Honey is now being thought of as one of the best survival foods that can stock your pantry! It is packed with antioxidants, probiotics, and is a great source of vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy. When buying honey, it is recommended to buy natural, raw and organic honey to ensure that it contains the best nutrition and healing properties. Manuka honey is considered to be 5 times more powerful than standard honey and is found in New Zealand. The Society for General Microbiology reported at a conference that Manuka honey could help “clear chronically infected wounds and could even help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics.” Stanford Medicine reported that one study concluded that honey had similar effects as the most common antibiotics on normal and antibiotic resistant E. coli. Honey prohibited the bacterium from surviving, growing and reproducing. A study in Spain showed compounds in honey that helped destroy the Flu virus. Honey has also been shown to effectively aid in weight loss, lower cholesterol, fight urinary tract infections, relieve arthritis, soothe sore throats, fight gum disease, fight heart disease, heal wounds due to its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, and does not spike sugar levels in diabetics like regular sugar. Honey has a long shelf-life if stored properly in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place and will never go rancid. Any infant under the age of 1, should not be given honey. Honey producers have come up with a rating scale for the potency of honey for therapeutic properties called the Unique Manuka Factor. In order for honey to be considered as therapeutic grade, it should have a minimum rating of 10 and will be marketed as “UMF Manuka Honey,” or “Active Manuka Honey.” Here is a list of honey vendor licensees that are UMF trademarked to ensure the highest quality therapeutic grade honey.
http://www.umf.org.nz/licensees
Is Honey The New Antibiotic?
