As LilyP already knows, my son had a nasty bout of cellulitis and he attended our local surgery where manuka dressings were applied for a few weeks and the results were very good. I am not sure if it has any amazing benefits when taken orally but it does seem proven to work on wounds.
The care home mum is in uses honey dressings and they have helped a number of sore patches etc to heal really well when other medications has failed. Ive often thought of trying this particular honey, as a friend of mine swears by it but it's so expensive.
Honey is a wonderful antiseptic. but in some cheap places they find fit to pack out the honey with syrup (!!!)
Local honey is always wonderful, especially with the comb still in it. I like to chew whole lumps of the wax to get as much honey as possible- delicious stuff. I think Manuka honey is a bit of a con, just go for good quality local stuff.
Manuka honey results from the bees using the New Zealand Manuka shrub as their primary food source. Also known a the Tea Tree you may be more familiar with the essential oil which is a natural antiseptic. The nectar gives the honey a distinctive mild antiseptic smell. In New Zealand batches can be tested and given a rating for UMF or unique Manuka factor. The higher the number the more antiseptic the honey. The high factor honey is used in dressings for wounds and has been scientifically proven to be effective. I have never read any scientific research that proved that eating the high factor product (or using it as an external beauty cream) has any health benefits but the gullible pay vast amounts for jars purporting to have a high "Manuka" factor. I have read that in the U.K. alone more Manuka honey is sold than is produced in New Zealand. When you add in the huge amounts sold in the U.S.A., Europe, China etc. there is clearly a lot of fraud going on. I can't help wondering whether mixing the tea tree oil into any pure honey might be effective, come to think of it perhaps that is what is going on!
The least expensive brand I have seen on sale here is in Aldi. It is labelled with a much lower UMF than the medical grade but tastes OK.
Try to buy local raw honey which has not been heated or fine filtered These two processes remove many of the beneficial enzymes and many beekeepers do this. Pollen is removed and honey is warmed. If honey is warmed to 40 deg C, then there is not much left in the way of 'goodness'. If you can, talk the beekeeper, he/she will be able to tell you about the process they used to extract the honey. Raw honey should be kept in the fridge ... the pollen it contains may make it ferment at room temperature. It is very good for you.
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As LilyP already knows, my son had a nasty bout of cellulitis and he attended our local surgery where manuka dressings were applied for a few weeks and the results were very good. I am not sure if it has any amazing benefits when taken orally but it does seem proven to work on wounds.
The care home mum is in uses honey dressings and they have helped a number of sore patches etc to heal really well when other medications has failed. Ive often thought of trying this particular honey, as a friend of mine swears by it but it's so expensive.
A friend uses this and buys it online.
Honey is a wonderful antiseptic. but in some cheap places they find fit to pack out the honey with syrup (!!!)
Local honey is always wonderful, especially with the comb still in it. I like to chew whole lumps of the wax to get as much honey as possible- delicious stuff. I think Manuka honey is a bit of a con, just go for good quality local stuff.
Manuka honey results from the bees using the New Zealand Manuka shrub as their primary food source. Also known a the Tea Tree you may be more familiar with the essential oil which is a natural antiseptic. The nectar gives the honey a distinctive mild antiseptic smell. In New Zealand batches can be tested and given a rating for UMF or unique Manuka factor. The higher the number the more antiseptic the honey. The high factor honey is used in dressings for wounds and has been scientifically proven to be effective. I have never read any scientific research that proved that eating the high factor product (or using it as an external beauty cream) has any health benefits but the gullible pay vast amounts for jars purporting to have a high "Manuka" factor. I have read that in the U.K. alone more Manuka honey is sold than is produced in New Zealand. When you add in the huge amounts sold in the U.S.A., Europe, China etc. there is clearly a lot of fraud going on. I can't help wondering whether mixing the tea tree oil into any pure honey might be effective, come to think of it perhaps that is what is going on!
The least expensive brand I have seen on sale here is in Aldi. It is labelled with a much lower UMF than the medical grade but tastes OK.
I hope this info is of use.
Try to buy local raw honey which has not been heated or fine filtered These two processes remove many of the beneficial enzymes and many beekeepers do this. Pollen is removed and honey is warmed. If honey is warmed to 40 deg C, then there is not much left in the way of 'goodness'. If you can, talk the beekeeper, he/she will be able to tell you about the process they used to extract the honey. Raw honey should be kept in the fridge ... the pollen it contains may make it ferment at room temperature. It is very good for you.