Manuka honey is made in Australia and New Zealand by bees that pollinate the native leptospermum scoparium bush (also known as a tea tree).
Manuka Honey is truly amazing. A superfood like no other with a high degree of evidence supporting medicinal use.
In fact the Cleveland Clinic in the US others this concise but very clear statement on Manuka Honey:
"Benefits of manuka honey
Thanks to its antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, manuka honey can be used to help treat wounds, improve your oral health, soothe a sore throat and treat ulcers and acne."
Acne is a great topic, so prevalent today because of stress and diet, affecting all ages, not just puberty years. Healthline states, “Manuka honey can improve your skin’s appearance. It can balance your skin’s pH level and help slough away dead cell debris to keep your skin clean. Its anti-inflammatory effect can decrease local inflammation caused by acne. As an antibacterial, Manuka honey leaves fewer bacteria to infect pores and cause acne. This honey can heal existing pimples, as well. The low pH speeds up the healing of acne.
Fun fact the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of manuka honey for wound treatment due to the honey’s ability to inhibit a number of bacterial species and thus facilitate healing.
WedMD states: “Several recent studies show Manuka honey can be helpful when it’s used on top of wounds and leg ulcers. Studies also show it might fight infection and boost healing.”
The appeal and potential of Manuka Honey doesn’t stop there. In a 2017 literature review, Naiz K et al published: “....included papers showed that Manuka honey can inhibit the process of carcinogenesis by controlling different molecular processes, and progression of cancer cells.” ) This is a huge topic and clearly needs more work, but the statement demonstrates the potential for Manuka Honey as a real food with wide reaching medicinal benefits.
Manuka Honey has significant health benefits and to be perfectly honest, we are still learning, but with so much evidence for its use, and its great taste profile, it's a superfood that is underutilized.
Dr Sean HallReferences:
- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/manuka-honey-benefits/#:~:text=Thanks%20to%20its%20antibacterial%2C%20antiviral,and%20treat%20ulcers%20and%20acne
- https://www.healthline.com/health/manuka-honey-for-acne#benefits
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36010001/#:~:text=Manuka%20honey%2C%20native%20to%20New,species%20and%20facilitate%20wound%20healing
- https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/manuka-honey-medicinal-uses
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28901255/