Manuka honey helps fight allergies and hay fever

Due to high levels of Methylglyoxal (MGO) Manuka can help irritated nasal passages and throat linings, reduces inflammation and makes breathing easier. Scroll down to read Dr. Hilary Jones' advice.

Struggling with hay fever or allergies?

Sneezing, itchy eyes, and congestion can ruin your day, but Manuka honey can offer natural relief. Research suggests honey could help regulate your immune response and soothe symptoms.

Here’s why Manuka honey stands out:

✅ Anti-inflammatory & antimicrobial properties – Helps calm allergic reactions

✅ May ease hay fever symptoms – Could reduce sneezing, congestion & itchy eyes

✅ Soothes sore throats – Great for postnasal drip and irritation

✅ Backed by research – Studies show honey may enhance allergy relief

Manuka Doctor’s pure 100% R.A.W honey is known for its potent anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

It’s been shown to have prebiotic activity, encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. A healthy gut has proven essential in strengthening the immune system, helping to reduce the susceptibility of allergies and their symptoms.

Spring Wellbeeing® starts here

Anyone with an allergy will know it can be a struggle to manage symptoms. Research has suggested honey can help regulate the immune system’s overreaction in hay fever, soothing symptoms. Usage Tip: If you put your honey in the fridge and let it get hard, a spoonful slowly melts, helping to line the throat and reduce the tickle. 

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Nourish & fuel yourself with freeze-dried Manuka honey x Superfood Powders to optimize and vitalize your day.

Looking for a Higher Strength?

Our Manuka Honey starts at 35 MGO and goes all the way up to 1025 MGO.

View our complete range of Manuka Honey

Try Manuka Honey that’s worth it

With quality you can taste and value you can trust; here’s why people choose Manuka Doctor:

TRUSTED FOR WELLNESS

We’re the No. 1 independent Manuka from New Zealand. Backed by Doctors, Nutritionists and over 100,000 reviewers who use our Manuka to boost their health.

GENUINE MANUKA HONEY

Our Premium Quality honey is always harvested and packed in New Zealand. Independently lab tested and certified as R.A.W. Trace your batch right back to the beehive.

Dr Hilary Jones — GP & TV Health Expert

"I believe in Manuka Honey and have been a fan of its properties for many years"

35 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75oz

35 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75oz

"Tastes great and the benefits are supreme."

Eleanor

125 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75 oz

125 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75 oz

"Its yummy!! I like it for tea and oatmeal. I use higher grade honey for medicinal purposes. This is for natural sweet flavor."

David

625 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75 oz

625 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75 oz

“The taste are phenomenal and best quality. 5 Stars."

Ewen

1025 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75 oz

1025 MGO Manuka Honey 8.75 oz

"We absolutely love this stuff it is wonderful tasting it's wonderful for you has definitely changed our lives we will never go back to any other honey."

Heather

Your questions answered

Can Manuka Honey help with allergies?

Yes, Manuka can help soothe hay fever symptoms

If spring and summer mean sneezing, running eyes and a streaming nose, reach for Manuka Honey. Some research has suggested honey can help regulate the immune system’s overreaction in hay fever, soothing symptoms1. And with Manuka’s antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory powers, it could be your best bet. Manuka has been shown to have prebiotic activity, encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. A healthy gut has proven essential in strengthening the immune system, helping to reduce the susceptibility of allergies and their symptoms. Plus you can take it to soothe any throat irritation you may experience.

Handy hint: If you put your honey in the fridge and let it get hard, a spoonful slowly melts, helping to line the throat and reduce the tickle.



REF 1: Asha’ari ZA et al. Ingestion of honey improves the symptoms of allergic rhinitis: evidence from a randomized placebo-controlled trial in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Ann Saudi Med. 2013 Sep-Oct; 33(5): 469–475

What’s so special about Manuka honey?

MGO Manuka Honey is special because its antimicrobial properties come from non-peroxide activity. Research shows this activity, which is unique to Manuka Honey, has "significant antibacterial effects" [1].

The now world famous Manuka Honey is only made by bees who collect nectar from the Manuka bush, a wild shrub which grows widely across New Zealand but flowers for only a few weeks a year.

Pure Manuka Honey has "antibacterial and antioxidant
properties
" which have been linked with a range of wellbeing benefits
according to scientific journals [2].

Parts of the Manuka bush were used for centuries by New Zealand's native Maoris as a herbal medicine to treat conditions like fevers and dandruff [3]. While honey has been used widely since ancient times to help wounds heal [1], it was not until European settlers introduced the European honey bee in the first half of the 19th century that both Maori and settlers started using the honey to help with wellbeing.

1. Mandal MD, Mandal S. Honey: its medicinal property and
antibacterial activity. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2011;1(2):154-60. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/

2. Patel S, Cichello S. Manuka honey: an emerging natural food with medicinal use. Nat Prod Bioprospect. 2013;3(4):121–128.
doi:10.1007/s13659-013-0018-7

3. Jones R, Rongoā – medicinal use of plants, TEARA: The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand https://teara.govt.nz/en/rongoa-medicinal-use-of-plants

Who is Manuka Doctor?

We’re a privately owned family company based in Auckland, New Zealand. We are one of the biggest independent exporter of genuine Manuka Honey from New Zealand and the Manuka Doctor brand is sold across the world.

Our base in Leicestershire means we can supply customers in the UK easily and quickly via mail order and telephone, plus we also supply the UK’s biggest health-food chain Holland & Barrett.

Manuka Doctor is proud to be a New Zealand owned company that oversees 60,000 individual bee hives in the North and South islands, spanning over 11,000 hectares of land, all owned by our founder.

This means that we can trace every single batch of honey right back to the hive site where it was created.

And after laboratory testing to ensure purity and strength, we pack every pot of Manuka Honey in New Zealand itself before products are exported to the UK.

Once in the UK, we test every batch of honey a second time at a Government laboratory in York to ensure every MGO rating is true to label before sale.

We call this unique supply chain trusted and traceable from Hive to Home.

What does Methylglyoxal mean in Manuka Honey?

The number on the front of the pot represents the mg per kg of MGO (Methylglyoxal) and the related strength of Antimicrobial Activity, which is known to kill certain types of bacteria. The greater the number, the stronger the Antimicrobial Activity.

MGO is related to the strength of the Manuka Honey. The strength of Manuka Doctor honey is measured using the MGO grading system from 30 MGO to 1300 MGO. Scientists generally agree that MGO is the best way to establish a honey’s antimicrobial (bacteria killing) strength.

So put simply, the MGO number refers to the amount of methylglyoxal per kilogram. For example Manuka Doctor 340 MGO has 340mg per kg of MGO in the pot.