Honey is a natural dessert, in which humanity has been in love for several thousand years, and not only because it fully satisfies our need for sweets. Honey as an ingredient in wound healing recipes was found in the records on clay tablets dating back to 2000 BC. Pliny Sr. wrote about the effectiveness of honey in the treatment of pneumonia, pleurisy and snake bites.
In traditional Chinese medicine and ayurveda, honey is used from almost everything from fighting infections to suppressing nausea and coughing. Modern science has confirmed the powers of honey: now everyone knows that it has antioxidant and prebiotic properties when ingested, and antimicrobial action when applied topically. Meanwhile, it cannot be said that all honey is equally useful.
There is a huge difference between the usual honey and manuka - very expensive honey with powerful properties, which rather quickly became the leader of “honey sales” and moved from the shelves of healthy people to healthy hospitals and products of cosmetic brands.
In fact, each type of honey is a high-quality antiseptic due to the presence of glucose in the oxidase. This is a special enzyme in bee saliva, which promotes the reaction of releasing antibacterial hydrogen peroxide into the body without harming healthy cells, but effectively destroying the sick. Why then exactly manuka honey beats sales records, quickly gained tremendous popularity around the world and the unofficial title of “the most useful honey”?
Manuka’s homeland is white and pink flowers of a tree-like shrub with the scientific name thin-broom seed and manuka in Maori language in New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania, reaching up to 15 meters in height.
When flowering occurs, the plant produces an antibacterial substance called methylglyoxal, which during the pollination of flowers is collected along with the bee nectar.
While other types of honey usually lose their antimicrobial potential under the influence of light and heat, manuka, thanks to methylglyoxal, continues to have antiseptic, anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, the properties of manuka are maintained even during irradiation and sterilization - which makes it a truly indispensable product for medical use. Manuka has its own efficiency measurement system, which is calculated based on the death rate of bacteria and viruses. The outdated name is “unique manuka factor” (UFM), the new one is an indicator of the level of dietary methylglyoxal (MGO).
Accordingly, the higher this indicator, the higher the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial properties of honey.
Although the manuka plant was used for medicinal purposes in New Zealand, the birthplace of Maori, for centuries, the unique antibacterial properties of manuka honey were first identified by biochemist Peter Molan in the 80s (who later founded the Medical Research University of Waikato in New Zealand).
Large-scale clinical studies began only in the last decade. Studies at major universities and medical schools have shown that when taken orally, this honey can heal mouth ulcers that occur after chemotherapy, reduce the number of bacteria in the stomach that cause gastritis, and reduce oxidative damage to DNA in rats.
In 2013, scientists at the University of the United Arab Emirates found that in combination with other therapies, intravenous administration of manuka honey helped slow the growth of cancer in mice.
A large number of tests clearly indicate that Manuka is able to destroy more than 80 strains of bacteria, including the most drug-resistant superbugs — such as the deadly type of staphylococcus and Streptococcus pyogenic.
In addition, when treating wounds, manuka not only draws out lymphatic fluid and eliminates infections, but also oxidizes the pH level of the skin - thereby accelerating healing and stimulating cellular rejuvenation.
MANUKA Canada Company is proud to serve many Canadians in various locations: Quebec (Montreal, Westmount, Kirkland, etc.), New Brunswick (Oromocto, Sackville, Dieppe, Riverview, etc.), Manitoba (Winnipeg, Brandon, Winkler, Dauphin, etc.), Saskatchewan (Regina, Saskatoon, Winkler, Neepawa, etc.), Nova Scotia (Halifax, New Glasgow, etc.)