If you have acid reflux you might have heard about the potential benefits of manuka honey and how it may help acid reflux. But is it really true?
Manuka honey can be good for acid reflux and GERD for some people, but it’s not a guaranteed solution for everyone.
Below we will go into manuka honey in more detail and if it’s worth trying to help your acid reflux.
Manuka Honey for Acid Reflux – Good or Bad?
Manuka honey is a unique kind of honey that comes from New Zealand. It’s comes from bees that pollinate the flowers of a tree known as the Manuka tree. This kind of tree is especially unique to New Zealand which makes this honey quite limited and therefore usually more expensive than regular honey. The honey itself has different properties than regular honey but one of its main benefits are its antibacterial properties. These antibacterial properties can be beneficial for a host of issues.
Manuka honey has been used for medicinal benefits for centuries, but can it help with acid reflux?
Manuka honey has been shown to be effective at treating wounds and helping to aid with wound helping. This effect in the digestive tract can be quite helpful. That’s because it can help ease and calm any irritation that has been caused by acid reflux in the throat or esophagus and all the way down into the gut too. There have been multiple studies that have shown that manuka honey allows for faster healing on wounds and regeneration of damaged tissue which can be especially useful for someone with more damage caused from acid reflux.
There have been studies that have shown that manuka honey may help to prevent gastric ulcers. H. pylori is one of the most common types of bacteria that is commonly responsible for gastric ulcers. The research has shown that manuka honey can work to help gastric ulcers caused by H. pylori. This is thanks to the anti-bacterial properties of the manuka honey inhibiting the growth of the bacteria.
In terms of other digestive issues – manuka honey has also been shown to be effective at treating and helping inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis. Common symptoms for these problems include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and nausea to name a few. It has been shown that taking manuka honey regularly helps to decrease these problems.
How this may be relevant to acid reflux is because often a host of acid reflux problems originate in the gut. When the gut is not balanced or working correctly this can often lead to problems with acid reflux too. Therefore, when the gut and these problems can be helped by manuka honey this can often lead to improvement or even resolution of acid reflux problems which is important to consider.
Manuka Honey Different Kinds?
If you have looked around you might have noticed that manuka honey can vary a lot in cost. That’s often because of something called MGO or methylglyoxal. This MGO is what is responsible for the antibacterial and antimicrobial benefits of manuka honey. The higher the content of MGO the more potent its effects are. There are different ratings used to track these levels such as MGO or UMF. The higher the rating the more MGO is included usually. But the price also increases drastically as you opt for the higher levels.
So, what level should you use for acid reflux. Of course, higher is better but you don’t always need to get the highest levels. 100 MGO (6 UMF) should be sufficient to help aid acid reflux at least somewhat. If you are happy to pay extra 200+ MGO (8+ UMF) would be the ideal amount to for without really breaking the bank. This is a good level to get benefits for your acid reflux.
We Recommend:
Affordable Option – Manuka Health MGO 115+
Top Quality Option – New Zealand Honey MGO 829+
Manuka Honeys Acidity and Acid Reflux
Keep in mind that while manuka honey is often likely to aid acid reflux at least somewhat it may not be the ideal choice for everyone. For example, people with LPR may find that manuka honey is slightly triggering for their throat problems because the acidity can trigger something called pepsin in the throat – read more here. This is often because manuka honey’s acidity may be a little too acidic for them.
You can expect manuka honey to be around a 4-5 pH. While this isn’t very acidic it may be slightly too acidic especially for people with more severe acid reflux like LPR or GERD. Therefore, if you want to take manuka honey to help your acid reflux we recommend starting in moderation and see it’s effect on you. If you notice no downsides then you can continue to take it for a longer period if you’d prefer.
Conclusion
Overall manuka honey has some potential benefits that can help digestion and acid reflux. While it may not help everyone it is at least worth trying in moderation to see if it has any benefit for you.
Keep in mind that for sensitive individuals the acidity may be slightly much, and it may be irritable for them too – while that is not common it does happen to certain people.
Important Related Questions
How Do You Use Manuka Honey for Acid Reflux?
Taking one teaspoon before meals is a good way to help line the esophagus and the stomach before you start to eat. You can also use manuka honey as a sweetener with certain dishes if you prefer too.
How Much Manuka Honey Should I Take for Acid Reflux?
Usually when starting out its best to start with 1 teaspoon per day. After some days and if you notice no negative affects you can then choose to increase that to 2 teaspoons or up to 3 per day.
Does Honey Neutralize Acid Reflux?
No honey does not neutralize acid reflux. Though it may help in some circumstances.
When is the Best Time to Take Manuka Honey?
Taking manuka honey before eating is usually a great time to take it. This is because it will help coat and line the esophagus and the whole digestion tract which often can help and aid digestion and acid reflux.