The New Secret Weapon In The Battle Against Infection

The healing power of honey is becoming more recognized out of necessity with the need for a solution to the increase of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. In fact, a particular type of honey has been found to be effective in treating burns, wounds and boils. Manuka Honey is becoming increasingly more accepted for medical purposes around the world. Over the past two decades, researchers have focused on the potential for using Manuka Honey as an antibacterial and antimicrobial agent that may one day replace antibiotics in the treatment of wounds and other skin conditions.nnDespite resistance to natural remedies, doctors and other health care professionals are becoming more intrigued with Manuka Honey's effectiveness as a medical solution. One reason for the increasing interest is that traditional antibiotics are not nearly as effective as they used to be against certain microbes. No new classes of antibiotics have been developed to combat infectious diseases since 1970. The research and development process of anti-infective drugs usually takes about 10 to 20 years. Today, nearly all significant bacterial infections in the world are becoming resistant to the most commonly prescribed antibiotic treatments. This has created an enormous problem and as a result, doctors are becoming more receptive to reconsidering honey as an effective form of treatment.nnManuka Honey has become a valuable ingredient in health care products because it is more effective in treating certain symptoms than pharmaceutical antibiotics. It has shown great promise in the treatment of wounds infected with life-threatening bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). According to the Center for Disease Control, cases of wounds infected with the MRSA superbug have increased 32-fold in U.S. hospitals over the past 30 years. Since bacteria have the ability to mutate and become resistant to elements attempting to destroy it, antibiotics are slowly becoming less effective. However, these superbugs have not been able to become resistant to Manuka Honey because this special type of honey destroys bacteria in a different way than antibiotics do. Manuka Honey has the ability to draw water out of the bacteria by osmosis, making it impossible for the bacteria to survive.nnManuka Honey comes from New Zealand and certain parts of Australia. Honeybees gather nectar from the flowers that grow on the Manuka Bush (indigenous to New Zealand) and take this nectar back to their hives where they produce this unique type of honey containing strong antibacterial properties. Manuka Honey was not always recognized as being such a valuable resource. Beekeepers in New Zealand once regarded Manuka Honey as worthless because it's difficult to process, it's color is too dark and it doesn't taste as good as regular honey. It wasn't until years later that scientists began to discover that this type of honey has extremely power medicinal qualities.nnHoneymark International, a U.S. manufacturer of health care products is now using Manuka Honey as a main ingredient. Honeymark imports Manuka Honey from New Zealand and blends it into their medicated creams and lotions, making extremely effective skin care products. "All types of honey have some medicinal value to a certain extent," says Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International. "Its low water content allows it to draw fluid out of wounds and its high sugar content makes it difficult for microorganisms to grow. In addition, the presence of the enzyme, glucose oxidase, releases low levels of hydrogen peroxide making it a natural disinfectant." Because of a chemical reaction with skin tissue, honey also makes healing wounds smell better, says Buonanotte.nnFrom the time of the ancient Sumerians until the early part of the twentieth century, honey was used as a natural remedy for healing infected wounds. However, honey lost its popularity as a medicine by the middle of the twentieth century when penicillin and other antibiotics were invented. Doctors just assumed that the antibiotics worked better. Honeymark plans on raising the level of awareness by introducing its line of honey-based health care products to the medical industry.nn"Not all honey has medicinal value," cautions Buonanotte. "Manuka Honey has an additional antibacterial component called the Unique Manuka Factor or UMF. Honey with a high enough UMF rating is effective in treating a wide variety of health conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, infected wounds, burns, ringworm and athlete's foot. Honeymark uses Active Manuka Honey with a UMF rating of 10+ to ensure its potency and effectiveness." nn