Manuka Honey? page

[Rattybag]

Hello, me again,

Just been reading about honey on a Paleo diet, and there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice as to wether its good or not.
However, there does seem to be quite a lot of honey in the recipes in Marks section and other paleo recipe sites, books etc.
I appreicate it is very high in fructose and carbs but it is also a very natural sweetener than must have been around in Groks time!

Then where does Manuka honey fit in? This is meant to have loads of good benefits (the price is crazy too!) Does the good outweigh the bad?
Any thoughts?

[peril]

Mark comes down in favour of natural honey in general. Manuka honey is just a specific type. It may have additional benefit as manuka is a type of tea tree and tea tree products are valued for health benefits. I wouldn't pay a lot of money for it. After all, honey is discretionary

[newlife77]

I do believe that in all the health benefits of honey and those extra ones in Manuka too - heard a "friend of a friend" story of a woman who had a tbsp a day and hadn't had a common cold for 10yrs! And yes, a na tural substance that Grok wud have had too - but very few and far between!

Watched a film on Baka tribe and there was a hive 40meters up a tree that this guy took hours to climb - the narrator said that 2 men had died doing this in the last yr as its so dangerous - what us humans will do for sugar, eh?! But it was a one off treat!

H x

[Roguls]

It is worth the money if treating something topically. I recommended it to my mother's friend for treating MRSA, and it healed the wounds! I used it to combat Seborrheic Dermatitis and it works.

It also has a strangely wonderful flavor.

[Gwynn]

Yes, I have bought it. It is very expensive. The jar in my cupboard is 12 oz and it was 19.99. I bought it b/c I read a post on another forum I go to that it works on stomach virus.

The people at the health food store told me that not all Manuka honey is fit for internal consumption, though, so I would ask first.

Gwynn

[keevelish]

Manuka honey is outrageously expensive. Any benefits are not worth it for me. But I -love- honey, almost as much as I love the organic dark maple syrup I get from my home town. So I get raw wildflower. Seems like a good choice there.

[keevelish]

Ahh, ok, if it actually is effective as a topical medicine, then I could definitely see paying for it, no problem.

[Pigevil]

I absolutely love raw Manuka honey.
If we need to use sugar for something, we only use raw honey.
We actually make a dish with raw manuka honey, blue cheese, and pecans. This is a delicious snack.

Raw Manuka honey is really expensive, but I think it is worth it. The lower the grade, the cheaper.
Not only it is delicious, but it also boosts your immune system and has antioxidant and antibacterial properties. I know people who has used to clear acne and stomach infections. The Maori tribes of New Zealand use it for medicinal purpose.

[Bee]

We use raw Manuka honey as a sweetener for the kids, as well as grade B maple syrup on occasion. Yes, it's expensive, but we can also use it topically and that's well worth it.

[zoebird]

This is a really big picture around honey:

1. Honey is naturally quite medicinal as a topical treatment, a good hydrator (e.g., a great beverage for post workouts and for long slow hikes is a mix of water, apple cider vinegar and raw honey -- it replaces all sorts of minerals and electrolytes, etc), and is a great, simple natural sweetener.

2. Local, raw honey can help decrease seasonal allergies or prevent them altogether. There is research, you can do the google search. Local is usually defined as within several miles of your house. I think it's supposed to be less than 20 miles. This way, the pollens that are very local to you are in the honey. It takes two tablespoons per day every day for several months to see an effect and it's best to do before the pollen season and leading into that season to see the results.

When we moved to NZ, we knew we would be exposed to a lot of new pollens. I was gifted *local* raw honey from three locations within 20 miles from our place. I put us on the regimen, and we haven't had any allergic reactions to the plants here like many of our ex-pat friends have. So, it seems to have worked.

3. Manuka honey is a uniquely medicinal honey. There are many grades to it -- and it's great to use if you are trying to heal something "in particular." For example, it's been demonstrated that honey can help heal GERD and acid reflux, and medicinal Manuka honey is more effective than other kinds (again, google).

What is still open to question right now is the "grade" of it is 'the best' or 'necessary.' Most people here agree that 10-15+ is fine for "general use" and medicinal purposes. BUT if a person is in cancer treatment and needs to help with hydration, that perhaps a 30+ would be good because it has benefits that we don't' fully understand, and seems to facilitate with pain management, and treatment in general. We don't know how or why, and there are lots of discussions about it here in NZ. The information is largely word-of-mouth and sketchy beginnings of studies and anecdotal evidences only (n-1s).

We do not pay for honey at this point because we get local honey here from our friends for free or low cost (meaning, if they need help with their bees, we'll provide money for that assistance). We get "bush honey" which is simply put out in the bush areas and will have diverse origins" and "raw manuka, ungraded" because they don't grade it, but it's in a manuka grove, so it's manuka.

I hardly use the stuff at this point, other than as part of our two beverages: water/apple cider vinegar/honey rehydrating drink (post work out, etc), and lemon/ginger/honey (with hot water) which is our winter-medicinal hot beverage. We drink a lot of this all winter, which is known to boost immune function and be antibiotic and antiviral.

So, we are still using honey from last year!

Honey is good stuff. I worship bees.