Manuka Honey and Testosterone: What You Need To Know

Hormones are our body’s chemical messengers¹.

They affect how we feel, how we behave, how we grow, and how our bodies function. Even small hormonal changes can have a big impact.

Although more often associated with men, every healthy person produces testosterone.

And imbalances or low levels can cause big problems.

Is there a way to relieve hormonal imbalances naturally?

Is there any potential with manuka honey and testosterone?

Let’s find out.

In this guide to manuka honey and testosterone:

• What’s the deal with honey and hormones?

• Can you use honey for hormonal imbalance?

• Can honey increase testosterone levels?

• The best honey for testosterone and hormones

• Ways to use manuka honey for testosterone

What’s the deal with honey and hormones?

Testosterone is a hormone most commonly associated with men and sex drive, but it’s essential for general long-term health and wellbeing.

“Maintaining adequate levels of testosterone throughout the life span of males is very desirable, especially as it is now well-known that low levels of testosterone is associated with various aging diseases/disorders.”

• Mechanisms of honey on testosterone levels.

And not just in men, either.

“Testosterone can be important in women for bone density and muscle mass, cognitive function, mood, sexual function, and energy. Adequate levels of testosterone are important for the maintenance of musculoskeletal health and possibly vascular and brain function.”

• Testosterone for perimenopausal and menopausal women.

Testosterone is a hormone that every healthy person should produce.

It affects mental health, bone strength, muscle mass, and red blood cell production².

Low testosterone levels can be caused by a number of different things including chronic stress, alcoholism, and nastier diseases like cirrhosis of the liver.

Imbalances can lead to moodiness, low self-esteem, loss of libido, and less energy.

So, like all hormones, it’s important to keep healthy levels of testosterone.

With its millennia-old reputation for healing and wellness³, many have turned to honey for hormone imbalance, including for low testosterone levels.

Why?

Let’s find out.

Can you use honey for hormonal imbalance?

Hormones naturally fluctuate with age, and imbalances can come and go on their own throughout our lives⁴.

But since it can cause undesirable side-effects, people have looked for their own natural remedies.

Some have turned to honey for hormone imbalance.

Although we don’t yet have the evidence to make a direct connection between honey and hormones, there is plenty to suggest that honey can ease the unpleasant symptoms often caused by hormone imbalance.

For example, oxidative stress is a destructive cellular state related to hormone imbalance⁵.

“​​Oxidative stress has been linked to many patterns of disease. The body's main antioxidant, glutathione, has an important role in preventing cell damage caused by oxidative stress and is able to maintain vitamin C and vitamin E, which also acts as exogenous antioxidants.”

• Ginger honey affects cortisol, estrogen and glutathione levels.

Studies have found that honey can relieve oxidative stress and the inflammation associated with it.

“Available evidence suggests that honey may ameliorate oxidative stress by scavenging both free radicals… and non-free radicals. Evidence also suggests that honey may reduce inflammation… This is important because both oxidative stress and inflammation are interrelated.

Therefore, considering the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of honey, the use of honey might be more beneficial or advantageous than some of the previously investigated antioxidants such as vitamins C and E.”

• Honey: a novel antioxidant.

So although using honey for hormones specifically hasn’t been investigated much yet, we do know that it may relieve the symptoms of hormonal issues.

Honey and the menopause

“Current evidence shows that short-term honey supplementation following surgical or physiological menopause exerts an oestrogenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on the female reproductive system.”

• Augmentation of the female reproductive system using honey.

It’s no secret that the menopause causes hormonal changes that can be pretty unpleasant.

Testosterone levels can drop by half⁶, with common symptoms like a slower metabolism, difficulty sleeping, moodiness and even memory loss⁷.

But using honey for menopause symptoms has shown promise.

Honey may help with weight gain in menopausal women:

“Natural honey helps in improving the lipid profile [a measure for the risk of heart disease and stroke], fasting blood sugar level, blood pressure, weights and waist circumference of postmenopausal women and can be included as part or alternative remedies in management of postmenopausal conditions.”

• Changes in lipid profile and some biochemical parameters in postmenopausal women treated with honey.

It may aid in better sleep:

“Honey may promote melatonin formation due to its possible tryptophan content (a precursor to melatonin) that both helps to initiate sleep as well as promote release of hormones that facilitate whole body recovery during sleep.”

• Honey to improve sleep quality.

And even be good for the brain and memory:

“Raw honey possesses nootropic effects, such as memory-enhancing effects, as well as neuropharmacological activities, such as anxiolytic, antinociceptive, anticonvulsant, and antidepressant activities.”

• Neurological effects of honey: current and future prospects.

So if you’re looking for a natural remedy for the varied symptoms of hormonal imbalances associated with menopause, raw manuka honey could be the perfect option.

Can honey increase testosterone?

So what about manuka honey and testosterone, specifically?

Does honey boost testosterone levels?

Studies suggest that it can.

“The main stream of this specific research approach reveals that oral administration of honey enhances serum testosterone level in males. In addition, honey has been found to contain various bioactive compounds (e.g., phenolic acids) that may improve testosterone production.”

• Mechanisms of honey on testosterone levels.

Honey has been found to contain bioactive molecules like quercetin, an antioxidant flavonoid, and chrysin, which have been linked to enhanced testosterone production.

And more testosterone can help improve other aspects of mens health.

“For male reproductive health, honey was found to protect rat testes from oxidative stress and maintain sexual behaviour in cigarette smoke-exposed rats. It also preserved the quality of sperm when used in semen extenders and served as a spermiogenesis booster.

This particular review looked at studies on both animals and people.

In the human studies, around 20g of honey was administered each day over 3-12 weeks.

So if you’re keen to try manuka honey for testosterone, a daily spoonful or two should give you the best chance of success.

How much honey is needed to increase testosterone levels?

A consistent daily dose of raw manuka honey should give you the best chance at boosting testosterone levels naturally.

In the studies mentioned, 20g was administered with some positive effects.

But there’s a sweet spot. More honey doesn’t necessarily mean more testosterone⁸.

The best way to find your optimal amount is to start small, and build over time.

And remember to always check with your doctor before using anything for medical purposes, even a natural product like honey.

Suggested reading:

• Manuka honey pre-workout blog

• Is manuka honey worth it? It depends. Here’s why…

• How much manuka honey per day is ideal?

• Manuka honey: decoding UMF™

• Thinking of buying medical grade honey? Read this first…

• 176 ways to use manuka honey 

Sources:

¹ Hormones, Medline Plus.

² Testosterone: What it is and how it affects your health, Healthline.

³ Traditional and modern uses of natural honey, National Library of Medicine.

⁴ Hormonal imbalance: Causes, symptoms, and treatments, Cleveland Clinic.

⁵ Hormonal imbalance-associated oxidative stress, Frontiers in Endocrinology.

⁶ Testosterone for the menopause, Bupa.

⁷ Menopause symptoms and causes, Mayo Clinic.

⁸ The influence of excessive and prolonged ingestion of honey on sex hormones, Medicine Science Journal.

⁹ 7 foods that may help boost testosterone, Healthline.

¹⁰ 7 foods that may help boost testosterone, Healthline.

¹¹ Magnesium and anabolic hormones in older men, National Library of Medicine.

¹² 7 foods that may help boost testosterone, Healthline.

¹³ Boron factsheet for health professionals, National Institutes of Health.

¹⁴ Fisten Supplement Information