The Magic of Manuka Honey

My health savvy mother taught me at a very early age that honey wasn't just honey.....Oh no, honey was medicine! And not just any old kind of medicine either, but the healthiest and most natural medicine that God ever created.  My mom used honey on everything and for everything, every ailment we came down with, she would take out her honey and say, "Say Ahhhhh" and we'd take a spoonful along along with some home-made apple cider vinegar too.  At the time I hated that, but strangely enough that honey ritual is one I practice even to this day; sore throat, congestion, headache, cold, flu, acne, etc, it's always honey that I reach for too.  Because of my mother, I grew up learning that everything in nature (unharmed by man) had healing and comforting powers. Honey was our antibiotic, not what was behind the pharmacy counter. 

Honey has such an impressive and lengthy resume.   For starters, besides being a natural antibiotic, honey is the only food that never spoils.  Did you know that?  It's so true.  Honey never goes bad, not even when the color or texture changes, it still tastes delicious and it's still extremely healthy for you.  So, if you have a jar of honey in your cubbie right now that looks like it's been there since the 1800's -- just leave it be, don't throw it out, it's safe enough to eat.  Another cool tid-bit about honey is that it holds a huge array of medicinal properties, it's anti-septic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-fungal. Talk about natural medicine, right? 

So what makes honey so miraculous?  Well, it's all those live enzymes of course.  Live enzymes, antioxidants and the phytochemicals, to be exact.  But, before you go supermarket crazy buying every jar of honey in sight, keep in mind that the only way to get all those medicinal benefits of honey is to read the label carefully.  If it reads - RAW, that's the  honey you want.  Raw, unpasteurized and unheated honey retains nutrients, enzymes and vitamins beneficial to curing ailments.  Nothing has been destroyed by heat and everything good and healing has been maintained.  Steer clear of the teddy bear shaped bottle giving you the "come hither" look, the only thing that teddy bear's got is his adorable cuddle, everything inside has been heated, processed and stripped of it's nutrients - you don't need that so walk away fast. 

One of the best medicine honeys in the world is one called: Manuka Honey. 

Manuka Honey is a special type of honey that only comes from New Zealand where the bees harvest the honey from flowers that grow on the Manuka tree bush.  Manuka Honey has a Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) number labeled on the front of the jar.  Not all Manuka Honey has this distinctive UMF number, so they won't all have anti-bacterial, anti-viral or anti-septic benefits.   But when you see that tag: Active +, you will know, without a doubt, that this honey will destroy a very large number of germs, viruses and bacteria in the body.  The higher the UMF level, (Active + number) the higher the health benefits.

Try these 3 choices:

Manuka Doctor Active 24+ is my top choice for honey used as medicine.  The large active number here tells me that this honey is powerful and works fast at healing the body.  I usually put one teaspoon of this honey in warm water with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and drink it first thing in the morning when I'm not feeling quite like myself.  If the germ bug has got you down, take our this secret weapon and zap those germs away. 

Manuka Health Manuka Honey Active 20 + has strong antibacterial benefits and heals even things like gastritis and ulcers.  Wonderful tasting and totally medicinal.

Wedderspoon Gold 100% Raw Manuka Honey Active 16+ is great for skin issues; acne, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, rosacea, etc.  Works well taken orally to cure skin toxicity issues from the inside and works great applied to the skin topically to help relieve itching, scars, acne, inflammation.  I usually use this honey for those reasons and use the 2 above for stronger problems.

Benefits of Manuka Honey

∯ Sore Throat ∯ Colds & Flu ∯ Gum Disease ∯ Constipation 

∯ Diarrhea ∯ Stomachaches ∯ Insect bites ∯ Heartburn 

∯ Rashes ∯ Cold sores ∯ Nail fungus ∯ Athletes foot

∯ Staph infections ∯ Candida infections (yeast) ∯ Psoriasis

Just keep in mind, Raw is always the best choice!

Stay Healthy.....

xxx