A Patient Asked Me If Mānuka Honey Is Really Worth It. Here's What I Told Her.
I'm a family doctor, and a mom. I was skeptical of $75 honey too, until I stopped reading the label and started reading the lab report.
August 2026
by Dr. Elena Ross, MD
16,396 Verified 5-star reviews
A patient asked me last week if Mānuka honey is really worth it. It's a fair question, and I hear it a lot. So I gave her the same answer I'll give you.
For years I thought honey was honey. You stir it into tea, it's sweet, it's a few dollars at the store. The idea of paying $64 for a jar sounded, honestly, a little ridiculous.
What changed my mind wasn't a marketing claim. It was seeing what's actually inside the jar, measured and printed on a lab report, not promised on a label.
Because here's the part nobody explains: most people have never actually known what is in any honey they've bought, including the expensive kind. Once you do, it's hard to look at the shelf the same way.
You're not paying for honey. You're paying for what's measured inside the jar.
Real Mānuka honey comes from one place: the wild Tea Trees of New Zealand, which flowers for only a few weeks a year. That scarcity is why it was never going to be a $5 jar.
But rarity isn't the reason I keep it in my own kitchen. Most honey on grocery shelves is pasteurized and heavily filtered. That extends shelf life, but it also strips out the natural enzymes, pollen, and compounds that make raw honey more than a sweetener.
A lot of what's labeled "Mānuka" is also blended with cheaper honey and still sold under the name. So the word on the front of the jar tells you almost nothing.
What matters is what's measured. And with genuine Mānuka, that comes down to one number.
Manukora is always raw. What's naturally in the honey stays in the honey.
That number is MGO. It's a compound that occurs naturally in genuine Mānuka honey and that you won't find in ordinary honey. The higher the MGO, the higher the grade.
It's also why I feel good about it as a daily habit rather than just a treat. Raw Mānuka honey supports a healthy immune system and supports digestive health, and it naturally contains antioxidants, about three times more than clover honey, the most common honey on grocery shelves.
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Save 20% + $75 in free gifts on the MGO 850+ Starter Kit (the #1 high-grade Mānuka honey in the US).
5 honey sticks, wooden dose spoon, Mānuka guidebook, and a personal onboarding call with a Mānuka specialist — included free with your first order.
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What the Number on the Jar Actually Means
MGO is measured in milligrams per kilogram. So MGO 850+ means at least 850 mg/kg of that compound in the jar, independently tested and verified before it ever leaves New Zealand.
MGO 850+ is the one I keep at home. It's the grade most people reach for when they want something a bit more focused than an everyday jar, and it's a UMF 20+ equivalent.
What the Number on the Jar Actually Means
MGO is measured in milligrams per kilogram. So MGO 850+ means at least 850 mg/kg of that compound in the jar, independently tested and verified before it ever leaves New Zealand.
MGO 850+ is the one I keep at home. It's the grade most people reach for when they want something a bit more focused than an everyday jar, and it's a UMF 20+ equivalent.
Gut Health
A natural addition to a gut-friendly routine. Always raw and unheated, so the natural enzymes and compounds that heavy processing strips out stay in the jar.
Immunity
Over 70% of these antioxidants are not found in any other honey or food. One of them is leptosperin, a powerful compound from the nectar of the Mānuka tea tree.
Immune Support
Raw Mānuka honey supports a healthy immune system as part of a daily routine.
Clean, long-lasting energy
A whole-food alternative to refined sugar for your tea, coffee, or oatmeal.
You're not paying for honey. You're paying for what's measured inside it.
This is where Manukora is different. Every batch is 3rd-party tested and verified to be free from toxins, pesticides, GMOs, and glyphosates, then graded by its exact MGO level. All of it is traceable through a unique QR code on every jar. Scan it and you'll see the real lab numbers for the honey in your hand. The number on the jar is the number in the jar. That's what the price buys: proof, not marketing.
If you've never tasted Mānuka, it has a thick, creamy, caramel-like texture, perfect off the spoon or stirred into coffee, tea, or warm water. Make it the one ritual you actually keep, and see why thousands of people have ditched supermarket honey for good and started feeling more like themselves again.
For a limited time, you can save 20% + $75 in free gifts on the best high-grade Mānuka honey in the US.
Try Manukora Honey
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