When it comes to honey, there's honey and then there's
ANGELIC VO: Manuka!
overpriced superfood of the honey world,
and I know what you're thinking, you're about to dress up
like a bee and tell me all the reasons why manuka is some sort of scam and
you'd be wrong! Who am I kidding, you're mostly right and
yes I am dressed like a bee.
And I am your bee friend, Ben Bee here to help you
on your bee venture!
You're gonna do tortured puns the entire time aren't you?
Bee course! That means of course. In bee!
A buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz..
If you've drunk the honey flavoured kool-aid
manuka can treat just about anything.
Wait, why am I in a bee hive?
You're in Ward B!
If you believe the hype, manuka can help with sore throats, heart disease, arthritis, dental health
washing your face, split ends, athlete's foot, cholesterol, wounds, burns, superbugs and a million more things.
This one says it can relieve the symptoms of stomach ache, gastric ulcer and
pregnant woman? Ahh excuse me, I'm not a symptom.
And with excessive claims come excessive prices.
And now it's time, for your bill so that was $180 per jar..
He's gone into bill shock! I need five cc's of manuka honey stat!
Who am I talking to?
But is manuka honey
really all it's cracked up to..
BEE!
Manuka honey is derived from the nectar of manuka trees and it's one of those
things that both Australia and New Zealand claim as their own, like Russell Crowe.
Oh I loved him in Glad-BEE-ator, not so much in a BEE-utiful mind! so let's
So let's start with the positives. Manuka honey can have high levels of antibacterial activity.
Some companies describe this as the so-called
Unique Manuka Factor
Others call it NPA or MGO, but whatever sciencey marketing
label they give it, the higher the antibacterial activity, the higher the price.
So, tell me do all these and antibacterially acronyms actually mean it works, Doctor?
Hmm I'm a bee.
I'm a doctor.
A real doctor?
I have a PhD.
I have a Ph-bee.
I investigate the antimicrobial and prebiotic
properties of honey.
Hmmmm. Continue.
There are lots of clinical trials and case studies
showing that honey, and manuka honey in particular, is very effective at treating
wounds, incisions, burns and ulcers when it's applied topically or directly.
BEE-lightful!
It's always best to treat wounds with honeys that are
specifically packaged as wound care products and approved by the TGA as a medical device.
To check if a wound care product is TGA approved, look for one of
these codes on the packet or do an ARTG search at tga.gov.au.
Yeah but manuka honey ham is a registered wound care product right?
Honey-based wound care products are really only a tiny fraction of the wound care market. There's just a few brands available and
they're nowhere near as pricey as edible manuka products.
Manuka honey can also cure gingivitis, strep throat and staph infections!
I have golden staph?
Golden stuff for the golden staph!
Well, using manuka honey topically in a clinical setting is
really effective against these superbugs that caused staph and strep infections
but that doesn't mean that we should just be treating these bugs at home with
honey that's meant for eating.
So just because honey in the lab has
shown some promise doesn't mean you should try fighting superbugs with honey
from the supermarket. And there's definitely no reason to pay huge prices
like say $230 for Manuka honey that's meant for eating, no matter how
much they try to make it sound like medicine.
Take five grams, thirty minutes before meals, three times daily and increase if necessary.
Trust me, I'm a bee.
So why these insane prices? To put it simply it's the
halo effect, promising medical research is being used to create the impression
that manuka is extra-special when it's sold as a food, and if you're in any
doubt about this just look at how online shop Natonic promote this $124
bottle of eating honey by saying that manuka is effective against the bacteria
that causes stomach ulcers and strep throuat.
Well manuka honey is a.. VO: Superfood.
But if you're buying it as a food which most of us are, all of those special antibacterial properties that
make manuka so interesting in the lab and in the clinic, they're destroyed
by the digestion process.
In that sense mauka is like most topical treatments. They don't work if you eat them.
What? Shhh! Eat your Savlon.
So ironically rather than being a superfood, manuka is not super
when it's used as a food.
And unfortunately there's no hard evidence to support basically all of the other claims.
Will it help my hay fever? No.
Prevent diabetes? No.
Cholesterol? No.
Let me sleep better? Nup.
Will it make my peanut butter sandwich tastes better?
Okay yes.
Look, I'm not saying you should stop eating honey,
and if you do care about the latest research when it comes
to honey in general, there's actually a bit of buzz.
Oh excuse me I'll do the bee puns around here.
Yeah go on then
There's actually a bit of buzz... yeah..
Eating honey in general can have some therapeutic benefits because honey has
anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and prebiotic properties.
And those good things aren't killed by the digestion process?
No, but you are just as likely to get these potential benefits from regular honey as you are from one of
the manuka varieties.
Look if you like the taste of manuka then go nuts
but don't go wasting your money on high UMFs or MGOs or whatever because when it
comes to eating it, really it's all just honey.
Okay what's the next story?
It says we're explaining the birds and the bees!
Ohhh! I wish somebody explained that to me seven months ago!