But What If I Want To Buy Raw Honey
Then buy raw honey that is local. This is another major misunderstanding of honey that its an either/or choice between raw or local. Raw just means the temperature hasnt climbed to a point where enzymes have been killed off. Local means identification of where the nectar and pollen came from.;
In no way would raw or local contradict each other. For people who have little or not allergies to pollen, theres no need to buy local honey. Buy any honey from anywhere, and simply enjoy honey for the wholesome natural sweetener that it is.
Is There Any Evidence That Local Raw Honey Helps With Allergies
There havent been many studies on this subject but I did find a couple. One study had participants consume 1 tablespoon of either raw honey, regular honey, or corn syrup with synthetic honey flavoring. The study didnt find any improvement in any of the groups.
Always look at the quality of the study when trying to decide if something is worth a try. I like that they tested both types of honey and had a placebo group. It appears the participants took allergy medication as needed not on a regulated basis. This to me creates too many variables and the results harder to determine.
The second study I found showed local raw honey given in high doses improved allergy symptoms. All the participants in this study were on the same allergy medication. Half were given raw local honey at a dose based on weight for 3 weeks. The other half a placebo. Both groups had improvement in the first 4 weeks but the group who had raw honey experienced an improvement in the next 4 weeks after the honey was stopped.
The second study has a little more control over the allergy medication. The dose of allergy medicine was the same for everyone, not something taken as participants needed. I like this study a little better just because it has a little more control than the first.
Both studies are small and more studies would be needed to truly show evidence for or against.
When Allergies Flare It’s Tempting To Seek Relief From Easy Inexpensive Treatments Can Honey Help With Allergies Here’s What The Research Says
Its that time of year: Your box of tissues never leaves your side and your eyes may as well be made of sand. Thats rightits allergy season and youre probably desperate for any fix. Of course, you can rely on over-the-counter medications or try to stay inside, but have you heard that honey might help with seasonal allergies? After all, the ingredient can already do so much in the kitchen.
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So What Do Studies Say About Honey As A Remedy For Hay Fever
Study 1: The perhaps most famous study on local honey and hay fever was conducted at the University of Connecticut Health Center’s Lowell P. Weicker General Clinical Research Center in the early noughties. Thirty-six participants with allergic rhinitis were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the first group would receive locally collected, unpasteurized, and unfiltered honey; the second group would get nationally collected, filtered, and pasteurized honey; and the third group would receive corn syrup with artificial honey flavoring. All hay fever sufferers were instructed to consume a daily dose of one tablespoon of the honey or substitute and to stick the usual methods they used to manage their seasonal allergies. All participants were also asked to track 10 subjective allergy symptoms in a dairy. The results were disappointing: the hay fever sufferers that ingested honey whether local or nationally collected did not experience more relief from their symptoms than those in the placebo group.
Dont Get Too Hung Up On Geographical Location Of Honey
If we operated on the misunderstood concept of local honey, then theres no point in anyone outside of New Zealand ever buying and using manuka honey , arguably the worlds most powerful honey. Manukas great healing reputation has everybody scrambling to shell out lots of money, but if local were the most important acquisition factor, nobody else in the world should bother buying it because manuka honey is only local within New Zealand . Except so many people continue to buy manuka honey because it works.
And thats the overriding concept: honey has unique properties that makes it an extremely beneficial food. There are so many ways to categorize it , but in the end, its simply natures wholesome sweetener.
Birch pollen honey for birch pollen allergy,Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial properties,The use of bee pollen as a superfood.
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Bee Pollen And Honey For Allergies:
Bee pollen is a super food and considered as energy and nutritive tonic.
Ingredients:
- Mix ½ teaspoon of bee pollen with 1 teaspoon honey
- Consume this mixture
- Increase bee pollen gradually from ½ teaspoon to 1-3 teaspoons.
How it works: Bee pollen is high in protein as well as an antioxidant.
Repetitions: Once daily.
Best time to apply: Any time of the day.
Tips: Please do not consume bee pollen if any sensitivity present.
Could Eating Honey For Allergies Be Dangerous
It could be argued based on these studies and mechanism that it couldn’t hurt to try honey, but it’s important to note that honey can, though rare, cause severe allergic reactions in people who tend to have allergies. So while consuming local honey for your allergies may sound like a good idea, it could be argued as well that consuming honey could increase your risk of a serious allergic reaction. Going with this train of thought, those who are living with allergies may be just those people who are most sensitive to life-threatening reactions from eating locally produced honey, due to the pollen.
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Studies On Honey And Allergies
In order to determine if a therapy works, it must be compared to placebo. There are two small placebo-controlled studies looking specifically at the role of honey in allergic rhinitis .
A 2002 study compared two different types of honey against placebo in people with pollen allergy. Unfortunately, there was no difference in allergy symptoms among the three groups of study participants. It was interesting, however, that nearly one in three of the volunteers dropped out of the study because they couldnt tolerate eating one tablespoon of honey every day due to the overly sweet taste.
A 2013 study from Malaysia noted a possible benefit related to the consumption of honey. Those who ate honey had improved symptoms of allergic rhinitis. It is notable that those consuming corn syrup also had a more modest improvement of reported symptoms.
The consensus at this time is that more studies are needed to further investigate the possible benefits of honey for the treatment of allergies.
Quality Of Honey What Type Of Honey Do You Use
When it comes to honey, the quality of the honey is an essential factor when considering how well it works. As such, it is crucial to ensure that you only purchase raw, local, unfiltered honey or raw local wildflower honey.
The latter type of honey will offer your dog the best results since it comprises a wide array of different flowers and plants. You can usually purchase this from bee farms.
The importance of selecting quality honey is because numerous studies outline that many of the supermarkets grade A honey tend to be diluted using cheap products like high fructose corn syrup not to mention being heated and subsequently cooled quickly ensuring a smoother look inside the package/container.
This basically means that this honey is practically useless in relation to benefits. As such, to ensure that your furry friend gets any benefits from your honey, it is vital that you only go for local, fresh kind of honey.
Local honey is the most effective honey to help in treating the allergies of your dog. Since it originates from local hives, the honey will contain small amounts of the local pollen that is the primary component that helps alleviate the allergies.;
On purchasing the local raw honey dont get alarmed when you notice that the honey features a cloudy appearance; this hazy appearance is as a result of the pollens which are still present in the natural honey.
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How Do Common Allergy Medications Work
Most common allergy medications are anti-histamines.These chemicals are designed to interfere with your natural immune system and stop the body from releasing histamines. Some medications are combined with decongestants, which reduce the fluid in the lining of your nose. This, in turn, reduces congestion and swelling. Common allergy medications can provide full or partial relief from your coughing, wheezing and sneezing, depending on genetics and the severity of the pollen season.
Debunking The Honey Cure
There are a few other reasons to assume that honeys curative effects have been vastly overstated. Firstly, there is no way for the average consumer to verify how much pollen is present in their honey. The amount is likely so small that it would not have a therapeutic effect on the body.
Many people dont realize that bees make honey out of nectar, the sugary sweet liquid excreted by flowers, and not pollen, the powdery substance used for fertilization. Bees are attracted to nectar, and as they collect it to make their honey, pollen accidentally sticks to their legs. In other words, pollen is a trace contaminant in honey, not the main ingredient.
Also, even if there was enough pollen in raw local honey to trigger the immune system, it would probably be the wrong kind. Bees typically pollinate colorful flowers, yet most people are allergic to pollen released by grasses, trees and weeds.
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Is A Spoonful Of Honey A Day Good For You
The Antioxidants in It Are Linked to Other Beneficial Effects on Heart Health. Again, honey is a rich source of phenols and other antioxidant compounds. Many of these have been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease . They may help the arteries in your heart dilate, increasing blood flow to your heart.
Can You Use Honey For Allergies
The short answer is no: honey cannot be used to cure allergies.
There is no medical evidence to support this theory. However, there can be some allergenic benefits to eating local honey.
Some studies have found people with seasonal allergies may be able to alleviate their symptoms with honey over time.
But the natural remedy of honey cannot be used in place of medical cures for allergies, such as immunotherapy, prescription medications or antihistamines.
Honey has been known to be a suitable cough suppressant and can potentially have some anti-inflammatory effects in some people.
According to WebMD, medical experts have indicated that honey does contain traces of flower pollen, which is a known allergen.
One treatment for allergies is the regular exposure of your body to small amounts of allergens.
In this case, eating honey can potentially be used as a slow-burning method of reducing hay-fever symptoms.
It should be noted that the amount of allergenic pollen in local honey is typically very small – even microscopic – and is very different to allergenic airborne pollen from trees, grass and weeds.
Bees tend to collect pollen from brightly coloured flowers, and pollen from these blooms very rarely cause allergies, WebMD reports.
But unlike immunotherapy, this natural method doesnt help figure out what exact type of pollen your body is allergic to.
With immunotherapy, we isolate the exact allergen patients are allergic to, allergist Neeta Ogden says.
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How To Use Manuka Honey For Allergy Support
For best results, consume Manuka honey regularly throughout allergy season. I personally take a small spoonful every morning as part of my wellness routine as it is useful for many things besides allergies.;
You may also like to stir it into a Nettle infusion and drink as a cold herbal tea.;
Include in energy balls for natural sweetness and wellness support.;
What To Pair With Your Manuka Honey To Get The Maximum Benefits
To really make the most of your medicinal manuka honey use, Lockwood has some tips for the best ways to consume itand what to pair it with. The first and most obvious way: Use it to sweeten your tea. “You want fluids that will move the mucus along,” she says, adding that ginger tea with manuka honey would be one of her top recs for someone with vicious allergies.
“Getting foods with vitamin C is important, too, so another pairing you can do is manuka honey and grapefruit,” Lockwood says. Her fave way to enjoy this antioxidant-rich snack is to pop the grapefruit in the broiler with a bit of natural sweetener sprinkled on top; for two minutes and then topping it off with honey before digging in.
“Pineapple is another great food to pair manuka honey with if you’re fighting allergies,” Lockwood says. She explains that the active ingredient in the tropical fruit,;bromelain, is an enzyme that helps fight inflammation. “If you’re making a homemade dressing, you can mix the manuka honey with pineapple juice and enjoy it that way,” she says. Bonus: None of these remedies will leave you with the drowsiness and brain fog that notoriously comes with your allergy or cold meds.
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Does Eating Local Honey Really Help With Allergies
There is no scientific proof that eating local honey will improve seasonal allergies. One study, published in 2002 in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, showed no difference among allergy sufferers who ate local honey, commercially processed honey, or a honey-flavored placebo.
When a person eats local honey, they are thought to be ingesting local pollen. Over time, a person may become less sensitive to this pollen. As a result, they may experience fewer seasonal allergy symptoms. Its true that bees pollinate flowers and make honey.
Subsequently, What are the benefits of eating local honey?
Antioxidants. Risks.
Also, Is it good to eat raw honey?
It is safe for people to consume both raw and regular honey, though it is a good idea to avoid types of honey that contain added sugars. Both raw and regular honey may contain tiny amounts of a bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum. This bacteria can cause botulism, which is a rare form of food poisoning.
Is eating raw honey good for you?
The phytonutrients in honey are responsible for its antioxidant properties, as well as its antibacterial and antifungal power. Theyre also thought to be the reason raw honey has shown immune-boosting and anticancer benefits. Heavy processing destroys these valuable nutrients.
Last Review : 7 days ago.
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What Type Of Honey You Need To Consume
If youre interested in giving honey a try for mild allergies, there are a few things you need to know.
First, its important that the honey you purchase is local.
The honey you consume needs to contain trace amounts of pollen from the plants that are native to your area. If the honey doesnt contain pollens from local plants that cause allergies, its not going to do anything to help you.
One of the best places to find local honey is your communitys farmers market. Always ask the person who is selling the honey where it was harvested to ensure its local.
If you dont have a farmers market that is local to your area, check online for local honey producers. Theres a good chance that youll be able to find a local honey farmer that produces and sells honey in your community.
Second, its important to make sure the honey you purchase is raw honey.
Honey that is not raw is filtered and processed, which strips the honey of pollens.
Raw honey is as natural as it gets and will give you the best shot at helping you manage your allergies.
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Treating Your Seasonal Allergies At Allergy & Ent Associates In Houston
For some people, no amount of honey or over-the-counter allergy medicine will work. If youre struggling with your symptoms, come in to see the specialists at Allergy & ENT Associates. We provide allergy testing, allergy shots, rush immunotherapy and allergy drops to bring our patients relief. Call us at MY-SINUS to schedule your appointment today.
Why Is Local Raw Honey Good For You
Local, raw honey is a natural antiseptic. As mentioned above, honey has antimicrobial properties. Thats what makes it great for treating wounds. Because many types of bacteria cant survive in honey, it speeds up healing, diminishes swelling, and gives tissue the opportunity to grow back more quickly.
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How Local Honey Helps Protect Against Allergies
When raw, local honey is consumed over a long period of time, its been proven time and time again to help lessen the symptoms of people who have mild allergies.
While there isnt concrete medical data on exactly why it works, most doctors believe consuming honey affects people much like getting a vaccine does.
First and foremost, its important to remember how honey is made.
Honey comes from bees. And bees get the energy and nutrients they need to produce honey while ingesting nectar, which is often coated with pollen.
As honey is produced in a bees stomach, pollen naturally becomes one of honeys ingredients.
From there, honey is collected and placed into containers which we buy.
As we consume the honey we purchase, we are also consuming trace amounts of pollenthe irritant that causes itchy eyes, coughs and sneezing.
Heres where the vaccine theory comes in.
When youre given a vaccine, youre injected with trace amounts of a virus. This process allows your body to build an immunity to the virus so you can easily fight it off before it becomes a problem.
The same process can be applied to consuming raw, local honey.
Over time, youll be exposed to irritants from honey that will help build your bodys immunity to having an allergic reaction.
Once again, I want to express the idea that this isnt a 100% proven method for getting rid of allergies.
