10 Amazing health benefits of manuka honey.
Manuka is a unique honey that's made in New Zealand and Australia by honey
bees that pollinate a plant called the Manuka Bush (Leptospermum scoparium)
Manuka honey is known worldwide for its natural healing properties,
as it contains a powerful active ingredient called MGO (methylglyoxal).
Regular honey is made by bees that take nectar and pollen from many different flowers.
However manuka honey is made almost exclusively from manuka flowers,
which contain some unique and healing ingredients in its nectar and pollen,
that the bees take back to the beehive and produce this amazing honey.
In fact studies show us that manuka contains 4x more nutrients than regular honey.
As you see here its contains amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, a range
of important mineral, b vitamins and also the healing phytonutrients which come manuka flowers.
So for example if you (on the label) Take a look online or in health food stores at a
jar of manuka honey, you'll find a grading number called (UMF). Graded anywhere between from 1 - 20+
This unique manuka factor (UMF) is what makes this honey much more
powerful than other types of honey in terms of its antimicrobial properties.
The higher UMF rating, the more healing chemicals
the manuka honey contains (such as MGO, DHA and Leptosperin .
People have actually been using raw manuka honey for around 200
years as a natural medicine, and it's well documented today for its healing capabilities.
In this video we will be exploring the top 10 amazing health benefits
of using manuka honey at home, and how to use it.
Just a quick reminder this video is for educational purposes only,
so do speak to your doctor if you have any medical concerns or are taking any type of medication.
1. Coughing & Sore Throat The first and most popular use for
manuka is treating a sore throat or a cough.
You can use 1 teaspoon of raw manuka honey 3 times per day
if your suffering from a sore throat, a cough or an upper respiratory infection.
Studies show that manuka acts a natural broad-spectrum antibiotic,
killing off over 50 different harmful microbes that may be causing your sore throat or cough.
As this honey has a thick consistency, it runs down your throat and forms a
gentle coating that also helps to soothe and heal inflamed tissues.
2. Immune Support
Your immune system is a collection of natural
defences in your body that help you to fight off infections and diseases.
Studies show manuka honey is highly concentrated with plant chemicals
such as MGO, leptosperin, galangine, kaempferol etc…
That help to speed up your white blood cells,
specifically your T-cells which protect you from all kinds of infections and diseases.
In fact manuka honey is often used to treat MRSA a type of superbug
that's become resistant to antibiotic medications.
Manuka has the ability to kill off the harmful
staphylococcus aureus bacteria that causes staph infections.
3. Gut Health
I often talk about how table sugar and HFCS is often added to processed foods
which can damage the lining of your gut and cause an overgrowth in bad bacteria.
Although it's sweet, manuka honey has the opposite effect however.
When you consume a little manuka it actually
helps to feed the friendly microbes that live in your gut (prebiotic).
Fructo-oligosaccharides in the honey feed your friendly bacteria
and this prevents bad bacteria from latching on and thriving in your gut.
This is very effective at helping people who suffer IBS, IBD,
SIBO and Gastritis, by restoring the normal balance of bacteria in the gut.
If your finding this information helpful at all, please hit the like,
subscribe and turn all notifications on to stay updated with my latest health and nutrition tips.
4. Stomach Ulcers
Another problem that many people suffer with are ulcers in their stomachs or intestines.
What happens is, they get an overgrowth of a bad bacteria such as H-pylori which
damages the protective mucous layer in your digestive tract.
This causes the inner skin to become damaged, and
ulcers can begin to form which cause pain whenever anything touches them, like food for example.
Manuka helps to destroy H-Pylori and other bad bacteria, whilst also helping
to directly heal the ulcers and restore the lining of the stomach and intestines.
If you do have ulcers, Zinc-carnosine is a Japanese supplement which is very
effective to use alongside manuka honey.
5. Wound Healing
Manuka is also an FDA approved treatment for treating bed sores,
ulcers and wounds in the form of a dressing.
Simply apply the manuka honey to wounds, cuts,
scrapes, or sores gently using a cotton swab and then cover with a bandage (gauze).
This is a natural antiseptic which helps the skin to heal and prevent skin infections,
due to the powerful plant compounds it contains.
6. Skin Problems
Manuka honey is very well known for helping to clear
up the symptoms of acne, pimples, and eczema.
This can be mixed with a few drops of tea tree oil and applied directly
to the skin for a few minutes and then washed off if you have pimples or acne.
If you have eczema you may want to mix manuka honey with a little shea butter
and let it sit on your skin for 1-2 hours before washing. This helps to
bring down inflammation in and rehydrate the skin.
7. Inflamed Eyelids (Blepharitis)
Many people develop an infection in the glands near the eyelashes
which causes the outer eyelids to become reddened, irritated, crusty and itchy.
Often antibiotic creams are prescribed by doctors to treat this, but in many cases it doesn’t work.
A little manuka honey can be mixed into 1 cup of boiling water,
and allowed to cool down completely.
This liquid is then gently applied to the sore eyelids,
2-3x per day until the swelling comes down and the infection is cleared.
8. Dental Health
Regular sugar can be very damaging to the mouth because it makes the mouth acidic
causing tooth decay, dental plaque, periodontal disease and gingivitis.
However, manuka honey actually has been shown to help prevent
these dental problems due to its powerful antibacterial properties.
It's often added to lozenges and chews
to help improve oral health and reduce gum-bleeding and plaque.
9. Allergies
Manuka is a well-known remedy to help reduce hay fever and other types of allergies,
as it helps to modulate the immune system and regulate histamine release.
Basically, it makes you less sensitive to certain irritants
like pollen and fungus which could be triggering an allergic reaction.
If you do have hay fever, you may consider consuming regular
raw honey (cheaper) once or twice per week year around.
This helps your immune cells get used to having pollen in your system,
which in turn reduces the allergic response.
10. Stress & Sleep
When you're stressed out, your body releases high levels of
adrenal hormones that give you energy and make you feel that nervous feeling.
In short bursts this is fine, however over long periods your hormones and
brain chemicals start to become out of balance causing chronic stress and sleeping problems.
Manuka honey contains certain aromatic compounds from manuka flowers which help
to calm down the stress in your body, helping to feel calmer and get a better night's sleep.
And this in turn causes you to feel more calm,
yet more energetic without that nervous tension locked up in your body.
Now I'll help you understand the types of manuka and how to use it.
How To Use Manuka Honey
Make sure that you when purchase a jar of manuka that the label clearly
states that there is at least 10 UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) on the jar.
Many brands often try to confuse you by putting the MGO content on the jar instead,
but it's important to look for the letters UMF for strength.
The higher the UMF the more concentrated it is with its healing properties.
Make sure that your chosen brand is RAW and UNPASTEURIZED.
This is important, as if the honey has been heated and cooked, it will not have the same properties.
It should be clearly stated that the honey originates in New Zealand,
because this is where the UMF grading system is in force.
If the UMF on the jar is higher than 15, use only 1 teaspoon at a time as it's extremely powerful.
You can use a little more if the UMF is lower, in fact a
UMF 4-9 is an excellent maintenance level honey, whereas 10-15+ is more for healing.
Whenever using it for natural healing,
the dosage is usually between 1-3 teaspoons per day which can used directly off the spoon.
Alternatively you can add it to a cooled herbal tea, drizzle it in yoghurt,
over fruit or in a glass of water with some apple cider vinegar.
It actually works very well when added to ginger and lemon water,
another one of my favourite healing tonics.
To learn more about this amazing drink, go ahead and tap on this video on the screen now.
Thank you so much for watching my video today,
and as always I wish you great health, wealth and happiness.