All New Zealand Christmas treats

Kumara & Manuka Honey Brownies

We are always looking to create something delicious and healthy at the same time.

We brought the least expected ingredients together, Kumara, Peanut Butter and our Manuka Honey to make one of the most delicious nutrition-packed treat ever! I really love this brownie, it is so simple to make. For people that are not from New Zealand; Kumara is Sweet potatoe :-). We buy our ingredients, Kumara and Peanut butter from our local market.

Kumara & Manuka Honey Brownies

Here are all the ingredients you need:

• 3 cups of cooked mashed Kumara (we prefer the orange Kumara)

• 1 cup of HBK’s Manuka blend honey

• 1 cup of cocoa powder

• 1.5 cups of peanut butter

Manuka Honey and Kumara

Manuka Honey and Almond Butter

Peel and mash the Kumara before making these. Combine in a food processor, place in a small flatter wider brownie tin and cook for 25-30 minutes at 180°C. We used peanut butter but also will taste great with almond butter.

Feel free to adjust the amount of cocoa powder and honey for your desired sweetness and richness of the brownies you want.

All the ingredients are adjustable for the desired quantity and sweetness.

Kumara Brownies with Manuka oney

ENJOY

How, When, and Why Bew Zealand Honey Is Used for Wound Care,

by Rachel Nall, RN, MSN, CRNA

NZ Manuka Honey MGO850+ and MGO250+ (500g)

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How is Manuka honey used on wounds?

People have used honey for thousands of years for wound healing. While we now have other very effective wound-healing options, honey may still be good for healing certain wounds.

Manuka Honey has antibacterial properties and a unique pH balance that promotes oxygen and healing compounds to a wound.

Before you reach into your cabinet, know that wound-care professionals use medical-grade honey for healing chronic wounds and other injuries.

Is honey effective for healing?

Honey is a sugary, syrupy substance that has been shown to have bioactive components that can help heal wounds.

According to a literature review published in the journal Wounds, honey offers the following benefits in healing wounds:

• Acidic pH promotes healing. Honey has an acidic pH of between 3.2 and 4.5. When applied to wounds, the acidic pH encourages the blood to release oxygen, which is important to wound healing. An acidic pH also reduces the presence of substances called proteases that impair the wound healing process.

• Sugar has an osmotic effect. The sugar naturally present in honey has the effect of drawing water out of damaged tissues (known as an osmotic effect). This reduces swelling and encourages the flow of lymph to heal the wound. Sugar also draws water out of bacterial cells, which can help keep them from multiplying.

• Antibacterial effect. Honey has been shown to have an antibacterial effect on bacteria commonly present in wounds, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE). Part of this resistance may be through its osmotic effects.

Most medical professionals use a specific type of honey on wounds called Manuka honey. This honey comes from Manuka trees. Manuka honey is unique in that it contains the compound methylgloxal. This compound is cytotoxic (kills bacteria) and is a small molecule that may pass more easily into the skin and bacteria.

Honey and types of wounds

Wound healing professionals have used honey to treat the following wound types:

• boils

• burns

• nonhealing wounds and ulcers

• pilonidal sinus

• venous and diabetic foot ulcers

Researchers have conducted a variety of studies regarding the effectiveness of honey as a treatment for a variety of wounds. The Cochrane Review published a large-scale literature review of 26 such clinical trials, which encompassed 3,011 participants total.

The researchers concluded that honey appears to help heal partial-thickness burns and infected post-operative wounds better than many conventional treatments. However, there weren’t enough large-scale, high-quality studies to conclusively make recommendations for other wound types.

How do you apply honey for wounds?

If you have a wound or burn that won’t heal, it’s important to check with a doctor before using honey on the wound. Ask the doctor if honey is a possibility for treatment.

For severe wounds, it’s best a doctor or wound-care nurse shows you how to apply the honey the first time. This is because the amount of honey and the way the dressing is applied can impact how effective the wound-healing will be.

Tips for applying honey on wounds

If you’re applying honey on wounds at home, here are some general tips for application.

• Always start with clean hands and applicators, such as sterile gauze and cotton tips.

• Apply the honey to a dressing first, then apply the dressing to the skin. This helps to cut down on the messiness of honey when applied directly to the skin. You can also purchase honey-impregnated dressings, such as MediHoney brand dressings, which have been on the market for several years. An exception is, if you have a deep wound bed, such as an abscess. The honey should fill the wound bed before a dressing is applied.

• Place a clean, dry dressing over the honey. This can be sterile gauze pads or an adhesive bandage. An occlusive dressing is best over honey because it keeps the honey from seeping out.

• Replace the dressing when drainage from the wound saturates the dressing. As honey starts to heal the wound, the dressing changes will likely be less frequent.

• Wash your hands after dressing the wound.

If you have any questions about applying honey to your wound, follow up with a physician.

Happy Beekeeping Manuka Honey

What are the possible complications of honey for wounds?

It’s always possible that honey or its container can become contaminated, or, a person could have an allergic reaction. Sometimes, this is to the bee pollen that’s naturally present in honey.

Allergic reactions

Signs you could be having an allergic reaction to the honey include:

• dizziness

• extreme swelling

• nausea

• stinging or burning after topical application

• trouble breathing

• vomiting

If you experience these symptoms, clean your skin of the honey and seek medical attention.

Do not apply the honey again until you talk to a doctor.

Risks with raw honey

Some researchers have raised concerns regarding the use of raw honey, which is made from honeycombs and unfiltered, for wound treatment. They theorize that there’s greater risks for infection using this honey type.

While this is more of an idea than something that is proven, it’s important to be aware of the risks, according to the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.

Ineffective

It’s also possible honey may not work to heal your wound. Frequent applications are required to see a benefit. This could take a week or more. If you aren’t seeing any improvement, talk to a doctor or nurse.

You should always check with their doctor before using this honey type to ensure it’s safe to apply to the wound.

Medically reviewed by Gerhard Whitworth, RN on November 16, 2018 —

Written by Rachel Nall, RN, MSN, CRNA

NZ Manuka Honey MGO850+ and MGO250+ (500g)

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WHAT IS MGO IN MANUKA HONEY FROM NZ & HOW IT DETERMINES NZ MANUKA HONEY QUALITY

Methylglyoxal (MGO)

Manuka honey is renowned for its potent therapeutic properties, with MGO being the chief active compound found in the nectar of the Leptospermum scoparium plant. This quantifiable measurement is obtained only from the esteemed International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) Accredited Laboratory, serving as a reliable grading system to determine the quality and purity of New Zealand Manuka honey.

Manuka Plant-Leptospermum scoparium plant.

Extensive research has been conducted on the medicinal properties of honey, revealing its remarkable antimicrobial capabilities. The health benefits of pure raw honey are undeniable, regardless of its origin, thanks to its varying levels of Glucose Oxidase Enzyme (GOE). This enzyme catalyses glucose oxidation to hydrogen peroxide, which displays antibacterial activity when oxygen and glucose are present. As a result, the antiseptic properties of hydrogen peroxide are effectively released into infection sites when used to treat minor infections. This process inhibits and kills bacteria without causing any harm to the body tissues.

Hill Laboratories Honey test results showing different compounds of manuka honey

Manuka honey, however, is unique in that, in addition to containing Hydrogen Peroxide Activity (PA) available in all raw honey, it also includes a particular compound called non-peroxide activity (NPA). The cause of this ‘non-peroxide activity’ (NPA) available in Manuka Honey wasn’t well understood for many years. Then, in 2008, a scientist in Germany, Professor Thomas Henle of the University of Dresden, demonstrated in his research for the first time that manuka honey’s ‘non-peroxide’ antimicrobial activity (NPA) was closely related to the unique features that occur in Manuka honey, "Manuka honey should be one of the few food items for which a health-promoting property beyond the basic nutritional function can be documented. Health claims require significant scientific consensus, and I think from a scientific point of view, the data concerning the Methylglyoxal-induced antimicrobial properties of Manuka honey are auspicious to fulfil the requirements" Professor Thomas Henle.

However, most healthcare professionals use Manuka honey (MGO or UMF) for treating different diseases and infections such as wounds treatment, Gum diseases, and viral infections. Notably, several in vitro and animal studies have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer effects of Manuka honey. Furthermore, preliminary human studies have indicated its potential benefits in combating gingivitis and inflamed nasal sinuses. Remarkably, Manuka honey with elevated levels of MGO has exhibited antibacterial properties against bacteria commonly found in infected tissues, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE). This antibacterial effect may be attributed, at least in part, to its osmotic effects. fulfil., such as wound NON-PEROXIDE

Here at Happy Beekeeping we believe that only the New Zealand's Manuka Honey can be authenticated to contain high and stable levels of MGO that are known to have a strong antibacterial and antiviral activity.

How do you apply honey for wounds?

Althought Manuka Honey has antibacterial effects, if you have a wound or burn that won’t heal, it’s important to check with a doctor before using honey on the wound.

For severe wounds, it’s best for a doctor or wound-care nurse to showwound healing, such as wound you how to apply the honey the first time. This is because the amount of honey and the way the dressing is applied can impact how effective the wound-healing will be.

Check our previous article for Tips for applying honey on wounds

Totika Health Limited Manuka Honey MGO1050+

The number shown in the opposite picture of the Manuka honey, the MGO 1050+, is the measure in mg per every kg of the most important counpound contributing to the special activity level of anti-bacterial and anti-fungals properties of the Manuka Honey. The number between brackets (20+), is the corresponding special activity rating in other meauremnet (NPA or UMF).

To help our customers choose the right Manuka Honey, we've compiled a summary of the area of application depending on the MGO value, from boosting your immune system to major wounds.

At Happy Beekeeping Limited (Totika Health), all our honey is raw, hand-harvested and laboratory-tested. Manuka honey is tested for its unique methylglyoxal (MGO) and NON PEROXIDE ACTIVITY (NPA) levels. This nz manuka honey boasts a high concentration of a unique methylglyoxal (MGO), which gives it unparalleled antibacterial properties, making it the best Manuka honey for health. MGO levels vary; the higher the concentration, the more potent the honey. Our Rare New Zealand Manuka Honey is meticulously tested to ensure it meets he highest standards, making it a treasure trove of quality and the best Manuka honey brand on the market.

Sample of Honey Test results for MGO reading

This is a sample of the laboratory test results when we send our honey to be independently verified.

The test measures the three main concentrations, of

DHA (dihydroxyacetone),

MGO (methylglyoxal), and

HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural) in honey.

The NPA results in Manuka honey with the presence of MGO are then converted into the activity rating system characterised by a number e.g. 5+, 10+, 15+. see opposite table.

Both NPA Manuka honey and UMF Manuka honey are tested in the same way i.e. presence of MGO

MPI Manuka Honey Classification

To measure the manuka honey authenticity, monofloral mānuka or multifloral mānuka, we also send our honey samples for testing, as shown opposite.

As of December 2017, the Ministry of Primary Industry (MPI) has enforced a set of requirements for testing-honey for export that is packed and labelled as a monofloral or multifloral mānuka honey. 

The definition consists of five attributes, including four chemical markers (MPI Mānuka Chemical Markers) and a DNA marker from mānuka pollen (MPI Mānuka DNA Marker).

All five attributes need to pass MPI’s definition for the honey to be labelled as mono-floral Mānuka, or multi-floral Mānuka, for export. 

To be classified as either a monofloral mānuka or multifloral mānuka the honey must meet minimum levels for all components of the MPI 5 Attributes test including both the chemical and DNA markers. 

Dr Isaac Flitta

Did You Know that Raw Manuka Honey Helps Protect Your Teeth? check it out here

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Manuka honey

• The University of Waikato: What's Special About Active Manuka Honey?

NZ Manuka Honey MGO 1050+

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NZ Manuka Honey MGO1050+ and MGO250+

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NZ Manuka Honey MGO850+ (UMF20+)

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