31 May Fighting off cold and flu the natural way.
Winter is (almost) here!
With winter on our doorstep, it is time to think about building up a strong, healthy immune system. Eating the right foods is a great way to support and strengthen our health, nourish our bodies and improve our immunity, and Manuka honey is one of nature’s ultimate immune boosters.
After Australia’s scorching summer, winter brings the rain that our leptospermum (Manuka) plants need, however, with it comes the dreaded cold and flu season. Coughing fits, sore throats and a runny nose are always a bore and can impact on your daily activities, but by adding Manuka honey to your list of natural remedies, you can wave goodbye to these symptoms a lot sooner.
Superbugs – a global health crisis.
Doctors are often quick to hand out antibiotics for cold and flu. Antibiotic resistance and the rapid evolution of antibiotic-resistant microbes is now a global health crisis with the same level of concern as diseases such as HIV. Fortunately, scientific studies have proven that bacteria that have developed a resistance to antibiotics (know as superbugs) are not resistant to the antibacterial properties of Manuka Honey.
“We’ve been interested in the medicinal properties of Leptospermum [i.e. manuka-type] honeys for a while now,”
said UTS’ Dr Nural Cokcetin, the lead author of Manuka honey study ‘The Antibacterial Activity of Australian Leptospermum Honey Correlates with Methylglyoxal Levels’ published in PLOS ONE.
“What makes these honeys really interesting is that they can kill superbugs, like Golden Staph. Superbugs are bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections and are resistant to most of the antibiotics that we have available to us currently. One of the main reasons we are interested in the antibacterial activity of medicinal honey is because honey not only kills bacteria on contact, but the bacteria don’t become resistant to honey over time.”
Manuka Honey – the best natural cold and flu remedy.
It is no secret that the smooth coat and soothing texture that honey provides helps to calm a sore throat, but Manuka assists with so much more than this. The anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties allow the honey to break down nasty cold and flu virus in an efficient and natural manner. Additionally, Manuka contains a high level of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.
Whether you stir your Manuka honey into a hot drink, pour it over your breakfast or enjoy a spoonful straight from the jar, by adding this remarkable natural ingredient to your everyday diet you’re giving your body the extra strength and resistance it needs to defend itself this cold and flu season.