Manuka honey

jocotty

Hi,

I have read that manuka honey is very good for you- especially for the stomach.


Does anyone know the best way to take manuka honey, so as to get its full affect- do you just eat it from the spoon, or add it with food?

How much should a person take per day, and what times are best to take it?

Donalh

Not an expert but I have been taking Manuka for years and have read a bit about it. Its also very good for coughs, colds, sore throats and boosting the immune system in general. Main thing to be aware of is not to add it to anything too hot. It would be impaired if you added it to a boiling cup of tea or cooked it into porridge. Best to take it straight off the spoon or added to warm food/drink. I give my little one a warm manuka and lemon drink when she has a cough/cold and it works wonders.

Dizzyblonde

This question is more suited to Nutrition & Diet.
Moved from Food & Drink.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

im pretty sure manuka is just a marketing buzz, so long as you get raw honey you'll get the benefits

hyperborean

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

im pretty sure manuka is just a marketing buzz, so long as you get raw honey you'll get the benefits

Your telling me I have been wasting €12 per small jar on imported new zealand honey, balls.... I feel like a fool

wobblyknees

I think many would suggest that Manuka Honey = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo

arse..biscuits

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

im pretty sure manuka is just a marketing buzz, so long as you get raw honey you'll get the benefits

This.

I'm a bee keeper and you would be as well off just going to a honey show and buying off a local bee keeper. I know another bee keeper who went to New Zealand and spent some time working with bees, she told them the price of Manuka in Ireland and they nearly fell over, they simply could not believe it. Manuka is a poor tasting honey to them and only sold to food companies who use it because it's cheap and no one wants to eat it.
Some marketing people decided to sell it as a health product and viola, people will pay through the nose for it.

Donalh

OP, do not dismiss the benefits Manuka honey based on the comments above. I completely agree that there is no hard evidence to prove Manuka can heal INTERNAL medical conditions such as ulcers. However, there is evidence to support its healing benefits for skin, mouth & throat complaints. Studies and trials have proven that Manuka has a FAR higher antibacterial properties than regular honeys. Here comes the science bit... Hydrogen peroxide is a component of honey. It gives most honey its antibiotic quality, but manuka honey also has other components with antibacterial qualities. The major antibacterial component in manuka honey is methylglyoxal (MG). MG is a compound found in most types of honey, but usually only in small quantities. In manuka honey, MG comes from the conversion of another compound - dihydroxyacetone - that is found in high concentration in the nectar of manuka flowers. MG gives manuka honey its antibacterial power. The higher the concentration of MG, the stronger the antibacterial effect. Putting science aside, let me speak from personal experience - I refute the claim that it is a Placebo effect (especially when it comes from someone who inserts a wiki link to explain the word Placebo ;-) , my 3 year old doesnt know regular honey from Manuka honey but yet when I give here Manuka over regular..she fights off sore throats, coughs and colds in half the time. I also think its the best tasting honey out there :-) Give it a try

cormie

There are indeed a lot of companies cashing in and tricking people into buying what they call Manuka Honey but the real stuff is scientifically tested and proven. The cheaper stuff in the supermarkets (which is more expensive than regular honey) wouldn't typically have any health benefits and the health benefits can only be seen in the more expensive (100+) rated Manuka Honey. The University of Dresden have found a minimum of 100MG is required to be of health benefit. 550MG is amongst the strongest you can get but is about €60 for 250gm.

jocotty

cormie wrote: »

There are indeed a lot of companies cashing in and tricking people into buying what they call Manuka Honey but the real stuff is scientifically tested and proven. The cheaper stuff in the supermarkets (which is more expensive than regular honey) wouldn't typically have any health benefits and the health benefits can only be seen in the more expensive (100+) rated Manuka Honey. The University of Dresden have found a minimum of 100MG is required to be of health benefit. 550MG is amongst the strongest you can get but is about €60 for 250gm.

I got 100+ manuka honey in tesco, 250g, for €8

Just a few days after buying the same size 22+ manuka in a health shop for €38

cormie

Again, there's different ratings, the stuff in supermarkets is generally not the right stuff and is labelled in a way to make it confusing for consumers.

jocotty

cormie wrote: »

Again, there's different ratings, the stuff in supermarkets is generally not the right stuff and is labelled in a way to make it confusing for consumers.

there both the exact same, with exact same writing, only very slight difference in the label colour.

anyway, does anyone know how to take this manuka honey? day or night - with or without food?

cormie

Can you tell me what brand you got in tesco?

Sadderday

I always buy manuka when I feel a cold coming on, mix it with lemon juice in hot water... seems to work for me,,, but could be the placebo effect

cormie

Not too hot or you'll kill the goodness from the honey

Sadderday

cormie wrote: »

Not too hot or you'll kill the goodness from the honey

Didn't know that!, thanks

jocotty

cormie wrote: »

Can you tell me what brand you got in tesco?

Watson and sons

cormie

Just had a look at the Watson and Son prices on tesco.ie, this is pretty confusing alright, I remember hearing before that Watson and Son was a good brand, their 400+ is for sale for €13 and I saw 400+ of many other brands for around €40

Cienciano

According to wiki the antibacterial properties work externally if you put it on a wound. I definitely think the cold and sore throat prevention are a placebo

jocotty

cormie wrote: »

Just had a look at the Watson and Son prices on tesco.ie, this is pretty confusing alright, I remember hearing before that Watson and Son was a good brand, their 400+ is for sale for €13 and I saw 400+ of many other brands for around €40

do you take it with or without food?

cormie

I'm not sure it matters with or without food, it doesn't specify on the packaging of the €60 550 I bought

I'm not sure how much the manuka honey helped, but I got over a pretty bad flu recently, quicker than my friend did who was taking medication, with a combination of garlic, ginger, lemon and manuka honey.

I was crushing a few cloves of garlic at a time, stirring in with manuka honey and eating it straight, I'd then blend about 10cm of ginger root with maybe 3 whole lemons and a litre of water.

sbsquarepants

jocotty wrote: »

I got 100+ manuka honey in tesco, 250g, for €8

Just a few days after buying the same size 22+ manuka in a health shop for €38

I think as a rule, almost everything from health food shops is hugely over priced. For example i buy brazil nuts from lidl for around €3 per bag, for a very slightly bigger bag (10% bigger) in my local holland and barrett is almost €19, same thing with vitamins and supplements practically all of them are 2 to 4 times the price in the health food shops.

cormie

I'd disagree with that sbsquarepants, Tesco is far more expensive for a LOT of things you'd find in health shops.

Take organic cashew nuts, €4.19 for 150gm pack in tesco, €4.51 for 250gm pack in local health shop.

Holland and Barrett is vastly overpriced itself on a lot of things too.

Organic veg in Tesco is much more expensive than local shops and for example the Dublin Food Co-Op.

You just have to shop around I guess, you'll get some things cheaper in some places, but the same shop might be more expensive for something else.