Internal ulcers also benefit and some patients claim to feel much better after taking the honey “raw” from a spoon. Recently, it has proved to be effective against MRSA in laboratory tests. MRSA (staphylococcus aureus) strains of bacteria are notorious for being resistant to antibiotics and are responsible for many deaths in UK hospitals every year. Research continues but the initial results are very encouraging.

When it comes to natural health, many doctors may be sceptical about a product unless there are proven scientific benefits. Manuka Honey has succeeded in proving its worth and convincing a number of high ranking doctors that Active UMF Manuka Honey is potentially a cure for internal and external ailments that are not always curable via traditional methods.

[dinger]

That was very helpful Shelli .I was going to try it as I am extra prone to infections due to another medical ailment years ago . I have heard many people praise it for it's health benefits and thought it may be good for myself and also Sheds .Thank you for the information I am very grateful. Think I will give it a go .

[Shelli]

I was talking to an acquaintance yesterday and she works at a lymphology clinic - they use Manuka honey dressings for wounds

she said they are really good - but if anyone is borderline diabetic not to use - they had a patient and using the honey dressings got it striaght into the blood stream and tipped her over into diabetes

Shelli X

[dinger]

I have also heard it is good for ulcerated legs as a dressing .

[Shelli]

yes that and maggot dressings !!! - I know which I would prefer Dinger!