When it comes to choosing high quality, healing honey, here at Necta & Hive, we know that your best choice is always going to be Jarrah honey. Smooth, semi-dark amber in colour, with a full-bodied, rich yet delicate caramel flavour, Jarrah active honey is the ultimate indulgence. And it has plenty of health benefits to boot, including a superior antioxidant level.
But what about Manuka honey?
Manuka honey hails from New Zealand and is indeed an active, healing honey with antioxidant properties. But Jarrah is a different ballgame. Jarrah honey comes from Western Australia and contains a higher concentration of beneficial and powerful antioxidants than Manuka honey.
A lot is said about the Manuka honey rating system called Manuka UMF. UMF stands for Unique Manuka Factor and is a rating given to Manuka honey according to its antibacterial activity. The higher the rating, the higher the antibacterial activity. (It’s also known as the Manuka MGO rating, or methylglyoxal rating.)
However, the Manuka honey MGO rating is also responsible for its slightly bitter, almost medicinal taste – compared to the smooth richness of Jarrah honey. We’ll cover the facts and figures on Manuka honey vs Jarrah honey with regard to their antibacterial and antimicrobial properties in another post. (It’s super interesting, we promise!)
But in this post, we’re going to discuss Manuka honey vs Jarrah honey in terms of antioxidant prowess. So, let’s put them head to head…
What is Antioxidant Activity?
Antioxidants are compounds within the body that help to neutralise, or “mop up” free radicals. Free radicals are nasty, unstable, reactive molecules of oxygen that have lost an electron. As they move around the body, scavenging for electrons from stable oxygen molecules to stabilise themselves, they cause damage to the cells and DNA strands. If left unchecked, they can eventually cause oxidative stress that can lead to disease.
Free radicals are produced when we smoke, breathe in pollution, get stressed and eat ultra-processed food. But we can’t escape them entirely by living a healthy lifestyle as they’re also produced as a by-product of everyday biological functions such as breathing and digestion.
Antioxidants selflessly move around the body, donating their electrons, restabilising and neutralising free radicals. The body produces antioxidants naturally, but it needs a helping hand, and that’s when antioxidant-rich foods like fruits and vegetables come in.
As well as good honey, of course!
Active, healing honey such as Jarrah honey is rich in powerful antioxidants that protect the body from disease.
So, what’s the difference between honey from New Zealand and our honey from Western Australia in terms of antioxidant properties?
Jarrah and Manuka Honey Difference – Antioxidants
A study conducted in 2018 and widely reported on at the time, looked at the antioxidant capacities of various high quality honeys (including Manuka and Jarrah) by investigating their polyphenol content (compounds found in food that contain high levels of antioxidants).
It concluded that Australian Jarrah honey contained 2-3 times more antioxidant capability than New Zealand Manuka honey. Pretty impressive!
This means that eating a teaspoon of Jarrah honey daily, can increase your antioxidant intake and help support your physical wellbeing as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.
How Do I Find Honey from Australia?!
If you’re looking to supercharge your diet, buy Jarrah honey from the Necta & Hive store online- you’ll love the taste, it’s better for you than cheap supermarket honey and when it comes to the difference between Manuka honey and Jarrah honey, the antioxidant superiority of Jarrah is proven – by science!
