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Honey and Pollen Allergies
Posted on 19th Aug 2015
Does Honey really help alleviate pollen allergies?
It sounds like a win/win situation. Sweeten your teas and muffins with honey and cure your allergies at the same time but the truth of the matter is honey probably does nothing to alleviate those itchy eyes and runny nose.
Still the idea isn't so far-fetched. Some experts point out that honey can contain traces of flower pollen — an allergen and one treatment for allergies is repeated exposure to small amounts of allergens.
In recent years, scientists have discovered that honey possesses some legitimately intriguing properties. Proteins secreted by honeybees, for instance, are mixed with the flower nectar bees use to produce honey, and science has recently discovered that one of these proteins, called “bee defensin-1” has significant antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties.
The misconception comes from the pollen the bees mostly carry back to the hive. In the previous post we talked about insect pollinated vs. wind-pollinated? The pollen blowing in the wind (released by non-flowering trees, weeds, and grasses) is what triggers springtime allergies not the pollen in flowers carried by bees. So even local honey won’t have much, if any, of the type of pollen setting off your allergies.
Studies also show that bees don’t just bring flower pollen back to their honeycomb. They carry tree and grass pollen, in addition to mold spores, diesel particles, and other contaminants. Which means that it’s difficult to make a honey from just one kind of pollen (say, weeds and not grass). So, save your local honey for your tea and muffins, not for your allergy medicine cabinet.
If you want help from pollen allergies you need to try a product that consists of what a person is allergic to so the body becomes safely conditioned to tolerate those allergens and reduce allergic symptoms.
