Manuka honey

darsar

Hi

Nutritionist has asked me to get 'Manuka honey number 40'. In superquinn there is only manuka honey umf 8 and Tesco just has pure honey! What is she talking about?!

try a health food store they normally carry the higher grade honey its purer and stronger therefore meant to be more effective

Jarren

http://www.evergreen.ie/Shop_Search_Results.aspx?bizsearchterms=manuka%20honey

darsar

What is 5+, 6+, 8+ & 16+? I don't see any number 40s.

munstergirl

The higher the number the better properties also more expensive.
My mum gets 15+ in tesco for around €12, also dunnes, seems to sell out very quickly, its normally on top shelf of normal honey.

darsar

Great. It seems very expensive. Does this lady think I want to spend 30quid on a small jar of honey to reduce my body fat!

One more question on the honey. I am WADA tested in my sport, has this honey any stuff I shouldn't be taking?

mathepac

I suggest you ask your nutritionist to show you the scientific evidence that manuka honey as sold in shops, pharmacies and supermarkets here (with any number at any any price) has curative, medicinal or health-enhancing properties over and above any other honeys on sale here. Please don't waste money buying expensive honey until you see this,

darsar

mathepac wrote: »

I suggest you ask your nutritionist to show you the scientific evidence that manuka honey as sold in shops, pharmacies and supermarkets here (with any number at any any price) has curative, medicinal or health-enhancing properties over and above any other honeys on sale here. Please don't waste money buying expensive honey until you see this,

I will have to ask the advantages of the higher numbered ones as it is for a drink I am advised to make.I am converting my diet to 80% protein 20% carbs at the minute so I assume their is a reason she specifically said manuka 40

El_Dangeroso

mathepac wrote: »

I suggest you ask your nutritionist to show you the scientific evidence that manuka honey as sold in shops, pharmacies and supermarkets here (with any number at any any price) has curative, medicinal or health-enhancing properties over and above any other honeys on sale here. Please don't waste money buying expensive honey until you see this,

There is scientific evidence that it has anti-bacterial properties when applied externally, so seemingly good for dressing a wound or treating gingivitis, don't think there's any evidence at all for benefits when ingested internally, and it still has the same metabolic effects of sugar. Smells like snake oil to me.

OP, what did the nutritionist recommend it for out of interest?

El_Dangeroso

darsar wrote: »

I will have to ask the advantages of the higher numbered ones as it is for a drink I am advised to make.I am converting my diet to 80% protein 20% carbs at the minute so I assume their is a reason she specifically said manuka 40

Holy crap OP, I really hope that's a typo because 80% protein is a VERY dangerous diet, people in the 1970's died from a weight loss diet very like that.

darsar

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Holy crap OP, I really hope that's a typo because 80% protein is a VERY dangerous diet, people in the 1970's died from a weight loss diet very like that.

Not a typo, it is just a four week plan as I am recovering from injury and BF% went back up to 14-15% and I should be between 10-12%.

The honey is used in a blender with egg whites, half banana and fat free yoghurt.

I know the nutritionists background is in bodybuilding so I do not take everything as gospel and would not be able to just have 20% carb intake or I'd certainly die !

El_Dangeroso

darsar wrote: »

Not a typo, it is just a four week plan as I am recovering from injury and BF% went back up to 14-15% and I should be between 10-12%.

The honey is used in a blender with egg whites, half banana and fat free yoghurt.

I know the nutritionists background is in bodybuilding so I do not take everything as gospel and would not be able to just have 20% carb intake or I'd certainly die !

I'm glad to hear that, you need to eat a majority of your calories as a proper energy source such as fat or carbs, even when dieting. When protein is that high and your body is forced to use it as it's main energy source bad things happen. Pretty much every person on the planet eats 15-35% of their calories as protein for a VERY good reason.

Gummy Panda

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

There is scientific evidence that it has anti-bacterial properties when applied externally, so seemingly good for dressing a wound or treating gingivitis, don't think there's any evidence at all for benefits when ingested internally, and it still has the same metabolic effects of sugar. Smells like snake oil to me.

OP, what did the nutritionist recommend it for out of interest?

It's suppose to be good for IBS.

Swampy

Supposed to be excellent for colds and sore throat and flus etc. Ond teaspoon a day.

darsar

The 40 helps repair the body better with the intensity and quanitity of my training. As said some oust above it is apparently excellent on cuts too

LFC5Times

I actually know a beekeeper and he is probably around 70 now but is still a beekeeper and the odd time the papers interview him to ask him questions about bees etc.

Anyway I asked him about this Manuka Honey a while back because my Dad went out and bought it, his response was "Tell him not to waste his money, some of the honey you get in the health shops is the same".

He likened it to bottled water - Volvic et al and the way the name and a bit of promotion/advertising and suddenly it is much better than normal water etc.

Anyway I don't have any views either way, just thought I'd post that up

mathepac

The bee-keeper above is very astute and well-informed.

Natural honey, still in the comb direct from the hive, is an astonishing substance, nothing short of miraculous. Processed commercially and sold in bottles and jars most of its efficacy can be lost and it may become simply expensive sugar in liquid form.

There are a number of theories for this. Some of them are :

• Removal of beeswax residue from the honey (requires heat)
• Sterilisation of containers and production equipment (may also kill useful micro-organisms in the honey)
• Exposure of the honey to sun-light / artificial light (bee-hives are dark inside)
• Excessive heating of the honey to speed up packaging (at room temperature honey pours very slowly. This is no good if you have to fill 10,000 containers of honey / day)
• The use of plastic containers

I don't sell honey, I don't keep bees. I just hate to see people's expectations of expensive products, some of them with huge carbon footprints, being exploited.

For anyone wanting to experience the undoubted benefits of natural honey I suggest they buy it in the comb from a local bee-keeper, eat it as is, don't heat it and store it somewhere dark at normal room temperatures. The benefits, unless of course you suffer from diabetes or are sensitive to sugars for some other reason, in physical as well as financial terms, should become evident fairly quickly.

BTW, be wary of buying some stuff labelled as "Irish honey"; it may only be "Irish" in the same way as "Irish smoked salmon" is.

Ciaran500

mathepac wrote: »

For anyone wanting to experience the undoubted benefits of natural honey I suggest they buy it in the comb from a local bee-keeper, eat it as is, don't heat it and store it somewhere dark at normal room temperatures. The benefits, unless of course you suffer from diabetes or are sensitive to sugars for some other reason, in physical as well as financial terms, should become evident fairly quickly.

What are they?

I used to eat loads of honey with the comb (cause it was delicious) but never saw any special effects of it.

Lu Tze

Ciaran500 wrote: »

What are they?

I used to eat loads of honey with the comb (cause it was delicious) but never saw any special effects of it.

It gives you super powers!

Seriously though i think the manuka honey thing is a joke. Mainly because it looks like honey that lots of the wax has melted into. And also because its efficacy is measured in UMF, Unique manuka factor, which to be honest sounds like some sort of made up unquantifiable measurement.

My dad keeps bees.

There is scientific evidence that it has anti-bacterial properties when applied externally, so seemingly good for dressing a wound or treating gingivitis

This is true, but also true every other honey (though i am sceptical of boyne valley et al mass produced stuff, as you often see settlement in the bottom which looks like they are feeding the bees sugar)

If you go to any old people in your area (assuming its rural) and ask them were there any local remedies, traditional to the area, the will generally contain honey (and blackberries too), and i don't think there was manuka honey back then.

I used to eat loads of honey with the comb

Its like really sweet honey flavoured chewing gum

Darkginger

So what ARE the health benefits of honey, and is there scientific evidence to back up the claims? As far as I can see, honey is just sugar with a flavour, and I can't see sugar as being good for me in any form.

Having said that, I do like the flavour of honey - and I like to make mead from it (even if I'm not supposed to drink it on a low carb diet!).

El_Dangeroso

Darkginger wrote: »

So what ARE the health benefits of honey, and is there scientific evidence to back up the claims? As far as I can see, honey is just sugar with a flavour, and I can't see sugar as being good for me in any form.

Just the antibacterial properties, which are pretty much shared with any unprocessed sugar. It's better than sugar, but it still contains a huge amount of fructose which acts the same in the body whether it comes from a mars bar or €15 honey. It's not magical in any way and the benefits in my opinion are way overblown. Good for a sore throat though.

Actually, for my money, blackstrap molasses kicks the ass of honey nutritionally speaking:



That's an amazing amount of magnesium and potassium in a very bioavailable form. But as with any sugar I'd always advise moderation (2-3 servings a week max).

eightyfish

My doctor just "prescribed" manuka honey. I was vaguely aware of before, but not really. At the moment I have a chest infection and a swollen throat. I went to the doctor because I have to be best man at a wedding on Friday so its important I get well fast.

He prescribed antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory and also recommended two spoons of manuka honey a day. I picked it up in the local shop, heated it in a bath of water and took two spoons. Its quite pleasant, but probably no different to regular honey.

The "unique manuka factor" or "activity level" thing seems dubious. What exactly are they measuring to decide if the honey is 8 or 15? What is "15 activity"?

WildBoots

Some basic info. on manuka honey

http://www.manukahoney.com/resources/research/index.html

eightyfish

WildBoots wrote: »

Some basic info. on manuka honey

Thanks.

Pages like that make me suspicious. First, most of the research seems to be from one guy. Second, cherry-picking positive studies is not the way to assess the usefulness of a treatment. This is the method used by homoeopaths. Third, they list "pilot trails" which are normally used to see if a full trial is needed, and are not used in themselves. Fourth - despite all the academia talk, they don't provide many links to actual academic papers.

I'm still taking the stuff, I'm just looking for more scientific information.

The antibacterial affect of manuka honey, however, does seem to be well documented.

bb12

i had a horse with a nasty wound on the back of his foot which didn't heal over 6 months...tried absolutely everything to fix it including lots of medication from the vets etc but the wound was still seeping everyday and the horse very lame...then i stumbled across info about manuka honey...bought an expensive pot with a high umf and after just one week of putting it on the wound, it started to heal up and was completely healed after 2 weeks. i couldn't believe it. am now a true manuka convert. i also have an old dog who came down with a skin rash a while back, the vet said they can be hard to cure esp in the older animals, but as well as the antibiotics they gave me, i put manuka on it every night and it also healed up within a week. i now always have a pot of this stuff around for myself as well as my animals.

El_Dangeroso

Apparently plain old table sugar has the same effect topically. I read somewhere that nurses in world war two would use sugar poultices often for wounds.

g'em

I've heard that too - the sugar is an incredibly effective drawing agent where there is a bacterial infection. What's behind it though? Is the sugar a dehydrating agent?

El_Dangeroso

g'em wrote: »

I've heard that too - the sugar is an incredibly effective drawing agent where there is a bacterial infection. What's behind it though? Is the sugar a dehydrating agent?

I think it's because sugars are amphipathic, as in they have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties, just like soap, and at high concentrations they kill bacteria, just as soaps at high concentrations kill bacteria.

g'em

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I think it's because sugars are amphipathic, as in they have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties, just like soap, and at high concentrations they kill bacteria, just as soaps at high concentrations kill bacteria.

Is it really? :eek: Well there's my something new learned for today! But how does an amphipathic molecule antimicrobial? And does that mean that soap would work as a poultice too? It wouldn't have the same drawing (dehydrating) properties would it? Also, could I ask any more questions?! :pac:

Dotcomdolly

I'll be Sellotaping a sugar lump to my spot tonight!

El_Dangeroso

g'em wrote: »

Is it really? :eek: Well there's my something new learned for today! But how does an amphipathic molecule antimicrobial? And does that mean that soap would work as a poultice too? It wouldn't have the same drawing (dehydrating) properties would it? Also, could I ask any more questions?! :pac:

Yup, I think so! Combined with the hydrophobic properties, which help somehow.. no idea really. Let's say magic!:)

qvsr46ofgc792k

mathepac wrote: »

I suggest you ask your nutritionist to show you the scientific evidence that manuka honey as sold in shops, pharmacies and supermarkets here (with any number at any any price) has curative, medicinal or health-enhancing properties over and above any other honeys on sale here. Please don't waste money buying expensive honey until you see this,

But the same can be said for ANY product in fairness