Long considered an old wives’ tale or an urban legend, using local honey to control allergies is coming back into the limelight among holistic medicine aficionado. Few legitimate studies have supported the theory; however, some interesting findings have come out of such studies that appear to support the theory that you can help control allergies with local honey.
Controlling Allergies with Honey
Start consuming the local honey well in advance of the allergy season where you live. Honey is almost all nectar, from various plants. It contains little bits of pollen that has fallen off the bodies of bees as they fly from flower to flower. The pollen is what causes allergies to wreak havoc in your life. The little bits of pollen you are consuming over time help your body learn how to handle the invader in a more user-friendly way. Over time, this results in a lessening of the intensity of your seasonal allergic react.
Try to use raw honey, unheated and unpasteurized. It is thought that heated or pasteurized honey may destroy the bits of pollen, which is what is needed to help your body learn to control your seasonal allergic reaction
Consume 2 to 3 spoonfuls of the gooey stuff each day. You can spread it on toast, biscuits or use it to sweeten your tea. Even hot tea isn’t as hot as pasteurization, and should not pose a risk to killing the pollen spores that your body needs to develop an immunity to the seasonal allergies that plague your life.
Unsafe Honey Sources
You must be extra careful of where you buy your honey too. A Food Safety News investigation reported in 2011 that millions of pounds of honey banned as unsafe in dozens of countries are being imported and sold here in record quantities. For more information on their investigation visit: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/08/honey-laundering/#.UhBOotI3vNs.
Come see us at Best Drugs of Trenton for guaranteed, locally harvested honey.
Other Allergy Tips
As a companion remedy, be sure to avoid the things that cause your seasonal allergies to flare up. This could be as simple as making sure you do not landscape with those flowers and plants that contribute the most to seasonal allergies. Also consider hiring a lawn service to do your mowing rather than doing it yourself.
Honey has a very long shelf life. As it is sometimes difficult to find a source of local honey, feel free to stock up at Moye’s. It will store for a very long time without refrigeration or the need for extra preservatives
Sources
http://www.bee-pollen-buzz.com/local-honey-for-allergies.html
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/08/honey-laundering/#.UhBOotI3vNs