How Honey May Help Treat Allergies
Proponents of giving allergic dogs raw local honey believe that the combination of pollen and honey is what helps the dog achieve a level ofallergy relief. It works like this: Bees visit flowers to collect nectar that they use to make honey. In addition to collecting the nectar, they also collect small amounts of pollens that become part of the honey. If you offer your dog a small amount of local raw honey each week, you will be giving him minute amounts of local pollens to which his system can develop an immunity over time. Once he’s developed the immunity, he should no longer show clinical signs of his allergy.
Although most dogs do not achieve a complete cure by consuming raw honey alone, a weekly dose of honey should help reduce the clinical signs and help your pet feel a little better during allergy season.
How The Kardashians Made Manuka Honey All The Buzz
Honey seems especially trendy in the skin-care world right now, but its cosmetic use goes back to ancient times, according to a review published in 2017 in Current Drug Metabolism. The type of honey that skin pros and celebs rave about today isnt the same as whats likely stocked in your pantry. Rather, theyre gushing about manuka honey, which is produced by bees that feed on New Zealands manuka bush, according to the National Cancer Institute .
Nazanin Saedi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Dermatology Associates of Plymouth Meeting, P.C., in Pennsylvania, says many patients have asked her about honey in recent years, likely after hearing the Kardashians publicly praise it for its many purported benefits, such as moisturizing the skin, clearing up blemishes, and giving the complexion a glow. Kourtney Kardashian even partnered with the brand Manuka Doctor and became a global ambassador back in 2016, according to Womens Wear Daily.
Does Honey Work As Remedy For Allergies
Honey has been studied as a cough suppressant and may have anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, 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. For now, however, it appears that honey may just be a sweet placebo.
Will honey relieve my seasonal allergies?
Honey has been anecdotally reported to lessen symptoms in people with seasonal allergies. But these results havent been consistently duplicated in clinical studies. The idea isnt so far-fetched, though. Honey has been studied as a cough suppressant and may have anti-inflammatory effects.
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Amazing Health Benefits Of Honey:
For best results, use raw, unfiltered, unheated, unprocessed honey raised within a 50-mile radius or less of your home.
Deborah Tukua
Is There A Honey Allergy Test
There are honey allergy tests available. Youll have to contact your local lab testing center to get the test administered.
The honey allergy test usually takes no more than 15 minutes, and youll get results back within one to three days.
The honey allergy blood test measures the amount of allergen-specific IgE antibodies in the blood to detect a honey allergy.
Although raw honey has its fair share of health benefits, some people develop an allergy to it. When honey is made by honeybees, it can potentially contain pollen from plants such as:
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Be Ready To See Your Symptoms Become Worse
It can happen when there is a concentrated amount of the pollen that you are allergic to in your local raw honey. You just cannot tell how much of pollen is there in raw honey, so you will develop an allergic reaction if you are extremely susceptible to even small traces of pollen. Stop using honey if you experience itching, swelling, or hives on your skin, in your throat, or in your mouth.
Risks And Side Effects
People allergic to honey should not use honey on their skin. People with allergies to pollen or bees should also avoid applying honey topically.
For people without known allergies, it is still important to test a small part of the skin before applying honey to larger areas of the body.
A person should make sure to remove any honey or honey-based products from their skin before going to bed. If honey remains on the skin, it can create a mess or get dirty. Honey containing dirt could cause skin conditions to worsen.
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Side Effects Of Honey
It is important to know your allergies and how your skin will react to a new product. Allergies to bees, pollen, or bee venom can cause an allergic reaction to honey if it is contaminated. Both Shamban and Howe agree there are no expected side effects, but anyone can be reactive, allergic, or irritated. If there is a reaction after a patch test, discontinue usage.
Where To Find And How To Use
Looking at honey consumption, 50 percent of the population directly purchases honey, 35 percent never eats honey, and the remaining 15 percent consumes honey in products made with honey, like honey-roasted peanuts. Raw honey might be available at your nearest grocery store, but it should be available at your local health food store or, even better, your local beekeeper. Its also available online.
Expect raw honey to be opaque rather than that sparkling, clear, golden color thats achieved through heating.
Never cook with raw honey because that will destroy its good properties. Also, do not store it near a heat source. If you enjoy honey in your tea or coffee, wait until the drink is just tepid enough to sip comfortably, and then add honey to taste.
Drizzle it on breakfast cereals, over your sprouted grain toast or on yogurt. Its also a great addition to smoothies and salad dressings, plus it pairs well with fruits like honeydew and apples. Raw honey can be a healthy alternative to highly processed sugar in recipes that doesnt require heat. For every one tablespoon of sugar in a recipe , you can typically use two teaspoons of honey instead.
Need more ideas for how to incorporate raw honey into your daily life? Then check out this article on20 Raw Honey Usesthat will surprise you.
There are many recipes available from the National Honey Board, and I have some of my favorites as well:
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Does Science Support Using Local Raw Honey For Allergies
Local, raw honey has so many wonderful uses.Not only does it provide sweetness to our food in a way that works with the body, but it can also be used to treat minor wounds, clear up problematic skin, and soothe digestive problems, and deliver vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to the body. Adding allergy prevention and relief to that list makes honey a very powerful and multi-functional gift from nature.
Specific Ige Lowering Effect
A study conducted by Duddukuri et al. showed that intraperitoneal administration of 100 µl Rock bee honey inhibited antibody responses in BALB/c, C57BL/6, and SWR/J mice induced by 10 µg OVA. Specifically, its anti-passive cutaneous anaphylaxis was indicated by the suppression of antigen-specific IgE levels . The fact that this effect was observed in different mice strains with different haplotypes highlights that the specific IgE lowering effect of Rock bee honey is less likely to be influenced by genetic variation. In addition, the authors also demonstrated that the Rock bee honey was able to inhibit the antigen-specific IgE levels in BALB/c mice induced by 100 µg of cowpea or finger millet, suggesting that honey treatment can even dampened the humoral antibody response following exposure to different types of allergen. Apart from Rock bee honey, the study also showed that Apiary and Dabur honey obtained from West Bengal, India were effective at downregulating the antigen-specific IgE production in OVA induced-BALB/c mice. This demonstrates the potential lowering effect of antigen-specific IgE in other Indian commercial honey. However, in contrast to rock bee honey, the authors did not specify any details on the Apiary and Dabur honeys used in their study, which are important to make a better justification on the positive outcome of the findings.
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The Efficacy Of Honey In The Treatment Of Skin Wounds
The ability of honey to aid the healing of skin wounds is the most widely researched aspect of honey as a therapeutic agent to date. A plethora of in vitro and in vivo studies have been performed.
The Efficacy of Honey in the Treatment of Skin Wounds: In Vitro Studies
Importantly, studies have also shown that honey from a variety of sources can modulate immunological parameters related to the skin immune system.23 For example, in vitro, honey has been shown to stimulate cytokine production by skin cells such as keratinocytes and other immune cells such as monocytes.24,25 It has been proposed that increased cytokine production in an early wound could enhance wound healing because cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6 play an important role in the early wound healing process. Additionally, some studies have shown that honey or its extracts can down regulate the production of cellular molecules such as matrix metalloproteinases and reactive oxygen intermediates that may contribute to excessive inflammation in the chronic wound.26,27 It has been suggested that the immunomodulatory properties of honey may contribute to enhanced tissue repair or reduce chronic inflammation in the wound, leading to enhanced healing.
In conclusion, in vitro studies have revealed that honey has some remarkable scientific properties that, plausibly, could promote the healing of wounds.
The Efficacy of Honey in the Treatment of Skin Wounds: In Vivo Studies
May Treat Skin Conditions
Manuka honey is widely used in skin care products thanks to its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, says Serena Poon, a certified nutritionist with her own practice. The sticky ointment can inhibit bacterial growth that may cause or worsen acne and soothe redness or dryness that comes with inflammatory skin conditions.
According to Shapiro and Poon, skin conditions manuka honey may help with include:
Apply a coin-sized amount of manuka honey to your skin and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing with warm water, says Poon. Remove immediately if it begins to burn or cause itchiness.
Any grade will work for skin conditions, but the higher the grade the more effective it will be.
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Natural Ways To Get Quick Relief From Itchy Skin Allergies
1.Cold Shower
A cold bath helps reduce skin irritation and allergies. A cold shower helps your blood vessels to shrink and doesnt allow histamine to come out. It also reduces the severity and skin irritation of the allergic reaction.
2.Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil does wonders as a great moisturizer. Rich in vitamin E, helps to heal and repair the skin after allergic issues and reduces itching. This remedy is best when compared to chemical-laden moisturizers.
3. Baking Soda
Baking soda is an excellent home remedy for skin allergy. It aids in removing skin rashes, relieves itching and prevents further inflammation of the skin.
Expert Tips
Make a paste by mixing half a teaspoon of baking soda in some water. Apply to the affected area and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing it off. Do not leave it on for longer as baking soda itself could cause more irritation.
4.Medicinal Plants and herbs
Aloe Vera is a great choice to manage allergies as it possesses strong antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-irritant properties. The fleshy gel of aloe soothes allergy.
Expert Tips
Use neem, basil, and coriander leaves to make a paste and apply it on the affected parts. Leave it for an hour and then rinse it with water. These are good to clear off allergies. Do not use soap or cleansers.
5.Apple Cider Vinegar
Next: Can Manuka Honey Make My Skin Less Red And Irritated
My experience: I have rosaceaan inflammatory skin condition that causes rednessand though its not severe, I do experience acute flare-ups now and again. At the start of the honey cleansing trial, my skin was exhibiting its usual degree of low-grade inflammationa small rosy patch on my upper cheek. Unfortunately, after using the honey cleanser for a full week, there was minimal reduction in my redness.
What the science says: Since rosacea may be triggered by Bacillus oleronius bacteria and the Demodex folliculorum mite, honey has been of interest as a possible treatment due to its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, Dr. Chang says.
She notes a pilot study published in BMJ Open in 2015 in which 138 participants with rosacea applied either a cream containing kanuka honey or a control cream to their faces twice a day for eight weeks. Results showed that 34 percent of those in the honey group showed improvements in redness after eight weeks compared to just 17 percent in the control group, suggesting that the honey cream may have been more effective at reducing the symptoms of rosacea than a placebo.
For this reason, I again had high hopes that manuka honey could help my skin. However, I didnt see much of a difference at the end of the week.
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A Word Of Caution About Giving Honey To Your Dog
If your dog is diabetic, be very careful with honey. There is research suggesting that honey may have some anti-diabetic effects in diabetes mellitus . But most dogs get type 1 diabetes. This means their pancreas doesnt make insulin properly.
If you want to give your diabetic dog honey, monitor how it affects his blood glucose very carefully or, ask your holistic vet first.
Avoid giving honey to dogs under 1 year of age. Raw honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores. Because puppies are still developing their immune system, these spores could make them sick.
What Kind Of Honey Works
Raw local honey is the type of honey that can help treat your dog’s allergies. Because it is from local hives, it will have small amounts oflocal pollens, which is what can help relieve some of your pet’s allergies. Don’t be alarmed if the raw honey has a cloudy appearance the cloudiness is caused by the pollens that are still present in the honey.
Processed honey from another part of the country will not be effective as an allergy treatment. Processed honey has been heat treatedto clear its appearance, and the heat treatment destroys the effectiveness of the pollen in the honey.
You can find raw local honey at farmers’ markets, health food stores and in the health food sections of some larger grocery stores. You may also be able to find local honey sources by conducting an online search using “raw honey ” as your keywords.
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Can Honey Help With Allergies
Honey has not been proven as an effective allergy treatment based on facts or research.
However, some people anecdotally report that raw honey lessens their allergy symptoms, despite these results not being proven in clinical trials.
The theory goes like this:
Local raw honey contains traces of pollen found in your area. The idea is that regularly exposing yourself to local pollen will lessen your sensitivity to it. Honey tricks your immune system into responding to the pollen as food instead of an intruder.
This is similar to how allergy shots work.
Each allergy shot contains a small amount of whatever triggers your allergic reactions. So basically, these allergy shots spark your immune system without leading to a full-blown allergic reaction.
The hypothesis about honey being good for allergies isnt a bad one. But it simply doesnt have the research to back it up.
And heres the thing:
One reason why raw honey isnt believed to work for allergies is because of the type of pollen it contains. Honey contains flower pollen, not typically tree or grass pollen.
Why is this important?
Because grass and tree pollen are the most common pollen allergies.
That said, some people have personally reported that local raw honey has helped with their allergies. The bottom line is that local honey tastes good and has few side effects. It may alleviate allergies, so it might be worth a shot.
If youre going to try honey for allergies, here are a few suggestions:
I Washed My Face With Manuka Honey For A Weekheres What Happened
Admittedly, Im late to the all-natural skin-care conversation. Plenty of people have been adding coconut oil and apple cider vinegar to their beauty routines for a while now. But Im too scared to put oil on my pimple-prone face, and the potent odor of vinegar makes my nose hairs curl. That said, I did want to get in on that natural beauty tread, so I started researching natural cleansers, since Im not particularly thrilled with the ones I have on my shelf. My glycolic cleanser is too harsh, and my foam cleanser isnt tough enough on my oily T-zone. Like Goldilocks on a skin-care mission, I began searching for a natural cleanser that would be just right for me.
On my quest, I fell down a Google rabbit hole and discovered manuka honey cleansing. Beauty sites claimed that raw manuka honey worked miracles as a moisturizing facial cleanser, even suggesting it could improve acne and inflammatory skin conditions likeeczema. And people have been using honey in wound care for centuries, so it seems legit.
Theres even a rating system maintained by the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association , a growing organization of beekeepers, producers, and exporters dedicated to producing genuine manuka honey. The rating system, the Unique Manuka Factor , uses numbers to indicate the amount of certain compounds in products, which confirms that the product is authentic.
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