By Lynn Gamwell

Nourishing World has added three new Wedderspoon Manuka honey products to our line up to accommodate every use and taste. We would like to introduce you to these exceptional products as well as to clarify some of the health claims and authentication confusion surrounding different brands of Manuka honey.

What is Manuka Honey?

Made from the flowers of the New Zealand Manuka trees, Manuka honey has long been credited with exceptionally high anti-bacterial activity and extraordinary nutritional value. Shown to combat even highly resistant strains of bacteria such as E. Coli, MRSA, and Staph; no known strain of bacteria has been found to resist this super antibiotic honey. Pure Manuka honey also carries with it abundant antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and bioflavonoids, making it one of nature’s true super foods. Because of these highly sought after properties, it’s benefits and applications are numerous.

Benefits of Manuka Honey

• Antibiotic
• Antiviral
• Antifungal
• Antiinflammatory
• Antioxidant and nutrient rich
• May be applied topically to help heal wounds or as a beauty treatment
• May be used topically to help prevent and eliminate acne
• Used for all digestive disorders
• Absorbed gradually as a complex sugar

Manufacturing Differences

Several companies market Manuka honey however, the processes used to manufacture and produce the final product differ markedly. Nourishing World has chosen to sell Wedderspoon’s Manuka honey because we believe it is the purest, most healing, and most ecologically sustainable honey available. Some companies pasteurize their honey with heat thereby damaging the fragile nutrients and antibacterial potential in the pollen and the propolis. The fact that Wedderspoon’s honey will return to solid form in the bottle demonstrates that it is raw, not heated. It therefore retains all the healthy properties it is known to possess.

One of the most important components in high quality honey is methylglyoxal, or MGO. It is this compound that imparts such strong antibacterial and antiviral activity to the honey. Wedderspoon’s grading system reflects the integral MGO content found in the natural honey. Some brands of Manuka honeys are known to artificially add MGO, impairing it’s levels of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Honey that is denatured in this way may have an inflated MGO rating, although it may not be as nutritionally valuable.

Finally, all Wedderspoon Manuka honey products are grown, collected, and packaged for market in New Zealand. This source to final product process ensures strict control over the resulting high quality honey. There is no contamination or degradation that can occur as with some other Manuka honeys which are not produced in New Zealand. Wedderspoon honeys are repeatedly tested for purity, pH, phenolic compounds, chemical residue, and live enzymes as well as pollen count thereby ensuring the powerful nutritional punch of each batch.  Wedderspoon honeys are certified non-GMO and many are organic.

Grading Systems

There are various grading systems for Manuka honey making comparisons tricky. For a comprehensive look at all the different systems you may want to refer to our previous blog, Decoding Manuka Honey Designations: What do the numbers mean?   The most important thing to understand is that Wedderspoon is adopting one of the three strict systems which are certified by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, the country’s main food legislation entity. Wedderspoon is in the process of switching from listing “Active” amounts of pollen to the “KFactor” grading system which is a standardized term designating the percentage of pollen that is certified to have come from the Manuka flowers. The higher the KFactor is, the higher the percentage of certifiable Manuka pollen you get. Nourishing World carries Wedderspoon KFactor 16 in which 75% of the pollen grains are Manuka, and the new limited edition KFactor 22 in which 90% of the pollen grains are from Manuka flowers.

Raw Manuka Honey Products

Nourishing World has just added Manuka Honey KFactor 22 to our inventory. We are thrilled to offer our customers Wedderspoon’s exceptionally high Manuka pollen count honey for the ultimate in therapeutic health benefits. Since the Manuka flowers are seasonal, this very pure, primary source honey is only available in limited quantities and is a bit more expensive. But if you are considering buying Manuka honey as a medicinal food or topical treatment, you may want to consider going the extra mile to get this top of the line product. If you are looking for a great product with high Manuka pollen count but are consuming it in quantity and using it as a staple food, we also carry Wedderspoon Active 16 (soon to be KFactor16). This high grade,75% guaranteed Manuka pollen grains, honey still carries many of the same antiinflammatory, antimicrobial properties of the K22 but is a more economical choice.

Nourishing World is now carrying Honey On the Go by Wedderspoon  as a convenient way to carry individual portion sizes of raw, unpasteurized Manuka for travel, lunches, or anytime you want an extra boost of energy. Organic Manuka Honey Lozenges in Lemon and Eucalyptus are a must have for the medicine cupboard. They offer all natural immune strengthening and throat soothing relief from colds or irritants. Containing only Wedderspoon Manuka honey, rich bee propolis (for extra antiseptic, antiinflammatory, healing qualities), naturally sweetened with organic cane sugar and organic brow rice syrup, and either eucalyptus oil or lemon oil, these lozenges bring tasty relief. You will never go back to drug store lozenges again!

Choose Your Manuka!

With all these delicious and healthful Wedderspoon Manuka honey options to choose from you will never be lacking for the right treatment or sweet precaution. So stock up on Manuka honey from Wedderspoon and while supplies last, grab some KFactor22. Bee Well with Wedderspoon!