Great new Medihoney Skincare products

We know many of you will be a little preoccupied with Christmas now, however hot on the heels of our recent addition of Honey Sticks beeswax crayons, we now have two more great new products available - this time gentle skincare.

As part of the Medihoney Skincare range, these two new items provide everyday help for sensitive skin prove to dryness, eczema and dermatitis.

Medihoney Gentle Body Wash and Medihoney Gentle Body Lotion are now in stock and able to be ordered.


Medihoney Gentle Body Wash give you a sophisticated soap-free formulation is specifically designed for sensitive skin. It will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth all day long.

One Product, Three Actions:
Cleanses: Gently cleanses sensitive skin.
Hydrates: Hydrates dry skin to help support the natural barrier properties.
Restores: Softly conditions and replenishes the skin.


The complementary Medihoney Gentle Body Lotion helps support the natural barrier properties of the skin, helping to retain moisture where it is most needed.

One Product, Three Actions:
Moisturises: Moisturises to relieve skin prone to dry, itchy patches.
Nourishes: Hydrates dry skin to help support the natural barrier properties.
Replenishes: Gently replenishes the skin.


Suitable for sensitive skin including skin prone to:
Dryness
Eczema
Dermatitis

Medihoney™ Gentle Body Lotion will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth all day long.

See all our Medihoney products here.

Honey Sticks Beeswax Crayons are here!

Just in time for Christmas, we are very happy to announce our latest product edition that would make a great gift for children of all creative levels.

Beeswax Crayons. Yes, Honey Sticks are non-toxic crayons made form 100% natural beeswax, with non-toxic pigments.

Created by a nursery teacher, the ergonomic and chubby design of Honey Sticks makes these crayons much harder to break, meaning they do last longer than many other ones.

With a delicious honey scent coming from the beeswax used, these are crayons handmade from environmentally sustainable resources.

There are 12 different colours in each pack, enough to keep budding artists occupied for many hours.

A fantastic gift or stocking filler for Christmas.

Honey Sticks crayons are available now in the UK / Europe, currently exclusively from The New Zealand Honey Shop, although we hope to have them at other retailers later.

Olive Leaf Complex Special

As the cold and flu season arrives, boost your body's protection with something 400% stronger than vitamin C.

Comvita's Olive Leaf Complex - special because it comes from fresh olive leaves - offers 400% more antioxidant activity than vitamin C.

As an early winter special, we've currently got promotions running on both the 500ml plain Olive Leaf Complex and the Olive Leaf Complex Capsules.

In both cases, with each bottle bought you get a free Oral Spray with it. Specially formulated to help maintain oral health and hygiene, the Olive Leaf Oral Spray helps dry throats and also to freshen your breath.

With limited stock available, order your Comvita Olive Leaf Complex now.

Preparing for Winter

The weather recently has been noticeably cooler, and the nights getting shorter. While hopefully we will get a bit of an indian summer along soon, it is also time to start thinking about winter wellness and trying to prevent those coughs and colds.

Exercise is a good start for keeping your body in good shape, so if you're an outside exercise person make good use of the remaining warmish weather and available light. Maybe making some plans for the winter if you're not already a member of a gym or equivalent would be good too.

While both our UMF manuka honey and propolis ranges have very good properties for dealing with coughs and colds, and sore throats, there is another product that is also very good at building your immune system and helping prevent winter ills.

What has 400% more antioxidant activity than vitamin C ? - Comvita Olive Leaf Complex

It's different because it is made from fresh olive leaves. After all we all appreciate that a glass of fresh orange juice is better than one reconstituted from dried powder.

With a choice of flavours of plain, peppermint, or berry for children. It also comes in capsules for those that prefer.

Olive leaf has been shown to have antiviral and antifungal abilities, and although many people benefit from it all year round, its winter wellness function makes it particularly useful during this time of year.

Another hospital starts using Medihoney dressings for wounds

In the USA, another hospital, this time in Arizona has started to use the specialist medical grade honey dressings from Medihoney.

The Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital Wound Healing Center is now making use of these unique dressings that contain medical grade leptospermum (manuka) honey, which contains additional antibacterial properties over and above what is found in other honeys. (Batches of this honey have to pass certain tests to be proved to have sufficient of these additional antibacterial properties).

These dressings have had approval from the FDA for chronic and acute wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers.

From the Kold news report (see it here: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12921333 ):

"Dressings made from leptospermum honey offer a two-fold benefit in wound healing: they help decrease bacteria and keep the wound moist to promote healing while also aiding our ability to remove unhealthy tissue around the wound," said Dr. Rhonda Quick, M.D., a vascular surgeon who serves as the Medical Director for St. Mary's Hospital Wound Healing Center.

The effects of the dressing can last up to a week, reducing the need for more frequent visits to the hospital.

These same Medihoney Dressings are available from our website and shop. They can be cut to size to fit smaller wounds where required (they come in a 10cm x 10cm size).

Extra Strength Propolis Oral Spray

Not only do we now have the Propolis Throat Spray back in stock in revamped packaging, but there is also now an extra strength option as well.

Comvita's new Extra Strength Propolis Oral Spray is perfect for those extra pesky irritated throats.

This contains 20% of UMF10+ manuka honey, in a special blend with purified New Zealand propolis and essential oils formulated for oral health and hygiene.

Flavoured with peppermint, aniseed, myrrh and menthol.

The bottle is small enough and light enough to easily carry in a purse, small bag, or keep in a desk drawer or car.

Works well as a breath freshener on the go too.

Dedicated Pot of Gold Balm site for UK/Europe

For those wanting to learn more about the Pot of Gold Balms (Skin Balm and Baby Balm), there is now a new dedicated website for the UK and Europe available.

www.potofgoldbalm.co.uk is now operational, providing greater in depth information on the ingredients and uses for Pot of Gold, as well as a longer list of testimonials. Although mainly a copy of their original NZ site, over time it will be updated with any Europe specific information.

It is a great resource to gain some more in depth knowledge of these products (which continue to create tremendous feedback from users).

For ordering you will be sent direct to The New Zealand Honey Shop website where we can quickly process and send out orders.

Special 2 for 1 on Bee Pollen Capsules

Bee Pollen is known as once of the most complete foods there is, containing most of the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc that the body needs. It is nature's multi vitamin. People take it for an energy boost, or to supplement their nutrition.

Now for the month of May we have a promotion on the Comvita Bee Pollen Capsules - buy one get one free, or 2 for the price of 1 if you want to put it that way. Applicable to both the 100 capsules and 200 capsules sizes.

With long use by dates - going into 2012 - this is a great opportunity to stock up.

Simple place an order via our website, and as you checkout it will show you the adjusted quantities and price to give you this special offer.

Order your bee pollen capsules here.

Great way to get kids eating honey

The new Honey Infusionz from Honey New Zealand are a great way to get kids eating honey.

These combinations of active 6+ manuka honey (very healthy) infused with seasonal fruits not only provide a range of tastes, but allow some more novels ways of taking honey. Raspberry honey on your ice cream anyone?

Available in a choice of 8 different flavours:
- Apricot
- Raspberry
- Strawberry
- Blackcurrant
- Blueberry
- Kiwifruit
- Spiced Apple
- Cinnamon

So pick your favourite fruit (or spice), and then have fun in how you take it. Spread it on your sandwiches, take it by the teaspoon, use in cooking, dribble over your ice cream, it's up to you. Delicious and healthy.

Fruit Honey Infusionz are now in stock and available.

Cute Bee Clothing for Baby

Something other than about honey. Recently came across this wonderful little baby's outfit - fully bee themed.

Perfect for a little one full of energy. Wife duly bought it, and is now packed away ready for our impending new arrival.

Special 2 for 1 on Broccoli Extract

Introductory promotion: Get yourself some of Comvita's new Broccoli Extract capsules at a special offer from us of 2 for 1 (or buy one get one free if you want to call it that).

This promotion is available as from now from our website, and also in our London shop. It will be available for the rest of April and into May. We should have some additional information on the benefits of this broccoli extract from seeds after the talk by a John Hopkins university professor at the Natural Products Expo tomorrow.

In the meantime, you can order yours here: 2 for 1 on Comvita Broccoli

Broccoli in a Pill (well a capsule at least)

Your mother always told you to eat your greens, because they were good for you. Broccoli is one of those green vegetables that we all know is good for us, but we all vary as to whether we like it, can tolerate it, or hate it.

Well, now you get get broccoli in a pill (almost). If you've seen the cartoon The Jetsons, you'll be familiar with the idea of taking a pill for your nutrition. This feels almost along those lines, although there is a bit more proper science and reason behind it.

Just what are we on about? The new Comvita Broccoli Extract. This is capsules of standardised extract taken from broccoli seeds, which researchers from none other than John Hopkins University in the USA found to contain very high levels of 'the good stuff' - glucoraphanin - which appears to be the key natural compound associated with the goodness from broccoli.

Although we have had this available for you for a little while now, it is about to get its UK main launch. This will be done with the help of a Professor from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine that has done quite a bit of research onto the protective antioxidant benefits of glucoraphanin.

We will bring you more news, and reports of the science behind this product as the main launch happens.

Try Honey for Hayfever

We're getting into spring, and along with the joys of warmer and sunnier weather, for some people it can also mean the dreaded onslaught of hayfever is around the corner.

There are a couple of more natural ways that you can address this if you are a sufferer.

It could be worth your while to visit a homeopath, as they can offer some more natural homeopathic remedies to alleviate the symptoms and help you cope better. They will tailor the remedy to yourself, rather than try to offer a 'one size fits all' approach, because people do suffer in different ways, and are affected by different pollens. Do a search (online or in a local directory) for a trained homeopath in your area, and give them a call to see if they can offer you some help.

Another completely natural way to help yourself is to take some honey. Not just any honey though, what works best is local honey - local you where you are living. This is because it will be the local pollen from the plants in your area that are affecting you, and honey from that same area will contain small amounts of those pollens, giving your body a small dose to allow it to develop some resistance to it. At the moment this is an area that does still need some more proper scientific research into it, but there is a growing amount of anecdotal evidence that it helps some people. And it won't do you and harm, plus tastes good.

Yes, we are recommending something other than New Zealand honey for this (unless you happen to be reading this from NZ), so keep your manuka honey to one side for the other things it is good for, and try to get yourself some local honey for hayfever support. Try a farmers market in your area, or look up the area beekeepers association to find appropriate suppliers.

If you happen to be in London, then occasionally we are able to stock some London honey in our physical shop, though would pay to check with us at the time, as it sells out quickly.

Comvita Honeygar - apple cider vinegar and manuka honey

Apple Cider Vinegar is a time honoured natural remedy for digestive support and other uses. In past generations it was often home-made, and indeed home made cider vinegar has been making a bit of a comeback.

Comvita Honeygar is a wonderful combination of Apple Cider Vinegar and UMF 5+ Manuka Honey.

This is a totally natural product - you can see simply by looking at a bottle, as you see some of the cloudy bits of solids that are known as the 'Mother of vinegar'. You will also find that there can be small variations in colour or taste between bottles - gain a reflection of its natural condition.

Although we've has this available in our physical shop for a while, it has now been added to the website, so that you may order it from whichever part of the UK you are based in.

Comvita Honeygar can be used as a salad dressing, or mixing with a glass of water (warm or cold).

Children's Olive Leaf Complex

Comvita have come to the rescue of parents who want to provide there children with good quality natural health supplements but struggle on the taste front.

They have added to the Olive Leaf Complex range with a new Great Berry Flavour, which should be a bit easier on younger taste buds.

Children's Olive Leaf Complex is the same high quality olive leaf extract that comes only from fresh leaves, with a simple additional of some natural flavourings to give a great berry taste.

Like the rest of the Olive Leaf Complex family, it is more than 30 times the polyphenolic antioxidant activity of an equivalent amount of extra virgin olive oil.

From the largest specialist olive leaf estate in the world.

Although this is aimed as a children's product, there is nothing wrong with 'big kid' who prefer the berry flavour form using it. It is also not recommended for children under 2 years of age without medical advice.

This is in stock now, along with the rest of the Comvita Olive Leaf Complex range.

Comvita Skintensive and Lipclear no longer available

To all our users of the Comvita Skintensive and Lipclear creams, we unfortunately have to report that this are no longer available. Although they have been popular among those of you who use them, overall they have not been selling enough to make it worthwhile for Comvita to keep supplying them.

Also with the Skintensive cream there is quite a bit of similarity with the Medihoney branded Derma Cream. So for most cases, if you have been using and liked the skintensive cream, you will find that the Medihoney Derma Cream is going to be just as good.

For fans of the Lipclear cream, then our suggested alternative for giving great moisturising and healing to your lips would actually be to use the Pot of Gold Skin Balm. This beeswax based balm is very nourishing when used on your lips, and the propolis within it provides some healing properties too. As a bonus it is a really great multi-purpose balm that you can use on a range of things, from small cuts and burns, to rashes on your skin. You should find that this is more useful for you.

You can see the Pot of Gold Skin Balm here.

New Blackcurrant Lozenges - we have them now

Somewhat appropriately at this time given the current cold snap, there is a new flavour of weapon you can use to fight any sore throat or cough:

Blackcurrant and Manuka Honey Lozenges.

Complimenting the propolis lozenge range (but these do not contain propolis), the newly available Blackcurrant Lozenges combine the power of Blackcurrants with UMF10+ manuka honey to provide a great tasting lozenge for soothing your throat.

Blackcurrants are known for their good levels of vitamin C and antioxidant properties, whilst the UMF10+ manuka honey has scientifically proven antibacterial properties, and is used by many people to fight against tricky coughs and sore throats.

This is a great tasting lozenge (ok, we all have different taste buds, and no doubt some of you will not like blackcurrant, but it's a pleasant flavour for many).

We have them in stock now - available both in the shop and via the website:
New Blackcurrant Lozenges

Follow up on new ManukaCare

Just to follow up on our last post about the new tubes of the popular Comvita Manukacare that are now available.

It has now gained a license as a medical device (in the UK).

Comvita Manukacare now carries a CE mark. (number 0805). This indicates its regulation status as a medical device and behind each one of these marks is technical agreement necessary to manufacture the product to the required standard.

The new version does still contain UMF rated manuka honey. This is not shown on the pack as it now has a medical devices license for this product which now allows greater claims as to the ability of the product to be stated. For example we can now claim 'first aid ready', 'suitable for most wound types' and 'reduces the risk of infection from bacteria including MRSA' (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - the nasty antibiotic resistant superbug). You will see these now mentioned on the packaging.

You read our news announcement here: http://www.newzealandhoneyshop.co.uk/news-20.html