Who knows anything about manuka honey please?

[Tilllly]

I went to the doctors this morning, in week three of a chest infection. She said my test was clear and I had a upper respiratory viral infection that takes around three weeks to go. And that maybe I should've been resting for the last week or two and it would've cleared by now...

I am fed up of the pain in my back and the constant unproductive cough. I just need it gone

She said to get honey and lemon to drink and a cough suppressant.
Pharmacist has given me a cough, suppressant, (which, rather alarmingly says it's addictive) and said I can use it for three days. But the pharmacist said get manuka honey how's that has anti-viral properties

The supermarket I called in to only have normal honey which I've got and I am drinking with lemon, it's vile. Is it worth me getting this manuka honey from somewhere because it looks very expensive

I actually worked on a clinical research study comparing cough mixtures to lemon/honey as a suppressant. Lemon and honey was more effective and much cheaper! I wouldnt bother with finding manuka. Years back it was considered magical, but I think newer tests show it now more effective than regular honey. I hope you feel better soon.

Manuka Honey is only produced in New Zealand and they produce around 10,000 tonnes a year and only export a small portion.

Last year in the UK around 43,000 tonnes of honey was sold labelled as Manuka.

The health benefits are contested and probably false, but even if they are real the stuff they're charging 10x the price for is probably regular honey with a fake label on it.

So stick to Morrisons own honey and wait for bloody thing to go?

All honey has both antiviral and antibacterial qualities. I'd suggest going for the best quality of less processed honey you can afford - avoid the overly processed runny "glook" often in squeezy bottles. If you can run to it, also get a bottle of cider vinegar "with the mother". Tablespoon of honey, tablespoon of vinegar, tablespoon of lemon, in warm water. It's not the best taste in the world, but it's very effective.

Manuka may well have anti bacterial properties (vets use it on wounds before dressing) - but if you pour scalding water on it it'll obliterate any good. So if you must take it just have a spoonful from the jar,

I think I recall a radio programme which looked into it. They found any 'raw' local honey from this country was just as good. But I may be misremembering

With the mother?

“With the mother”, means unfiltered, unpasteurized vinegar which has (or develops)sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Yes. Sorry I was trying to put it simply and failed utterly. It's sold as described " with the mother ".

I believe that M&S were recently advertising that they were selling honey that was produced from one set of hives. As opposed to honey that is blended fromots of different hives.

You could buy honey from your local area

Manuka honey is expensive, because it is only produced in New Zealand

Hope that you feel better soon

Try adding some cinnamon, will improve the taste and is good for immunity. I always add some grated ginger root too as the ginger in the tea bag tends to be pretty bland.

This one?
https://spotify.link/Tcmi2ChGpDb

If you can get local honey, you can buy it for £5 a jar here which is the same price as manuka from Aldi. You can put it into water but hot water will kill off the good stuff so sim for body temp.

Yes! That's the programme! OP, give it a listen.

Beekeeper here. The PP who mentioned the sales and production levels of Manuka honey is right. At best it's a marketing exercise, at worst it's a scam. Supermarket honey is fine (avoid the mass produced squeezy stuff) but if you can, buy a pot of honey from a small local producer, often available in farm shops or independent health food stores. If you look up your local beekeepers' association they'll be more than happy to put you in touch with someone who'll sell you a pot. It will be completely natural and unprocessed. It's the right time of year just after harvest when beekeepers should have loads of it.

Reading this I checked the jar of manuka I have in the cupboard. It actually calls itself multi- floral manuka honey. So regular honey where bees may have flown over a manuka plant then?

It does say made/ packed in New Zealand though. Not sure how that works with the figures if they take 1kg of manuka honey and mix it through with 1000kg floral honey. Then they export 1kg and we buy 1001kg. Which sounds like a con.

The pure stuff vets use is £90 for 10mls.

OP take a look at nigella/black cumin. A nurse practitioner told me about it when I had an ongoing heavy cold and it’s purported to have a range of health benefits. I asked an Indian friend about it and she laughed and called me a granny but also said it’s something they always took - I understand it’s widely used throughout Asia for lots of health reasons. I bought seeds and crushed them in my blender which is much cheaper than buying capsules. I take it mixed with a small amount of water and honey. Worth looking into.

Thank you everyone
This is really helpful

Now to get over my loathing of honey...

So the magic cure is lemon, hot water, local honey, fresh ginger, apple cider vinegar, nigella/black cumin and cinnamon? Just making notes for the winter…

I find this thread astonishing. You actually managed to get to see a doctor.

I've had some horrendous colds and chest infections over the last few years (and pleurisy and bronchitis and pneumonia etc)

The things that helped me are ask people have said

Honey and lemon
Cider vinegar
Lots and lots of ginger tea
A humidifier especially at night to help ease the coughing
Lockets
Contrelle activguard bladder support if the coughing gets too much for your pelvic floor

Or fire cider

https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.mountainroseherbs.com/fire-cider%3fhs_amp=true

Also marshmallow root tea which has cooled slightly is excellent for a sore throat

Im all for home made remedies for colds. We use elderberry syrup, homemade honey (I’m a beekeeper) with lemon and ginger and fire cider.

Im also fermenting garlic in honey this year just waiting for that first sniffle to try it out!

Add quarter of a stock cube and a squirt of sriracha to your mug of honey and lemon.

@GoodlifeGlow very interested in your fermented garlic and honey recipe!