RewaRewa

Recently an international panel of judges found Rewarewa to be one of the Best tasting honey’s in the World! (Credit to Manawa Honey for entering the competition)

The indigenous Rewarewa is to New Zealand Honeysuckle tree that grows to about 30 metres is tall and tapered with very distinct red flowers that attract the bees.

Maori also used the healing properties from the Rewarewa or Knightia Excelsa tree for internal healing such as sore throats and internal disorders. Although they did not know at the time about its osmotic ability especially in the intestine.

Research has indicated that Rewarewa honey can heal intestinal and bowel disorders the honey that is produced is rich in hydrogen peroxide with enormous health benefits from the by-product assisting the body to repair cells while eliminating sick cells.

Dr Peter Molan from the Biological Sciences at Waikato University explains the osmotic effect in his paper titled Honey as the Antimicrobial Agent stating that honey has antibacterial properties that have been known for more than a century but prior to this usage the antibacterial properties were unknown only that it was an effective remedy and healed. He says that now that the effectiveness of honey in many medical uses is probably due to its antibacterial activity and it is well established that honey inhibits a broad spectrum of bacterial species. And there are also many reports of honey having antifunal activity.

He says that serious consideration should be given to the use of honey as a therapeutic agent and it is necessary that these aspects be further investigated. References:Allen, K. L., & Molan, P. C. (1991). Manuka Honey Clinical Trials: Honey research unit. Department of Biological Services, University of Waikato, New Zealand.