HONEY.
DID YOU KNOW THAT DELICIOUS LIQUID GOLD DATES BACK 150 MILLION YEARS?
IT'S A HEBREW WORD THAT MEANS "ENCHANTED."
HONEY WAS SO VALUED BY THE EGYPTIANS THAT THEY USED IT AS CURRENCY AND FED IT TO THEIR
SACRED ANIMALS.
IT WAS EVEN FOUND IN KING TUT'S TOMB.
HMM.
WELL TODAY, HONEY IS STILL REVERED, ESPECIALLY FOR IT'S HEALING PROPERTIES, BUT NOT ALL HONEY
IS CREATED EQUALLY.
HERE TO EXPLAIN THIS MORNING IS KYLIE GLOVER, NATIONAL SALES MANAGER FOR COMVITA.
GOOD MORNING.
GOOD MORNING, OLGA.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
MY PLEASURE.
SO, WHAT IS...WHAT IS IT WITH HONEY?
I MEAN, EVERYBODY LOVES HONEY.
I MEAN, MOST PEOPLE, IT'S JUST FABULOUS.
MM HMM.
YEAH, WELL WE CERTAINLY DO LOVE HONEY, AND FOR CENTURIES IT'S BEEN RECOGNIZED FOR ITS
HEALING AND HEALTH ENHANCING PROPERTIES.
BUT TODAY, I'M HERE TO LET YOU IN ON THE SECRET OF MANUKA HONEY.
MANUKA HONEY.
UH HUH.
AND WHY IT'S BEEN DUBBED "NATURE'S MIRACLE."
NOW, MANUKA HONEY AS A HEALTH FOOD WAS PIONEERED BY A NEW ZEALAND MAN NAMED CLAUDE STRATFORD.
HE, UH, IS THE FOUNDER OF COMVITA, AND HE LIVED TIL HE WAS 102--.
(GASP).
--YEARS OLD.
ALMOST 103.
OH, MY GOODNESS. 103?
MM HMM.
AND I THOUGHT MY GRANDMOTHER LIVED LONG.
SHE LIVED TO 96.
HE USED TO CALL HIMSELF THE ORIGINAL HIPPY.
(LAUGHTER).
AND I THINK HE WAS ONTO SOMETHING.
I LOVE IT!
(LAUGHTER).
HE OBVIOUSLY WAS, BECAUSE HE LIVED LONG, AND THEY SAY HONEY REALLY IS GREAT FOR...FOR YOUR
BODY, FOR YOUR SKIN.
AND I KNOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ALL ABOUT THAT, BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT MANUKA HONEY AND HOW
IT'S DIFFERENT FROM LET'S SAY JUST REGULAR HONEY.
MANUKA HONEY IS VERY UNIQUE.
IT ACTUALLY COMES FROM THE MANUKA PLANT, WHICH IS A TYPE OF TEA TREE THAT YOU CAN ONLY FIND
IN NEW ZEALAND.
NOW, DON'T GET ME WRONG, MANY HONEYS HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY.
SURE.
BUT SCIENTISTS FOUND IN MANUKA HONEY A VERY POWERFUL NATURALLY-OCCURING AND VERY STABLE
LEVEL OF ACTIVITY FOUND IN NO OTHER HONEY IN THE WORLD.
NOW, THIS ACTIVITY IS CALLED THE "UNIQUE MANUKA FACTOR" OR UMF...
AND WHAT EXACTLY IS THAT?
U.M.F.
SO UMF IS THE MEASURE OF THAT SPECIAL ACTIVITY IN MANUKA HONEY THAT YOU WON'T FIND IN ANY
OTHER HONEY.
SO, WHEN YOU BUY MANUKA HONEY, IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK FOR TWO THINGS.
FIRST, YOU MAKE SURE IT'S FROM NEW ZEALAND.
MM HMM.
YOU KNOW IT'S AUTHENTIC.
AND SECONDLY, LOOK FOR THE UMF BADGE.
OKAY, SO I'M LOOKING HERE AND I SEE A 5 AND A 15.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
SO, UMF 5+ WOULD BE TAKEN MORE ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND A UMF 10+ OR A UMF 15+ ARE STRONGER IN THEIR LEVEL OF ACTIVITY, SO YOU'D BE TAKING
THAT FOR A MORE THERAPEUTIC BASIS.
SO IT'S RICHER, IF YOU WILL.
EXACTLY.
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE HEALTH BENEFITS, WHEN IT COMES TO TAKING HONEY.
THERE ARE SO MANY HEALTH BENEFITS TO MANUKA HONEY.
IT IS ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND IT'S FULL OF ANTIOXIDANTS.
SO COMVITA ACTUALLY HARNESSED THIS POWER IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
FIRSTLY, IT'S USED IN COUGH/COLD SEASON.
OKAY.
AND IT'S ALSO THE KEY INGREDIENT TO OUR SKIN CARE LINE WHICH ACTUALLY HELPS FIGHT THE SIGNS
OF AGING.
REALLY?
MM HMM.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I DEFINITELY WANT.
(LAUGHTER).
NOW, IN TERMS OF TASTE, I'M GONNA TRY THE, UH, 15 IF THAT'S OKAY.
MM HMM.
AND SOMETHING I LOVE...
I'M JUST GONNA STICK MY FINGER IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT THE HONEY IS THERE'S SO...THERE'S SO MANY WAYS OF USING IT.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST SO DIVERSE.
EXACTLY.
THERE'S ACTUALLY A MEDICAL-GRADE MANUKA HONEY THAT'S FANTASTIC FOR WOUND CARE AS WELL.
THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH DONE ON THAT.
BUT IT TASTES DELICIOUS.
OH, MY GOSH, THIS IS SO RICH!
IT'S FABULOUS.
AND WHEN MY KIDS GET A BOO BOO--.
MM HMM.
--I GOTTA BE HONEST, I APPLY A LITTLE BIT OF HONEY AND THEY'RE DOING GOOD.
EXACTLY.
OR WHEN THEY GET SICK, THEY HAVE A SPOONFUL.
MM HMM.
AND EVEN ON PANCAKES, THEY'LL PUT HONEY ON TOP.
RIGHT!
IT TASTES SO GOOD THAT MANY PEOPLE TAKE IT STRAIGHT OFF THE SPOON.
I PERSONALLY USE IT IN MY MORNING SMOOTHIES.
OH!
YOU CAN PUT IT ON YOUR TOAST OR SWIRL IT IN YOUR YOGURT OR USE IT TO SWEETEN TEA OR COFFEE.
ACTUALLY ON comvita.com WE HAVE SOME DELICIOUS RECIPES WHERE MANUKA HONEY IS USED AS A NATURAL
SUBSTITUTE TO WHITE SUGAR.
LET'S FACE IT.
WHO AMONG US ISN'T LOOKING FOR A NATURAL SUBSTITUTE TO SUGAR.
YOU'RE NOT KIDDING.
AND I WILL TELL YOU, MY KIDS WILL HAVE THEIR PANCAKES WITH HONEY ON TOP, INSTEAD OF SYRUP.
DELICIOUS.
SO I'M GONNA TRY THIS NOW.
GREAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANKS, OLGA.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME WHEN YOU COME BRING THE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS?
ABSOLUTELY.
OH, MY GOSH, I CAN'T WAIT.
(MUSIC) WE GOTTA...WE GOTTA WORK ON THIS, OKAY?
ANYTHING TO HELP.
THANK YOU.
(LAUGHTER).
AND IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE, LOG ON TO thebalancingact.com, THAT'S thebalancingact.com.
YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AS WELL.