posted on
07 Oct 2008
What’s So Special About Manuka Honey
Honey is produced in one of the world’s most efficient “factories” – beehives. Bees may travel as far as 88,000 kilometers, or more than twice the distance around the world, to collect enough nectar to produce just 500 grams of honey*.
Honey has been associated with human history for centuries. Our ancestors have long realized its value. The Bible referred to the Promised Land as “the land of milk and honey”. (Exodus 3:8) Ancient civilizations such as Egyptians, Sumerians, Assyrians and Babylonians all have incorporated honey into their daily lives and used it as a form of payment and part of commemorative offerings.
Honey is also one of the oldest known medicines. It has been used topically as an antiseptic agent for the treatment of ulcers, burns and wounds for centuries. Aristotle called mild honey “good as salve for sore eyes and wounds”. The Greeks and Romans dressed their soldiers’ battle wounds with honey to help prevent infections. In China, there have been documented uses of honey for its medicinal purposes dating as far back as the Han Dynasty.
Honey as a medicine has been documented for over 4,000 years. It was only until recently that we attributed honey’s remedial qualities to two factors: its relative acidic pH level (between 3 to 5) helps prevent bacteria growth; and it contains an enzyme, glucose oxidase, that when mixed with water and oxygen, slowly produces hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria.