Manuka Honey

[cassie1208]

I have heard about this manuka honey - anyone found it beneficial?

What strength would I get?

Brand?

UMF factor - is this essential?

Any advice please?

cassie

[bowler]

How strange I have just read an article about Manuka honey in the Daily mail,

it states that half the manuka honey sold on the high st., " is fake" British shoppers are wasting around £29 million a year on the "liquid gold" Rowse Honey estimates that 45% of manuka honey might be fake. Honey must contain a sufficient amount of Methylglyoxal known as MG0

But tests funded by Rowes found products sold by Harrods , The Mauka Doctor, and Queen Bee Manuka all contained low levels of MG0, with Harvey Nichols manuka 15+ honey lacking in MG0 altogether. Harvey Nichols said its "trusted suppliers..ensure that our manuka honey is 100%authentic" . The other firms did not respond to requests for comment.

I have never tried it, as it's far too expensive.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi,

Think it's can only be called Manuka honey if it's produced in NZ by bees feeding on the Manuka plant! So that's one reason why it's expensive - over there as well as here.

We have a couple of people on this forum from NZ, so maybe they can explain its properties idc - still only breakfast time there!

[Celtic PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Cassie, I've been having Manuka honey daily for years and I'm a great believer in its benefits which range from helping to aid digestion to having antibacterial qualities. The only downside is the cost!

Yes the UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) is essential as it is a guarantee of the quality and antibacterial strength of the product so always look for UMF trademark on the jar. Just today there has been an article in the press about fake Manuka honey circulating on the market. Whereas when I first discovered it there were only a couple of different manufacturers, there are now loads. The following is an extract from an article published by the UMF Honey Association as to why all Manuka honey doesn't carry the UMF trademark:

"There is a plethora of other 'manuka honeys' and honeys from other countries on the market using a variety of descriptions and implied claims of containing NPA (Non-Peroxide Activity), such as 'active', bioactive' 'AAA' etc. These terms do not guarantee NPA antibacterial qualities and any numbers that might appear on the jar such as +10 or +15 are meaningless to the retailer and consumer as they do not adhere to the recognised NPA standard behind the research on Manuka honey."

I started with UMF +10 years ago but now, especially in winter, I'm inclined towards UMF +15. It is very expensive but I generally wait for the online offers from Holland & Barrett, such as 'buy one, get one half price'.

[piglette]

I take Manuka honey with yogurt. I read that if you calculated the number of bees against the number of pots of Manuka honey produced, obviously someone was scamming. Manuka honey does have anti bacterial qualities. There was something on TV saying that it was not much better than ordinary honey, but who knows.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

All honey probably has antibacterial properties! And yes - there is so much so-called Manuka honey about it cannot possibly be all genuine.

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

That is right all honey is supposed to have anti bacterial properties. I read somewhere they were using Manuka honey and maggots to fight off super bugs in hospitals!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

Honey dressings have been used for years to heal difficult wounds - and a nurse from somewhere in Africa I think introduced it in a midlands hospital and did a PhD thesis on it I believe!

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

In fact a medical version of honey is actually available for hospitals as opposed to buying it from your local Waitrose!