A friend of mine used to work for Holland and Barrett and was always giving me advice on which vitamins and supplements to take for whatever was plaguing me, be it bad skin, painful periods or just a nasty cold.
I’m not really a fan of supplements and am more of a natural healer. I’d rather heal a cold with chicken soup or get my vitamins from my diet than out a bottle, so my friend suggested that if I don’t do anything else I HAVE to get myself some Manuka honey. It’s completely natural, isn’t synthetic and thus fits with my natural healing ethos! I can honestly say, I tried it once and have never looked back! So I thought I’d spread the love and take some time to explain to you what Manuka honey is exactly and what you can use it for.
Move over Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Cream, there’s a new multi-tasker in town!
What is Manuka honey?
Manuka honey comes from New Zealand where bees gather nectar from flowers on the Manuka bush, which is indigenous only to New Zealand. It is this and the pollution free environment in which it is harvested that makes Manuka honey different from your bog standard honey.
What is a UMF?
Manuka honey is given a UMF, Unique Manuka Factor which is essentially a measure of it’s antibacterial properties. It is widely believed that to see any real benefit from using Manuka honey you should purchase one with a UMF of 10 or above. The UMF is usually prominently displayed on the jar.
What can I use it for?
Now on to the good stuff! It would be easier to tell you what you could’t use it for! Personally I have 3 main uses for it. The first is that I apply it to my face as a face mask. Yes it’s incredibly sticky and it takes all my will power not to try and lick my own face, but it works absolute wonders on my complexion. If I sit with this on my face for 30 minutes I wake up the next day with soft, smooth skin and any spots are much, much less angry and inflamed looking.
Secondly I put one teaspoon in a cup of hot water and lemon juice (squeezed from half a lemon) every morning. This fends of colds, sore throats and it has a soothing, protecting effect on the stomach helping to treat heartburn, ulcers and also acts as an anti-histamine calming the symptoms of hay fever!
Finally I use it externally on burns and scratches as it heals them almost before your eyes. I am often covered in scratches from my two pesky kittens which isn’t a great look on a night out! Manuka honey heals these scratches unbelievably quickly.
Where can I buy Manuka honey?
Nowadays you can buy Manuka from most supermarkets. I usually buy Rowse UMF +15 manuka from Morrisons for around £12. Yes I know £12 for honey sounds insane but this stuff is fantastic!
I’m not really a fan of supplements and am more of a natural healer. I’d rather heal a cold with chicken soup or get my vitamins from my diet than out a bottle, so my friend suggested that if I don’t do anything else I HAVE to get myself some Manuka honey. It’s completely natural, isn’t synthetic and thus fits with my natural healing ethos! I can honestly say, I tried it once and have never looked back! So I thought I’d spread the love and take some time to explain to you what Manuka honey is exactly and what you can use it for.
Move over Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Cream, there’s a new multi-tasker in town!
What is Manuka honey?
Manuka honey comes from New Zealand where bees gather nectar from flowers on the Manuka bush, which is indigenous only to New Zealand. It is this and the pollution free environment in which it is harvested that makes Manuka honey different from your bog standard honey.
What is a UMF?
Manuka honey is given a UMF, Unique Manuka Factor which is essentially a measure of it’s antibacterial properties. It is widely believed that to see any real benefit from using Manuka honey you should purchase one with a UMF of 10 or above. The UMF is usually prominently displayed on the jar.
What can I use it for?
Now on to the good stuff! It would be easier to tell you what you could’t use it for! Personally I have 3 main uses for it. The first is that I apply it to my face as a face mask. Yes it’s incredibly sticky and it takes all my will power not to try and lick my own face, but it works absolute wonders on my complexion. If I sit with this on my face for 30 minutes I wake up the next day with soft, smooth skin and any spots are much, much less angry and inflamed looking.
Secondly I put one teaspoon in a cup of hot water and lemon juice (squeezed from half a lemon) every morning. This fends of colds, sore throats and it has a soothing, protecting effect on the stomach helping to treat heartburn, ulcers and also acts as an anti-histamine calming the symptoms of hay fever!
Finally I use it externally on burns and scratches as it heals them almost before your eyes. I am often covered in scratches from my two pesky kittens which isn’t a great look on a night out! Manuka honey heals these scratches unbelievably quickly.
Where can I buy Manuka honey?
Nowadays you can buy Manuka from most supermarkets. I usually buy Rowse UMF +15 manuka from Morrisons for around £12. Yes I know £12 for honey sounds insane but this stuff is fantastic!
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| Image from www.rowsehoney.co.uk |
If you fancy something more exotic then take a look at Holland and Barrett. They have a huge variety of manuka including very high UMF rated manuka and flavoured manuka’s such as ones infused with blackcurrant, yum!
If you don’t fancy smothering yourself in honey then why not take a look at the Manuka Doctor skincare and throat lozenges that they also sell? Apparently the Manuka Doctor brand is a favourite of Kate Middleton and Victoria Beckham.
If you don’t fancy smothering yourself in honey then why not take a look at the Manuka Doctor skincare and throat lozenges that they also sell? Apparently the Manuka Doctor brand is a favourite of Kate Middleton and Victoria Beckham.
