Local Honey vs. Allergies – Who Does it Help?

One of my closest friends and I have a very particular bond. Although he and I have many other things in common, and just a goofy, fun friendship, we also suffer miserably with allergies. Particularly Spring allergies.

Inevitably, I will get the out of the blue text that simple says, "Spring can go to hell!" and that will usually bring on the texting session that lasts for hours because no one understands us like we do. So, we whine and whine to each other about how miserable we are, and how Spring can take a flying leap.

That text came again yesterday, and we had our usual "Spring can die" session. Then, this morning, I checked in to see how he was, and he was still miserable. I remembered a conversation I had with a co-worker who told me that her husband takes local honey religiously to combat his allergies, and swears that it alleviates his suffering.

I love honey, but I think I like the idea of honey more than the taste. It's natural, I find it soothing, and it has lots of antioxidants. It definitely helps when my throat is sore, or for a cough. The thing that bothers me a bit is that it's made by those little freaks that I'm allergic to. This is one of the reasons that I am wary of using honey, bee pollen, etc.

I did my research, which is so easy to do now. Hello Google, please tell me about "local honey for allergies" and all these things pop up, and guess what? They all say the same thing, "Studies show local honey doesn't help because, since it is not regulated, you don't know what you're getting in local honey." All of these articles went on to say that the way this theory works is the same way allergy shots work. You are introduced to pollen in small amounts, and your body builds up a resistance to it. However, these studies state that because local honey isn't regulated, you are not sure how much, if any, pollen is in the honey. Plus, and this is what really totally grossed me out, it is possible that persons allergic to bees may have a big problem with local honey because the honey itself may have bits of a bee (UGH!) and even some of the venom (WHAT?!) in it, which may be potentially hazardous to people allergic to it. Oh, and, don't give honey to a child under one year of age, because It contains a toxin that can lead to botulism. UGH WITHOUT PARENTHESES AND IN ALL CAPS!

So, now, I'm curious, who does honey help?

Let's recap what we've learned:

• Processed honey doesn't contain the right local pollen that will help you build up an immunity to your allergies.
• Local honey has been said to cure allergies, but it can contain bee parts (Oh Em Gee!)
• Local honey may or may not have enough pollen to help with your allergies.
• Local honey will not cure your allergies
• Oh, yes it will.
• You could have an allergic reaction to eating local honey.
• Processed honey will relieve your sore throat.
• If you're suffering this much, perhaps you should ask your doctor about allergy shots.

Thanks, Google, for clearing that all up.

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