We all love a little sweetness in life. If you enjoy the taste of honey, you may as well choose honey that promotes intentional healing!
Today, I want to share with you a variety of honey that is considered to be the most beneficial to your health and wellness and that will add a little magic to your diet.
Manuka Honey vs Regular Honey
Regular honey comes from a variety of flowers around the world and can range from beneficial to the less-desirable sugary syrup kind.
Manuka honey, though, is created by New Zealand bees that pollinate flowers from the Manuka tree which gives it special, beneficial chemicals that regular honeys do not contain.
Manuka Honey has NPA
A lot of honey is filtered or pasteurized during processing. When honey is exposed to heat, it loses its awesome antibacterial properties by breaking down the hydrogen peroxide inside the honey.
Filtering the pollen out of honey reduces the healing and preventative benefits of commercial honey that you find at your local supermarket or online retailer like Amazon.
Luckily, pure Manuka honey has non-peroxide activity, or NPA, which resists heat so it won’t break down due to the saliva or blood in your mouth like regular honey varieties.
The Awesome Benefits of Manuka Honey
Scientists conducted studies on Manuka honey’s properties and concluded that it is packed with antimicrobial and antibacterial benefits and even aids in fighting off viruses.
Topical/Skin: Many people rave about how Manuka honey transforms acne-prone skin and eczema. Apply some where needed, let it work for a few minutes, and then simply wash it off!
Stomach/Intestines: Have you had a stomach ulcer before? Manuka honey’s anti-inflammatory property is good for that, too.
It also helps treat intestinal inflammation and the associated pain so you can get back to your life.
What’s even more exciting? It promotes balance throughout your digestive system which is wonderful for people who suffer from small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), acid reflux, and low stomach acid.
Throat: Manuka honey is great for a sore throat and can even stop Strep throat in its path. The National Cancer Institute believes it provides relief from throat inflammation experienced by chemotherapy patients.
Mouth/Oral: Healthy smiles inspire confidence! Due to its antimicrobial effects, Manuka honey can help treat and reverse some periodontal diseases.
It also reduces plaque, bleeding, gingivitis, and further tooth decay when used regularly. Besides the wonderful taste, I love that I can enjoy the flavor and the health benefits.
Allergies: What’s great is that the active ingredient in Manuka Honey, methylglyoxal (or, MGO), reduces nasal mucus no matter if from allergies, a cold, the flu, or respiratory infections.
Before You Buy Manuka Honey
So, there is a lot of info out there. Let’s break it down together.
Be sure you identify where your Manuka honey is from. Remember, New Zealand is the original source of pure Manuka honey. I always like to read the labels thoroughly just to make sure!
Regular honey passes many standard food-grade tests by government officials. Its antimicrobial benefits, though, are not tested fully so many low-grade honeys pass inspection even when they break a rule or two.
Which Manuka Honey Rating System Is Accurate?
I’ll walk you through the Manuka Honey grading systems for determining its purity and wellness benefits.
MGS, or Molan Gold Standard
Created by Dr. Peter Molan, who discovered the non-peroxide activity of Manuka honey, the MGS system benefits from independent testing at each production stage. And here’s the catch: if a batch of Manuka honey does not test for at least 100mg/1kg of MGO or have a rating of 10+, it fails inspection and therefore is left unrated by MGS testers.
UMF, or Unique Manuka Factor
You might have heard about UMF, a system developed by the independent UMF Honey Association. I like that it measures MGO, DHA, NPA, and leptosperin–a unique chemical only found in Manuka honey.
Like the MGS system, anything with a grade of 10+ or better is good for healing.
MGO, KFactor, and Other Systems
Other rating systems may add synthetic compounds or test the honey themselves which can lead to impurity and rating bias, so be considerate when choosing Manuka honey with these grading systems.
The MGO grading system: Purity is not guaranteed since MGO can be synthetically manufactured and added to honey.
On the other hand, the KFactor grading system does not measure for leptosperin leaving it vulnerable to tampering.
“Active”, “Bio Active” and “Total Activity” honey may contain hydrogen peroxide which deteriorates from heat, fluid, and light exposure lowering its antibacterial strength.
Lots of systems, I know! So, which one can you buy to get the most benefit? I’ll tell you.
Which Grading System is Best?
Part of intentional nutrition is ingesting food products that benefit your body the best.
I recommend using either MGS or UMF-graded Manuka honey brands since these are the only ones that track both MGO and NPA in their testing and use a third party instead of grading it themselves. Anything with a rating of 10+ or higher is considered to be genuine for antibacterial uses.
Manuka honey is a gift to this world, and I hope you reap the benefits for your body and spirit. Do you believe Manuka honey is special?
Be sure to follow my Wellness Blog for more helpful health and wellness articles!
XO – Serena
