Finn’s Q&A – manuka honey

So we asked Finn to tell us more about the legendary manuka honey, and how it can help us.  It's fascinating.  He and Erica are hosting an event in The Hopsack – Spring Cleaning – Take the Broom to Your Body! (24th January – 7pm).  Where you can find out even more interesting advice like this.

Finn's Q&A – manuka honey

We’re all pretty sick at the moment right? Sick of the news, sick of the Christmas indulgence, sick of the gym (already!) and generally sick to the back teeth of getting ripped off when buying well known, heavily advertised cough and cold remedies. They claim to fight your infection, relieve your headache and give you a hug as good as your gran’s all in the bargain.  One of the biggest issues with this (second only to the fact that your gran’s hugs cannot be replaced) is that most remedies put their greatest focus on the temporary relief of symptoms. Then once your headache comes back and you start to feel that chill coming over you, you’ll end up getting through a bottle of [insert spurious remedy name] pretty darned fast.  Great for [insert spurious remedy name] sales eh… cynical us?

There do exist though, in nature, some substances that pack a punch bigger than their advertising budget.  One that has become a household name in the last decade or more is manuka honey link to special offers?. A seemingly innocuous and straightforward medicine cabinet staple, but one with a few secret weapons – these come in the form of its non-peroxide antimicrobial activity.  You see, all honey has some bug-killing benefits. Those little furry critters that make the stuff for us produce a raft of enzymes, many of which we don’t yet have the technology to properly assess. But what we do know is that when we put them in a petri dish with a few spores of infectious disease they act like a good ol’ fashioned prison guard, doing the rounds and not letting any nasties out of their box.

So why manuka? 

Why not just any old shiny, squeezy, supermarket honey?  What’s unique about it?  Well, it’s all a out where those little bees are flying and the nectar they’re feeding on.  No prizes for knowing that manuka comes from New Zealand… but a small prize for knowing that the bees are foraging on the tea tree plant – highly prized for its antibacterial qualities, but also extremely toxic for humans to consume.  But, whatever our little winged friends do, there’s no poison in the sweet nectar that we extract from the hive at the end of the season.  We just benefit from the good bits – another magic trick from nature!

Another great thing about manuka is the mucolytic effect – nerd alert! (sorry). Mucolytics are substances that break down thickened or dried mucus and help our bodies to rid themselves of this cough-inducing gunk… and that mucus is what usually holds on to latent secondary infections.  So clearing it out doesn’t just help us breathe easier but should also help to lessen our time out life too.

How to take it?

Manuka comes in a bunch of grades – all with different applications and budgetary considerations (we’ll get to this in a sec).  We don’t really put huge stock in the really low strength stuff, as some studies demonstrate that its health promoting properties are comparable to a good raw honey.  So for its protective effects and to reduce the pressure on household bills, we recommend Equal Exchange’s Ulmo Blossom Honey link as your daily – save the manuka for when that throat begins to tickle.  This honey comes from Chile, where the bees get their fodder from the big, beautiful, white bloom of the ulmo plant.  Studies reveal significant antibacterial properties, similar in effect to a weaker manuka honey.

Okay so back to the point – if you do feel the start of a sore throat coming on, that’s the time to think – MANUKA!  Take a look at this handy explanation of the two major grading mechanisms.  Try MGO100 to start with, 1 teaspoon straight on the tongue taken 3-4 times per day should help to nip the pesky illness in the bud.  If you have a household of rolling coughs and colds, maybe up it to MGO400.

Higher strengths of manuka have demonstrated effectiveness against Helicobacter infections and even MRSA. But, we recommend you get some guidance from your medical professional if dealing with anything more than a simple cough or cold.  Yes – you can use manuka on an ongoing basis, though it has some effect on our own gut flora,  So, we would suggest taking a break from any immune support supplements from time-to-time, as it seems to improve your body’s response to their effects.

Why is manuka so f’ing pricey??!

So now we have to speak to the hulking elephant in the room. See, when your country estimates a top-end annual yield of 20,000 tonnes, but global sales figures speak of twice this figure – something is definitely awry.  Production has been poorly regulated for many years and (with some state help over the past couple of years) the Manuka Honey Association has now started to get its act together.  So, as it becomes harder for counterfeit manuka to enter the market and with production limited to one small country and its population of busy bees – demand for the real stuff is soaring and prices are heading north.

…but not this month, we have Manuka Health’s entire manuka honey range in our January Special Offers.