Volume 01 · Issue 18
A weekly dispatch on what manuka honey actually is.
Chemistry, clinical evidence, and marketplace reality. Evidence first, always cited. No recipes. Sister publication to ManukaGuard, and we tell you when we point to their shelf.
Latest
When Your Throat Is Raw: What Honey Can and Can't Do
Honey is the oldest sore-throat instinct there is. The research mostly measures cough, the mechanism is comfort, and the word that honey has not earned is "treats."
October 26, 2026 ·ManukaBuzzz Editorial
Earlier
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Honey Before Bed for a Coughing Child: What the Trials Found, and the One Rule
A few small trials suggest a spoonful of honey may ease a child's night cough a little, but the evidence is modest and mostly parent-reported. One rule has no exceptions: never give honey to a baby under 12 months.
October 21, 2026
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Does Manuka Honey Feed Your Gut Bacteria? What the Data Actually Shows
Labels say manuka "supports gut health" or acts as a "prebiotic." We looked at the mouse work, the reviews and the human trial record to see what is actually established, and what is still a hypothesis.
October 14, 2026
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"Soothes" Is Not "Treats": The Coating Story Behind Reflux Comfort
A spoonful of honey clings to a spoon, and that cling is a real, describable property. This piece separates what viscosity can plausibly do from what a medical claim requires, using alginate products as an analogy and one small honey pilot as a preliminary footnote.
October 7, 2026
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Pollen Season: Rinsing Allergens Away, Not Curing Allergies
Pollen settles on the moist lining of your nose all day, and a simple rinse is a mechanical way to help wash it away. This is a hygiene step, not a treatment for allergies.
September 30, 2026
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Why a Saline Rinse Works, and Why the Salt Concentration Matters
A saline rinse is plumbing, not pharmacology: water carries mucus and particles out. Volume, pressure and salt concentration decide how well that flush works and how it feels.
September 23, 2026
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Why Honey Never Really Spoils: Water, Sugar, and pH
A jar of honey can sit in a pantry for years and stay edible. The reasons are plain physical chemistry: very little free water, a lot of sugar, and an acidic pH.
September 16, 2026
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The Supply Gap: Why More "Manuka" Is Sold Than New Zealand Makes
For years, industry bodies have pointed to a simple arithmetic problem: the volume of honey sold as manuka has appeared to exceed what New Zealand's hives could plausibly produce. Here is what the sources say, where they stop, and how testing tries to close the gap.
September 9, 2026
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How to Read a Manuka Label in 60 Seconds
A manuka jar is covered in numbers, letters and adjectives, and they do not all mean the same kind of thing. Here is what the main markers measure, what the vaguer terms leave out, and a short checklist for the shelf.
September 2, 2026
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Does Manuka Belong in Your Nose? What the Nasal Studies Actually Show
Most people meet manuka on a spoon. A smaller body of research asks a stranger question: what happens when you put it in your sinuses.
August 26, 2026
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What MGO Actually Measures
MGO 250+, MGO 514+, MGO 829+. The number on the label is a real chemical assay, but it isn't the only thing that determines whether the honey works.
May 15, 2026
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The Difference Between UMF and MGO
UMF is MGO plus three guard assays plus an independent audit. Here is what each part actually measures.
May 12, 2026
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Honey for Coughs: The Strongest Evidence Manuka Has
Two systematic reviews put honey ahead of standard care and ahead of over-the-counter cough medicine for kids over one. The cough and sore throat indication is the strongest part of the manuka evidence base, and most of it is not specific to manuka.
April 29, 2026
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Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Three Trials, Three Different Answers
A 2013 Saudi study found 87 percent complete healing at six months with manuka. A 2017 Hong Kong trial found nanocrystalline silver outperformed it. A 2014 Greek study found it helped neuropathic ulcers. The spread between these results is the actual story.
April 15, 2026
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What Each Pricing Tier Actually Buys
A jar at MGO 100 and a jar at MGO 829 differ by an order of magnitude in antibacterial concentration. They also differ by roughly an order of magnitude in price. Where the diminishing returns sit depends on what you are using the honey for.
April 1, 2026
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Leptosperin: The One Marker You Cannot Fake
Discovered in 2012, leptosperin only forms during nectar collection by the bee. It cannot be added to honey after the fact. That makes it the most decisive line between real manuka and the rest.
March 18, 2026
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The Slow Chemistry of Manuka
Methylglyoxal is not pumped into the jar at the apiary. It builds up over months of storage from a precursor present in the original nectar.
March 4, 2026
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Welcome to ManukaBuzzz
What this publication is, what it isn't, and why a weekly dispatch on a single honey is more than enough material.
February 25, 2026