War on phony honey: Health food giant will test all manuka jars before they go on sale to curb the rising tide of cheap fakes

Britain’s biggest health food retailer Holland & Barrett will test every sample of manuka jar before selling it - following a rise in fake manuka honey jars being sold around the world.

• Around ten thousand jars of manuka honey are sold around the world annually 
• However, the majority are fake as only 1,700 tons of the honey are made in a year 
• To combat rise of fake manuka, Holland & Barrett will test every jar before sale

By ROSIE TAYLOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 01:27 BST, 31 July 2018 | UPDATED: 14:33 BST, 31 July 2018

Some ten thousand tons of manuka honey are sold around the world every year.

The problem is that just 1,700 tons of it are produced – which means there are a lot of shoppers being conned.

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Known as ‘liquid gold’, manuka honey can cost as much as £100 a jar

Now, to fight the deluge of fake manuka, Britain’s biggest health food retailer is to start testing jars before they go on sale. Holland & Barrett is sending samples from every batch it receives for laboratory testing to confirm they contain enough genuine manuka honey.

There are fears that unscrupulous suppliers who import the honey to Europe from New Zealand could be mixing it with cheaper honey or even glucose syrup.

Known as ‘liquid gold’, manuka honey can cost as much as £100 a jar and celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson have sworn by its healing powers.

The honey, made from bees that pollinate the manuka bush in New Zealand, has antibacterial properties and contains a host of nutrients including amino acids, B vitamins and calcium. It has been shown to help wounds heal and has long been used to help sore throats, skin conditions and digestive problems.

New Zealand has brought in controls to ensure only genuine manuka honey can be exported, but experts fear some jars are being tampered with before they reach Britain.

£100 pot of liquid gold 

• Manuka honey is made by bees which pollinate the manuka bush in New Zealand
• It is said to heal wounds and help throat infections and stomach problems
• It’s nicknamed ‘liquid gold’ because a jar can cost as much as £100
• Studies suggest a fifth of manuka products are fake
• Its nutrients include amino acids, B vitamins and calcium

Holland & Barrett boss Peter Aldis said: ‘If you’re buying manuka honey you want to be sure what you’re getting is the real deal. We’ve decided to adopt New Zealand government requirements in the UK to ensure our customers only get the purest, strongest, undiluted manuka honey, where antibacterial strength is measured and presented in a robust and transparent way.’

From tomorrow, all 34 types of manuka honey sold in the chain’s 750 stores will be quality tested.

Honey expert Dr Adrian Charlton, of food and plant laboratory Fera, is leading the testing. His team will measure the levels of methylglyoxal, or MGO, in each batch – an indicator of the honey’s antimicrobial strength.

Only honeys containing 40 MGO to 850 MGO will be allowed to go on sale. ‘It comes down to an issue of quality,’ said Dr Charlton. ‘People are buying manuka honey because they think it will make them feel better and that’s related to the antimicrobial strength.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6008785/Holland-Barrett-test-Manuka-jars-sale-amid-fakery-fears.html

These 5 Nutrients are Must-Haves After Surgery

October 11, 2013
 
Let’s face it. No one wants surgery. Going under the knife can be scary, not to mention risky.

But sometimes you can’t avoid it. And thankfully, you can reduce discomfort and healing time. The best place to start? Including these five nutrients in your diet to shorten your recovery time and feel better faster…

1. Vitamin C: You probably already know vitamin C is a necessary antioxidant. It’s important in healing because it helps you make connective tissue, or collagen.1 Vitamin C is also a good immune booster and helps fight infections and bacteria.2 It even wards off staph infections—a common and serious complication of hospital stays. Citrus fruits, sweet peppers, and Brussels sprouts are good sources of vitamin C.


2. Vitamin A: Not only is vitamin A good for eyesight, it also fixes wounds. And although you don’t want chronic inflammation, you need a temporary inflammation response to heal tissues. It’s how your body brings blood and nutrients to the damaged area that needs patching up. Vitamin A encourages inflammation.3 To get your vitamin A, eat sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, and carrots.


3. Zinc: Zinc reduces healing time. It also makes some of the enzymes your body needs to repair injuries.4 Zinc helps decrease wound size, makes protein, and boosts your immune system to fight off infections. Deficiencies are pretty common so make sure you’re taking it before and after your surgery. You’ll find the highest doses of zinc in seafood, beef, spinach, and pumpkin.


4. Bromelain: This plant enzyme in pineapple helps with swelling and repairs tissue damage.5 Bromelain is like NSAIDs without the liver damage and other scary side effects. It reduces bruising and tenderness. Surgery patients who take bromelain need less pain medication than those not taking the enzyme.


5. Honey: We don’t usually recommend sugars. Honey is unique though. It can remove damaged tissues, speed up the healing process, and reduce scarring. It even prevents infections.6 It’s important that you get the right kind. Leave the “Grade A” stuff on the grocery store shelf. It’s practically high fructose corn syrup. The most powerful honey you can buy is manuka honey from New Zealand. Manuka honey is so effective at killing bacteria it’s medicinal grade. We recommend eating it over a topical application.

Honey should be used sparingly. But the first four nutrients should be a regular part of your diet anyway. If you’re already including them, you’ll have an advantage if an emergency surgery situation occurs.

But before you do anything, consult with your doctor. You may need to stop taking certain supplements as much as 1-2 weeks before surgery. And some may interact with medications.

If you’re planning a surgery for the near future, make sure you start fortifying yourself with these healing solutions now.

References:

1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20163451
2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16373990
3 http://www.laurengreenbergmd.com/uncategorized/vitamins-and-healing-vitamin-a-e-c/
4 http://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hn-2934002#hn-2934002-uses
5 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23771413
6 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23723644

http://institutefornaturalhealing.com/2013/10/these-5-nutrients-are-must-haves-after-surgery/

The Not-So-Sweet Truth About Honey

November 13, 2013

It takes 12 honeybees their entire lives to make a single teaspoon of pure honey. That’s a lot of work.  But it’s worth it. The final product is one of the healthiest substances on the planet.

Honey can kill bacteria, viruses, and even fungi. It lowers your cholesterol and overall inflammation—two of the leading risk factors for heart disease in the United States.

But it has a dark side. Don’t let that cute little plastic bear at the grocery store fool you.

You’ve seen the labels with “pure Grade-A honey” printed on them. Well brace yourself… Because they usually don’t mean a thing.

Most honey hides big secrets that put your health at risk and should make you furious. So what exactly are the dangers? Should you swear off honey for good?  And if not, what kind is safe to eat?

Let’s take a closer look…

Plain and simple, most honey on sale in the United States is fake.

A sampling of over 60 varieties shows that 76 percent of honey bought in U.S. groceries isn’t actually honey. It doesn’t even contain pollen.1

So, what it is this stuff you’re buying as a “healthier” sugar substitute?

It’s another processed product stripped of nutritional value. Processing honey removes its pollen, antioxidants, and nutrients. What you are left with is sweet syrup.

Honey manufacturers say removing pollen helps the shelf life of the product and makes it impossible to trace where it came from. They also say clear honey just looks more appealing.

Unbelievably, they also add in artificial sweeteners and corn syrup to cut costs and make a sweeter product.2

Once again, it’s “shelf” over “health.” The food industry doesn’t care if the product is harmful as long as it has a profitable shelf life.

Even worse, Chinese honey—which can be full of antibiotics—makes its way illegally into some of the honey in the United States3

The good news is that honey has tremendous healing power if you eat the right kind…

Most organic honey, like that from Brazil, tends to have a lot of pollen in it. This means that it hasn’t been ultra-pasteurized and will actually provide some kind of nutrition to you.

But if you want to get the most health benefits, you can do even better.

Go raw.

Raw, organic honey is your healthiest option at the grocery store.

It’s easy to tell the difference between raw and processed. Raw honey is cloudy and solid at room temperature. This is the honey that’s anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal.

It’s full of B-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. It helps prevents coughs and colds.4

Studies show raw honey even reduces allergy symptoms by 60 percent.5

So what kind do we recommend? Manuka honey. It comes from New Zealand and contains the highest amount of methylglyoxal, the healing compound found in most varieties of honey.6 In fact, it is so powerful, manuka honey is actually considered medicinal grade.

Unlike prescription drugs, manuka’s antibiotic properties don’t lead to the creation of antibiotic-resistant “super-bugs.” That doesn’t mean you can eat it by the jar. Remember it’s still a sugary sweetener. Try just a teaspoon of raw honey as an after dinner treat. Believe us, it’s plenty sweet.

Raw honey is not without its risks. If you are severely allergic to pollen, raw honey can cause a strong reaction. Be sure to get your raw honey from an organic source to lessen the risk of food poisoning.

Try adding raw honey to your tea for sweetness and an extra boost of antioxidants. If you want to melt it a bit, submerge your sealed jar of honey in a pot filled with hot water from the faucet.

Always buy organic, local varieties and get manuka honey when you can.

References:

1 http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.UnfUyPl4zKd
2 http://www.naturalnews.com/042684_counterfeit_honey_spices_food_myths.html
3 http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/02/honeygate-sting-leads-to-charges-for-illegal-chinese-honey-importation/#.Unf96Pl4zKc
4 http://www.theorganicprepper.ca/raw-honey-liquid-gold-in-your-pantry-03262013
5 http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/319821
6 http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/manuka-honey-medicinal-uses

http://institutefornaturalhealing.com/2013/11/the-not-so-sweet-truth-about-honey/

Cheap Honey Sold as Manuka Variety

Stung by fraudsters: How cheap honey is being sold as 'liquid gold' manuka variety at £45 a jar

• Its antibacterial properties are thought to help combat various ailments, including skin problems
• Higher and ever-increasing volumes of honey being labelled as manuka that are not manuka
• Celebrities who use the honey include singer Katherine Jenkins and tennis champion Novak Djokovic

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 21:07 GMT, 25 August 2013 | UPDATED: 06:27 GMT, 26 August 2013


Fraudsters are selling ordinary honey as exclusive manuka honey, the health supplement that has been nicknamed ‘liquid gold’ and can sell for up to £45 a jar.

The honey – championed by celebrities including singer Katherine Jenkins and tennis champion Novak Djokovic – comes from bees and hives in a remote part of New Zealand.

Its antibacterial properties are thought to help combat various ailments, including skin problems and allergies.

Real manuka honey is produced by bees whose hives are placed by
flowering wild manuka bushes, which mainly grow on New Zealand's North Island

However, rogue producers and stores have been accused of passing off cheap baker’s honey as manuka.

The Food Standards Agency has now issued a nationwide alert to all trading standards departments asking them to watch out for fakes.

The main honey suppliers’ organisation in New Zealand believes 1,700 tons of manuka honey are produced there every year, but 1,800 tons are being sold in the UK alone.

And they estimated that 10,000 tons of what is supposed to be manuka honey are sold around the globe, suggesting that consumers are paying premium-level prices for misleading products.

John Rawcliffe, from the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association, said: ‘There is potentially huge fraud. 

‘There are higher and ever-increasing volumes of honey being labelled as manuka that are not manuka.’ 

The honey is produced by bees whose hives are placed by flowering wild manuka bushes, which mainly grow on New Zealand’s North Island. 

Until 1981, when scientists discovered that it had powerful anti-microbial properties, it was classed as a low-grade honey and used in cattle feed.

Sterilised manuka has been shown to help skin heal when used in wound dressings. However, there is no clinical evidence that eating the honey is beneficial. 

Despite this, manuka has enjoyed soaring global popularity – and growing sales – thanks to its many celebrity fans.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401884/Stung-fraudsters-cheap-honey-sold-liquid-gold-manuka-variety-45-jar.html

How Coconut Oil Might Combat Tooth Decay

December 08, 2012 |176,967views

 

Story at-a-glance

• Coconut oil is a powerful inhibitor of a large variety of pathogenic organisms, from viruses to bacteria to protozoa, largely due to its naturally high lauric acid content
• Researchers in Ireland found that coconut oil treated with enzymes, in a process similar to digestion, strongly inhibits Streptococcus bacteria, which are common inhabitants in your mouth that can lead to plaque buildup, cavities, and gum disease
• Although a healthful diet (low in sugar, grains, and processed foods, and high in fermented vegetables, whole foods, and grass-fed meats) can improve your dental health, you may still experience problems with plaque
• Pathogenic oral bacteria and their toxins can harm more than just your mouth when they circulate through your bloodstream—they can potentially cause secondary infections and chronic inflammation throughout your body
• Two additional strategies may help reduce plaque buildup: consuming naturally fermented vegetables daily, and the use of a technique called oil pulling; over the last year, these two strategies have radially improved my own long-standing plaque problem

Visit the Mercola Video Library

 

 

By Dr. Mercola

Coconuts are among the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet and have been a dietary staple for millennia. Western science is now "playing catch-up" to what natives of tropical regions have known for thousands of years. One of the reasons coconut is so special is that it's a natural antimicrobial food.

Coconut, especially its oil, is a powerful destroyer of all kinds of microbes, from viruses to bacteria to protozoa, many of which harm human health.

Researchers at the Athlone Institute of Technology's Bioscience Research Institute in Ireland set out to test coconut oil's biocidal properties against the bacteria responsible for tooth decay.

Dental caries is a commonly overlooked problem affecting 60 to 90 percent of children and the majority of adults in industrialized countries, according to chief researcher Dr. Damien Brady. His research team tested the antibacterial action of coconut oil in its natural state and coconut oil that had been treated with enzymes, in a process similar to digestion.

The oils were tested against strains of Streptococcus bacteria, which are common inhabitants of your mouth.

They found that enzyme-modified coconut oil strongly inhibits the growth of most strains of Streptococcus bacteria, including Streptococcus mutans, an acid-producing bacterium that is a major cause of tooth decay¹. It is thought that the breaking down of the fatty coconut oil by the enzymes turns it into acids, which are toxic to certain bacteria.² Enzyme-modified coconut oil was also harmful to the yeast Candida albicans, which can cause thrush.

Dr. Brady said:

"Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations. Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection."

The work also contributes to our understanding of antibacterial activity in the human gut, which helps maintain the balanced flora necessary for a strong immune system.

"Our data suggests that products of human digestion show antimicrobial activity. This could have implications for how bacteria colonize the cells lining the digestive tract and for overall gut health," explained Dr. Brady.

The Many Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil offers an impressive array of health benefits. In addition to its antimicrobial properties, coconut oil is beneficial for:

• Promoting heart health
• Supporting proper thyroid function
• Strengthening your immune system
• Providing an excellent "fuel" for your body and supporting a strong metabolism
• Maintaining healthy and youthful looking skin

One of the primary reasons coconut oil's benefits are so broad is that 50 percent of the fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, which is rarely found in nature. In fact, coconut oil contains the most lauric acid of any substance on Earth. Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, a monoglyceride that can actually destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV and herpes, influenza, measles, gram-negative bacteria, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia.

Another of coconut oil's antimicrobial components is capric acid, present in lesser amounts.

Coconut oil is also comprised of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are smaller than the long chain fatty acids that are much more common to vegetable and seed oils. MCFAs are easily digested and readily cross cell membranes, and are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than stored as fat. Coconut oil is easy on your digestive system and does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream.

A Traditional Diet Might Not Guarantee You Perfect Oral Health

In the 1900s, Dr. Weston A. Price did extensive research on the link between oral health and physical diseases. He discovered that the most successful primitive groups health-wise were those who paid attention to and integrated beneficial ancient knowledge and dietary wisdom into their lives. The difference, Price reasoned, between primitive cultures who were healthy and those who were diseased came not from solely eating a traditional diet (as they all did), but in the accumulated wisdom enjoyed by certain populations, which allowed them to enjoy optimal health.

One of the keys to oral health is eating a traditional diet rich in fresh, unprocessed vegetables, nuts, and grass-fed meats that are in line with your genetic ancestry. However, as beneficial as that diet is to your dental and overall health, it might not be enough to guarantee perfect oral health.

We know, of course, that eating junk food and sugar certainly causes and worsens dental decay in humans, but there must be more to the story. There is evidence of tooth decay in ancient populations, long before there was exposure to refined sugar and white flour, as well as among wild animals today. Even some dolphins, which generally eat no carbohydrates whatsoever — only fish, squid, and crustaceans — have problems with tooth decay. Clearly, simply following a traditional diet is not enough to explain this phenomenon, or else there would be no dental decay in ancient peoples or wildlife.

Plaque-Busting Strategy No. 1: Fermented Vegetables

In the past, I was also challenged with plaque accumulation which resulted in my having to make monthly visits to the dental hygienist. It seemed no amount of brushing, flossing, and even using a dental irrigator diminished this problem. However, in November of 2011, I was introduced to the first of two natural strategies that have significantly improved my plaque problem. The trick? Simply adding healthy amounts of high quality fermented vegetables to my diet.

Fermented vegetables are loaded with friendly flora that not only improve digestion but alter the flora in your mouth as well. Since the addition of these foods into my diet, my plaque has decreased by 50 percent and is much softer. I later further refined my approach by doing oil pulling with coconut oil and learning how to specifically target the primary source of plague, which is the junction of the tooth and gum surface by carefully directing my toothbrush at the appropriate angle.

Download Interview Transcript

Plaque-Busting Strategy No. 2: Oil Pulling

The second technique I've been using for the past year is called "oil pulling" with coconut oil, which has reduced my plaque by another 50 percent, allowing me to go two months between visits to the hygienist, instead of one. Oil pulling is a practice dating back thousands of years, having originated with Ayurvedic medicine. When oil pulling is combined with the antimicrobial power of coconut oil, you have one very powerful health tool.

Sesame oil is traditionally recommended, but it has relatively high concentration of omega-6 oils. Therefore, I believe coconut oil is far superior, and, in my mind, it tastes better. But from a mechanical and biophysical perspective, it is likely that both work.

Oil pulling is simple. Basically, it involves rinsing your mouth with coconut oil, much like you would with a mouthwash. The oil is "worked" around your mouth by pushing, pulling, and drawing it through your teeth for a period of 15 minutes. If you are obsessive like me and want even better results you can go for 30-45 minutes. This process allows the oil to "pull out" bacteria, viruses, fungi and other debris. The best time is in the morning before eating breakfast, but it can be done at any time, the important point is to just do it. I seek to do it twice a day if my schedule allows. The used oil is discarded and your mouth rinsed with water. You should not swallow the oil because it's loaded with bacteria, toxins, pus, and mucous.

When done correctly, oil pulling has a significant cleansing, detoxifying and healing affect, not only for your mouth and sinuses but for the rest of your body as well.
Candida and Streptococcus are common residents in your mouth, and it's these germs and their toxic waste products that cause plaque accumulation and tooth decay, in addition to secondary infections and chronic inflammation throughout your body. Oil pulling can help lessen the overall toxic burden on your immune system by preventing the spread of these organisms from your mouth to the rest of your body, by way of your bloodstream.

The potential benefits of oil pulling extend well beyond your mouth. Oil pullers have reported rapid relief from systemic health problems, such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease. According to Bruce Fife, naturopathic physician and expert in the healing effects of coconut³, the cleansing effect of oil pulling can be understood with the following analogy:

"It acts much like the oil you put in your car engine. The oil picks up dirt and grime. When you drain the oil, it pulls out the dirt and grime with it, leaving the engine relatively clean. Consequently, the engine runs smoother and lasts longer. Likewise, when we expel harmful substances from our bodies our health is improved and we run smoother and last longer."

Additional Tips for Improving Your Oral Health

Total Video Length: 01:12:05

Download Interview Transcript

 

Proper dental hygiene is important for optimal health in your mouth and in the rest of your body, as discussed by Dr. Bill Osmunson in the interview above. When it comes to preventing cavities, drinking fluoridated water and brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste is not the answer, because fluoride is more toxic than lead. The key is your diet and proper dental care: good old brushing and flossing. By avoiding sugars and processed foods, you prevent the proliferation of the bacteria that cause decay in the first place.

Practicing twice daily brushing and flossing, along with regular cleanings by your biological dentist and hygienist, will ensure that your teeth and gums are as healthy as they can be. You may want to try oil pulling to enhance your current dental hygiene routine.

In addition to consuming foods that are part of the "traditional diet" and avoiding processed foods and refined sugar, make sure you are getting plenty omega-3 fats. The latest research suggests even moderate amounts of omega-3 fats may help ward off gum disease. My favorite source of high quality omega-3 fat is krill oil.

And speaking of sugar, a particular type of honey from New Zealand called Manuka honey has also been shown to be effective in reducing plaque. Researchers found Manuka honey worked as well as chemical mouthwash — and better than the cavity fighting sugar alcohol, xylitol — in reducing levels of plaque. This is most likely due to the honey's antibacterial properties. Clinical trials have shown that Manuka honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant varieties.

I still believe that oil pulling with coconut oil gives you more bang for your buck for your oral health, but just realize you have natural options to harsh and often toxic chemicals.

[+] Sources and References

• ¹ BBC News September 2, 2012
• ² Athlone News September 3, 2012
• ³ Coconut Research Center

 

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[+] Comments (219)

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/08/coconut-oil-combats-tooth-decay.aspx

Ancient Egyptian Cure May Fight MRSA Infections

By Timothy Boyer on February 1, 2012 - 12:32pm for eMaxHealth


Bacterial infections from microbes such as MRSA pose a significant threat to health as many antibiotics are ineffective in treating a growing number of infections.

However, scientists recently reveal a new study that tells us that an ancient Egyptian cure may be our best weapon against not just MRSA, but potentially the majority of bacterial infections.

Discover what this cure is and why you should have it in your medicine cabinet.

We are carriers of disease. Although the ancient Egyptians understanding may not have been on the same level of understanding as it is today that one cause of disease such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is as close to us as our skin, they nevertheless understood the importance of fighting off infection.

According to PubMed Health, 1 out of every 4 healthy individuals carries a strain of Staphylococcus aureus on their skin or in their nasal passages. Furthermore, 2 out of every 100 people carry a strain of staph that is resistant to antibiotics.

One of the misconceptions of antibiotic resistance is the belief that failure of an infection to respond to an antibiotic means that the microbe has mutated in some way that makes it resistant to a specific antibiotic or class of antibiotics. However, recent research tells us that this is often not true. Rather, that many types of bacteria produce protective biofilms that thwart an antibiotic’s antimicrobial abilities.

A biofilm is a thin layer of microbes that sticks to the surface of a structure such as a healing wound and is aided by organic polymers the microbes secrete to insure adhesion as well as growth over the wound. Biofilms have relatively recently been shown to form a type of protective barrier against antibiotics.

However, it appears that some natural organic substances have a way of breaking down the protective biofilm barrier and destroying the bacterial colonies in an infection. One natural substance is mentioned in Ancient Egyptian writing dating back 4,000 years that describes the practice of mixing honey on cotton fibers and applying it on wounds as dressings.

The use of honey derived from some types of plants has been in use for a number of years now and is available as a topical ointment to apply directly on a wound. The most common source of honey is “Manuka Honey,” which is produced by bees that collect nectar from the Manuka Bush or Tea Tree (Leptospermum Scoparium) that is indigenous to New Zealand.

Exactly how Manuka honey works is currently under investigation, but it is suspected to contain one or more ingredients with potent antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties.

Honey is a complex substance estimated to be comprised of several hundred components, including fructose, glucose, sucrose and other sugars as well as acids, proteins, amino acids , nitrogen, minerals, and in the case of Manuka honey— methylglyoxal (MGO), which is believed to be crucial toward its antimicrobial properties.

Researchers wanting to gain an understanding of how Manuka honey works on infections decided to perform in-vitro tests on the effect of Manuka honey on Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria that live in the nasopharynx and skin of healthy individuals. S. pyogenes is a common infection problem in patients following surgery and is known for its protective biofilm properties.

The goal of the researchers was to determine whether Manuka honey disrupted the biofilm binding of S. pyogenes to human wound proteins called “fibrinogen” and “fibronectin” that play an important role in the normal wound healing process.

What they found as reported in the Jan. 31, 2012 issue of Microbiology, is that treatment with Manuka honey resulted in not only inhibiting the development of biofilms, but also disrupted established biofilms of S. pyogenes by possibly interrupting the adhesion of tissue ligands related to fibronectin protein found in wound healing. The exact molecular process remains unknown, but is believed to involve a disruption of expression of fibronectin-binding proteins Sof and SfbI from the S. pyogenes bacterium.

The authors concluded that their results add further support to the use of Manuka honey in treating infection from S. pyogenes due to its ability to attack the bacterium’s biofilm.

Their findings lend support to the treatment of other antibiotic resistant microbes with biofilm components such as MRSA and other strains of infectious bacteria. Furthermore, this is yet another example that there is value in investigating medical knowledge and practices from other cultures even as far back as the days of the Ancient Egyptians.

Image Source: Courtesy of Wikipedia

Reference: “Manuka honey inhibits the development of Streptococcus pyogenes biofilms and causes reduced expression of two fibronectin binding proteins” Microbiology Jan.31, 2012; Sarah E. Maddocks, Marta Salinas Lopez, Richard S. Rowlands and Rose A. Cooper

http://www.emaxhealth.com/8782/ancient-egyptian-cure-may-fight-mrsa-infections

Manuka Honey

 Can This Sweetener Replace Chemical Mouthwash For Reducing Your Dental Plaque?

Posted By Dr. Mercola | December 28 2011 | 32,638 views

Story at-a-glance

• Manuka honey, which has potent antibacterial qualities, works just as well as chemical mouthwash -- and better than the cavity-fighting sugar alcohol xylitol -- in reducing plaque levels
• Clinical trials have found that Manuka honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant varieties
• The vast majority of honey sold and consumed in the United States is processed or refined, and will not offer the same types of healing properties found in raw, high-quality Manuka honey

By Dr. Mercola

Honey has been used as a natural wound healer and infection fighter since ancient times, and new research is showing that a specific type of honey from New Zealand -- Manuka honey -- may offer a wealth of additional healing benefits.

Manuka honey is made by bees that feed off the flowers of the Manuka bush, a medicinal plant native to New Zealand.

All honey contains varying degrees of hydrogen peroxide, which is formed when worker bees secrete an enzyme (glucose oxidase) into the nectar.

Manuka honey, however, has healing properties that extend beyond the healing effects attributed to its hydrogen peroxide content alone; properties such as improved dental health.

Can Manuka Honey Reduce Plaque Formation?

Researchers from India recently explored a number of strategies for reducing dental plaque:

• Manuka honey, which has potent antibacterial properties
• Chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash, a chemical mouthwash often used to treat gingivitis
• Chewing gum with xylitol, a sugar alcohol that has been found to help fight tooth decay

Sixty healthy subjects first received a professional prophylaxis with the purpose of making their teeth 100 percent plaque-free. They were then divided randomly into three groups, and given Manuka honey, chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash, or xylitol chewing gum. After 72 hours, their plaque levels were examined and researchers found:

"Both Manuka honey and chlorhexidine mouthwash reduced plaque formation significantly, better than the xylitol chewing gum."

So Manuka honey worked just as well as chemical mouthwash -- and better than xylitol -- in reducing plaque levels, most likely because of its potent antibacterial qualities.

Another key difference is that chlorhexidine, according to the National Library of Medicine's toxicological database Toxnet, is "highly acutely toxic when applied to the eye" (which could happen accidentally), while Manuka honey is not.

Manuka Honey is Effective Against Hundreds of Bacterial Strains, Fungi and More

Clinical trials have found that Manuka honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria, including resistant varieties such as:

• MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
• MSSA (methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus)
• VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci)
• Helicobacter Pylori (which can cause stomach ulcers)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) even approved Manuka-honey-based wound dressings in 2007. The verdict is still out on exactly how Manuka honey kills bacteria, but biochemist Professor Peter Molan at the University of Waikato, has named the effect "unique manuka factor," or UMF. As he told BBC News:

"We know it [Maunka honey] has a very broad spectrum of action … It works on bacteria, fungi, protozoa. We haven't found anything it doesn't work on among infectious organisms."

While it's known that honey's high sugar content suppresses microorganism growth, separate research has suggested that another mode of action is present, and the honey may actually work by destroying key bacterial proteins.

At GreenMedInfo.com you can see a list of numerous clinical studies showing Manuka honey's effectiveness against a wide variety of diseases and conditions, including:

Leg Ulcer	Dental Caries	Dental Plaque
MRSA	Periodontal Infection and Gingivitis	Ulcerative colitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Helicobacter Pylori Infection	Wound Healing	Bacterial Infections

 

Should You Eat Honey to Prevent Cavities?

There a couple of caveats you need to know about honey, the first being that the vast majority of honey sold and consumed in the United States is processed or refined. And, like most refined foods, processed honey can promote disease and damage your health (including your teeth) -- and it will not offer you the same health benefits as raw, high-quality Manuka honey.

Another important point to remember is that typically about 70-80% of honey is fructose, which, in excessive amounts can exacerbate pre-existing insulin resistance and wreak havoc on your body.

Each teaspoon of honey has nearly four grams of fructose so carefully add the total grams of fructose (including fruits) that you consume each day, and stay below 25 grams of total fructose per day. This is particularly important if you suffer from signs of elevated insulin, such as:

• Overweight
• High blood pressure
• High blood cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Midsection Fat

As long as it's used in moderation, eating raw Manuka honey, or alternatively using it topically on your teeth or wounds, is likely to promote health.

Even Better than Manuka Honey for Oral Health

In my view Manuka honey has some very compelling evidence to be considered as a potent healing agent. It was clearly superior to the chemical mouthwash used in this study. However, I believe there are even more effective alternatives based on my own personal health journey.

You might be surprised to learn that despite my outstanding diet, which has me grain and sugar free most of the time, and aggressive exercise program, I have struggled with dental plaque for some time. The plaque has been so bad that it requires monthly visits to the dental hygienist. This has frustrated me for many decades, as despite regular brushing, flossing and using a dental irrigator there has been no improvement in the plaque.

Well earlier this month I received my first feedback that I finally found something that worked. After speaking at the Weston Price Wise Traditions event in Dallas in November I was introduced to fermented vegetables and have been consuming them regularly since then. This is the only change I made in my health habits and my plaque was reduced by over 50% and was much softer.

There is little doubt in my mind that the beneficial bacteria in the vegetables have altered the flora in my mouth and help reduce the plaque. I am very excited about this improvement and will be doing many articles on it next year. I have also started oil pulling with coconut oil and butter and will see if that provides further improvement.

My goal is to be able to go for years without having to see the hygienist as many of my friends are able to. I would still go for regular checkups but I really don't want to do the cleaning if I don't have to.

More Tips for Your Pearly Whites

Good oral health and strong, healthy teeth are NOT the result of drinking fluoridated water and brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste. Rather it's all about your diet.

Dr. Weston A. Price, who was one of the major nutritional pioneers of the 20^th century, completed some of the most incredible research on this topic back in the 1900s, and it is still very much relevant today. What he found, and documented in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, is that native tribes who were eating their traditional diet had nearly perfect teeth, and were almost 100 percent free of tooth decay -- and they did not have toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, or root canals and fillings.

But when these tribal populations were introduced to refined sugar and white flour, guess what happened … their health, and their perfect teeth, rapidly deteriorated. By avoiding refined sugars and processed foods, you prevent the proliferation of the bacteria that cause decay in the first place.

Source: Contemporary Clinical Dentistry October 2010; 1(4): 214-217

Source: Green Med Info

Related Links:

Sugar-Free Drinks and Chewing Gum Linked to Tooth Damage  

Honey Works Better than Drugs for Herpes!

The Vitamin that is Better than Fluoride in Reducing Cavities

http://articles.mercola.com/
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