The healing powers of honey have been well known since Pythagoras’ time. We suck honey lozenges to soothe our throats, we stir in a spoonful to sweeten hot drinks when we’re sick. Now, some scientists believe that one particular kind, manuka honey, has antibacterial properties that can be used to treat everything from skin conditions to digestive disorders.
And the buzz about the honey’s healing properties is growing. Once regarded as about as effective as chicken soup, manuka honey is increasingly being used to treat everything from eczema to tummy upsets. Sonia Forde, a Pilates teacher with two children, Maia, 7, and Ruben, 4, became convinced of its healing properties when it cleared up Molluscum contagiosum spots on Ruben’s face. The jelly-like spots are harmless but unsightly and Forde had tried various remedies without success.
Her GP had told her that they would eventually disappear of their own accord, but then she heard about a friend who had successfully treated her son’s Molluscum contagiosum by applying manuka honey. Forde tracked down a high-strength honey in her local health-food shop and began dabbing it on Ruben’s spots every night. “Within a few days they were getting smaller,” she says. “Two weeks later, they had completely cleared up.”
Made by bees that collect pollen from the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium, which grows wild in New Zealand, manuka honey has a slightly medicinal flavour and when applied to skin has been found by some studies to effectively treat wounds and ulcers that have failed to respond to standard medicine.
So strong is its anti-bacterial component, that it has been given its own classification, the unique manuka factor (UMF). Strengths range from UMF5, which is believed to be equivalent to a 5 per cent solution of a standard antiseptic, to UMF20, which is equivalent to a 20 per cent solution of antiseptic. Different strengths are recommended for treating different conditions.
The honey not only fights infection and aids tissue healing but has been found in clinical trials to reduce inflammation and scarring. It has also been used successfully, when taken orally, on digestive problems, from diarrhoea and indigestion to stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis. Its healing properties appear to be due to the presence of the enzyme glucose oxidase, which produces hydrogen peroxide — an antiseptic — and its high sugar concentration, which inhibits bacterial growth. But researchers are unable to pinpoint any one particular constituent to explain why manuka honey has such strong antibacterial qualities.
A study published in the European Journal of Medical Research in 2003 discovered that manuka honey — when compared with conventional treatments for infected postoperative Caesarean sections and hysterectomy wounds — had an 85 per cent success rate compared with 50 per cent for routine treatments.
Before Forde applied the honey to her son’s spots, she had already been giving both her children a daily teaspoon of UMF10 honey to ward off common colds and to treat the occasional bout of constipation: “The beauty of it is that they both love the strong honey taste,” she says. “I used to spread it on toast or give them a teaspoon in the morning. It was easy, unlike taking the herbal remedy echinacea, which I have to bribe them both with sweets to get them to swallow.”
Last year, manuka-honey wound dressings and sterilised manuka-honey creams were licensed for use in NHS hospitals. And scientists at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), are investigating whether it could help to combat MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant “superbug”. “In the past year, honey has become accepted into conventional medicine,” says Dr Rose Cooper, the head of the University of Wales Institute research team.
“When I embarked on this work eight years ago, it was dismissed as an ancient remedy and an alternative therapy. But there have been cases where MRSA has been eradicated from patients’ wounds which have been treated with the honey.”
Cooper believes that although honey cannot combat MRSA once it has reached the bloodstream, it can stop the initial wound infection spreading within the body, and can also halt the spread of the bug to other patients. And while she acknowledges that more clinical trials are needed, she is cautiously optimistic: “It could be very effective preventatively,” she says. “It could be used as a form of infection control.”
Meanwhile, in the Forde household, even Sonia’s honey-sceptic husband has become a convert: “Initially he thought it was dubious,” she says. “But when he saw Ruben’s spots disappear it made him think that it must have some sort of healing property. Now if he has a cold coming on, I see him having a teaspoon for himself.”
Pollen count
WHAT IS IT? Manuka honey is made by bees that collect pollen from the manuka bush, pictured right, a member of the myrtle family. It can be taken internally — doctors recommend one teaspoonful before food — or applied neat to the skin. Only sterilised honey, intended for medical use, should be used on wounds.
SUITABLE FOR: Manuka honeys below UMF (unique manuka factor) 10 are recommended for maintaining general health and good digestion. UMF10 to UMF15 are for indigestion, heartburn and diarrhoea. They can also be used externally on cuts, grazes, burns, fungal infections and wounds. UMF20 can treat gastroenteritis and stomach ulcers. There are also manuka honey creams for cold sores and acne.
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