Several years ago I read somewhere that consuming local honey is supposed to help with seasonal allergies. A couple of months ago when I started cooking from scratch and eating primarily whole foods, I remembered this tip! My whole family suffers from Central Virginia spring allergies. The blooming and budding is beautiful, but is leaves us with itchy eyes and congested sinuses. I bought a large jar of local honey and I now use it on our granola bars and tea.
How does local honey help allergies?
Bees collect pollen to make honey. That means little bits of pollen are in the honey. This may be the same pollen that you are allergic too! Essentially eating local honey should have the same effects as desensitizing allergy shots. It seems weird that eating small amounts of pollen you are allergic to would help. Desensitizing does work though. Our dog had desensitizing allergy shots for several months due to severe allergies and now doesn’t require any allergy medications! When the body is exposed to small allergens, it will build resistance and eventually be immune to those allergens.
What type of honey?
From what I can gather from the articles I have read, you should use raw local honey. Raw honey means that it is not heated or pasteurized. The heating process will kill the substance needed to help with allergies. Try to buy honey as close to your home as possible. Look at your local farmer’s market if the stores near you don’t carry it.
It’s hard to say if the local raw honey we are consuming has helped or not since we just started eating it! So far though, Capt. M hasn’t needed his allergy nasal spray- coincidence or the honey?
Honey is a great natural sweetener too! If you eat honey, look for local raw honey for it’s health benefits!
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[…] I started drinking green tea a few weeks ago. I try to drink three cups a day. The jury is still out on how many cups of green tea are needed a day for the health benefits. I have read anywhere from 2-5 cups. Most of the time I drink the green tea without a sweetener. On occasion, I will add my local raw honey. […]