Honey with added buzz
IT’S official – honey with lemon is good for coughs. In advice for the winter, the The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Public Health England have confirmed what we’ve always believed – that the natural remedy should be the first line of treatment if you have a tickle in the throat.
The advice follows concern from many experts that doctors are too quick to dole out antibiotics for coughs and colds, for which they are rarely necessary.
“Taking a spoonful of honey or a honey and lemon drink is a good first step a person can take for self-treatment for a cough,” says Dr Tessa Lewis of NICE. “Honey is a natural remedy which has been tried and tested for generations.
“A trial suggests honey can reduce the severity and frequency after a day but doesn’t have a significant effect on sleep quality.”
If ever there’s a time when we might need a little help with a cough it’s in the coming weeks and months as the weather gets wetter, windier and chillier.
And if you’re going to take honey, you should take the one experts recommend – manuka honey, created in the fresh, clean air of New Zealand. Manuka honey is highly rated by scientists and users alike. Its high levels of antimicrobial activity kill or slow the spread of micro organisms, including bacteria.
Manuka Doctor is the leading producer of the finest manuka honey (named after the native manuka bush from which the bees get their pollen). The New Zealand company has 60,000 hives set apart from the outside world in the peaceful setting of its own land, free from pesticides and other interference.
The honey is harvested by hand and certified by the New Zealand government as containing nothing but top quality manuka honey.
The honey has a growing number of celebrity fans, not least the Duchess of Sussex, who credits it with helping to maintain her glowing complexion.
Honey is divine in a warm lemon drink but also wonderful in so many other ways – with cereal, on toast, even a soothing spoonful on its own. To complement the honey, Manuka Doctor has a collection of skincare products including moisturisers, facial oils, toners and the new Overnight Lavender Mask.
It can target problems such as dry skin, ageing and wrinkles.
Manuka honey is good for your cough and so much more.
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