Risk Of Infant Botulism
12 months old . Honey, especially raw honey, may contain spore-forming bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. The ingestion of the spores can result in infant botulism.
Infant botulism, or intestinal botulism, affects children younger than a year old because their immune and digestive systems are still immature. Although it is rare, it may lead to fatal complications. The symptoms include:
- difficulty feeding
- muscle weakness, causing a floppy head, neck, and limbs
Therapeutic Effects Of Honey
Honey is made from flower nectar. Bees suck the sugary substance from the plants and the nectar mixes with other substances in their digestive system. Here, it transforms into a new substancehoneywhich can be harvested from the hive.
People have been using honey medicinally for thousands of years. Its often claimed that honey has antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory qualities.
Some of honeys helpful qualities have been explored in scientific studies. For example:
- Bee products like honey may help with wound healing.
- Bee pollen may boost your immune system. That can be helpful if you have allergies because your immune system defends your body against bacteria, viruses, pollutants, dust mites, and other microorganisms that can trigger allergy symptoms.
While its possible that honey has healing benefits, more research needs to be done. There is not enough evidence to prove that honey is safe and effective for these, or other, purposes.
The Evidence Against Raw Local Honey
Sadly, its highly unlikely that eating raw local honey will cure your seasonal allergies. There is very little scientific evidence to suggest any sort of healing effect. Of the studies that do exist, the sample sizes are too small to generalize to the U.S. population, and the results are conflicting at best.2
The honey cure is supported primarily by anecdotal evidence. While anecdotes can be helpful, they are also subjective and frequently riddled with errors and disproportionality overrepresent positive outcomes. For example, if a persons allergy symptoms stop after two months of eating honey, they may assume the honey cured their allergies. However, it is also possible and much more likely that trees in their area stopped releasing pollen because of seasonal changes.
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No Honey Allergic Cure
Some people theorize that because honey contains substances from bees and a wide variety of plants, eating honey should desensitize your immune system to the bee and plant allergens. A 2002 study published in the “Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology,” however, found that honey was no more effective at relieving rhino-conjunctivitis symptoms than a corn syrup placebo.
Not The Allergen Youre Looking For
Pollen from weeds, trees, and grasses is the leading cause of seasonal allergies. Wind usually whips the yellowy dust from these plants into the air.
Bees, which make honey, tend to pick up pollen from brightly colored flowers. Pollen from these blooms rarely causes allergies.
So even if local honey contains pollen, itâs unlikely that itâs behind your allergy symptoms, Ogden says.
Doctors have researched the issue. Their findings: Honey doesnât work. One study had people with allergies eat 1 tablespoon of local honey per day. Their symptoms didnât get better — not even compared to folks who didnât down any of the sticky stuff.
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Struggling To Cook Healthy We’ll Help You Prep
Honey has a plethora of natural health benefits. It has antibacterial properties due to naturally occurring enzymes that create hydrogen peroxide, and a compound found in most varieties of honey may assist in fighting infections. Honey also has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, which can have therapeutic effects on the body.
The World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend honey as a natural remedy to soothe coughing in children older than a year old. Honey can potentially harbor bacteria that is harmful to infants, so it should not be consumed by anyone under the age of 1.
Although eating a spoonful of honey won’t magically cure all your ails, it can definitely help when it comes to calming a cough, easing sore throats, relieving inflammation, and more. If you’re worried about falling ill, or can already feel yourself getting a little sick, then it’s easy to add honey to your daily routine. Steep a hearty cup of tea and add a dollop of honey, make DIY cough drops, or even mix a little into your nightcap. Be sure to keep honey on hand as a natural sweetener and immunity booster.
Can Raw Honey Make Allergies Worse
People often ask, Can honey make seasonal allergies worse?
Yes, people can experience an allergic reaction to honey if theyre allergic to pollen.
Raw honey contains small amounts of pollen, which can cause an allergic reaction in some people. If youre allergic to pollen, avoiding honey or any foods containing honey is best.
However, just because youre allergic to bee stings doesnt mean youll be allergic to honey. Allergies to bee stings come from the bee venom. On the other hand, people who are allergic to honey are typically allergic to the pollen found in honey.
Raw honey is the most likely to contain pollen because it hasnt been filtered and pasteurized like processed honey.
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Does Local Honey Help Seasonal Allergies
As an allergist, I love hearing this question and guiding patients on TRUEevidence-based medicine. There is a widespread and FALSE belief that eating local, rawhoney can help allergies by regularly exposing you to pollen – not unlike the concept of how allergy shots work. Allergy shots help desensitize allergic people by exposing them topollen injected at regular intervals. An important difference here is that the amount of pollen in allergy shotsis known, and slowly increased to a certain level, for best results. Studies have shown allergy shots are very effective for decreasing seasonal and year-round allergy symptoms.
Local, unprocessed honey does contain small amounts of pollen from the environment. The pollen in honey is mostly from the flowers where bees are found, butflowering plant pollen is not the cause ofallergy symptoms.Pollen from trees, grasses and weeds are the true allergy causing culprits, and these plants arenot pollinated by bees! Thus, the amount of allergenic pollen in the honey is typically very small. This is considered a contaminant, like the bee parts, mold spores, bacteria and other environmental particles that can be found in honey.
In the end, I fully support buying local honey for all the right reasons. Just dont ask the bees to cure your allergies.
What Is The Risk Of Raw Honey
Rawhoney has many benefits, but a large disadvantage: it may contain Clostridiumbotulinum .
Whatis this? A harmful neurotoxin that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and in severecases, muscle weakness and blurred vision.
Whenit comes to raw honey, C. botulinum spores may be consumed and cause problems. Formost people, this is extremely rare. However, in infants, it can be deadly.
Thisis because children and adults have developed natural defenses in ourintestines to protect our body from C. botulinum. Unfortunately, babies do nothave sophisticated immune systems yet, putting them at risk for botulism.
Thisis why honey is not recommended for anyone under the age of 1 year.
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How The Properties Of Honey Relate To Seasonal Allergies
Now that you have the gist of seasonal allergies, lets look at the next piece of this puzzlehoney.
Honeybees produce the sticky substance by gathering a liquid called nectar that is produced by flowering plants. The bees store nectar in an extra stomach in order to carry it back to their hive.
While the nectar is hanging out in the stomach, it mixes with other items the bee has eaten. This changes the chemical makeup of the nectar so itll last longer, like preserving fruits to make jam that can last longer on your shelf or in your fridge.
Once the bees return to their hives, they pass the preserved nectar from their stomach to another bee, who stores it in their extra stomach to pass on to another bee. The nectar passes from bee to bee until it reaches its final destinationa honeycomb.
After the last bee in the chain coughs up the nectar into the honeycomb, the bees in the hive use their wings to help any extra liquid in the nectar quickly evaporate so the honeycomb can be sealed up for storage. Now the bees have a sweet food storage to dig into during winter months, and humans have a sugary addition to their diet that may also help with seasonal allergies.
Now its time to circle back to the theory of using honey for seasonal allergies works. Basically, it goes like this:
With no immune cells sounding an alarm, your seasonal allergy symptoms arent triggered, and you can breathe easier.
Does Local Honey Have Any Allergy
While some who eat local honey and report an improvement in their allergy symptoms are likely experiencing the placebo effect, Dr. Marks-Cogan says the honey could be helping in other ways. “There is evidence demonstrating that honey is a cough suppressant, and that it may be anti-inflammatory,” she explains. “So, tea with honey may actually help temporarily stop a cough, so it is not being used as a placebo in that case.”
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Why Does Honey Help With Allergies
4.5/5honeyallergiesallergyhoneyallergy symptomsread here
Honey has been anecdotally reported to lessen symptoms in people with seasonal allergies. 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.
Likewise, can honey make allergies worse? It’s rare, but eating unprocessed honey can cause a serious allergic reaction. You might have itching, hives, or swelling of your mouth, throat, or skin. The culprit: pollen or bee parts in the unprocessed honey.
Thereof, which honey is best for allergies?
It is a popular notion that eating honeyespecially locally grown honeyis a natural remedy for allergies and asthma. In fact, bee pollenavailable without a prescription at most health food storesis commonly marketed as a natural allergy remedy and an anti-inflammatory agent.
How much honey do you take for allergies?
It’s important to start small and work your way up to gradually build tolerance. Researchers in 2013 studied the role of honey in the treatment of allergic rhinitis .
Honey For Allergies: Does It Work
A common natural remedy is using local honey for allergies. Its widely believed that eating local honey will expose an allergic person to small amounts of local pollen, which will desensitize them to that allergen and improve their allergy symptoms. Unfortunately, this is not scientifically proven. Also, eating honey can pose risks to people with severe allergies or children.
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Explore The Facts About Eating Local Honey To Help With Allergies
Springs new growth and beautiful flowers brighten the world after long months of colder, wetter weather. But with that flourishing flora comes something elsepollen and seasonal allergies.
For many people, they can feel the moment the world around them shifts from winter into spring. Their eyes become watery and itchy. Their nose runs or stuffs up. Sneezing becomes just as common as laughing. When these symptoms pop up, its time to reach for the allergy medication so you can get through the day in one piece. But have you ever been told to reach for local honey for seasonal allergies instead?
Honey, particularly products harvested locally, is often suggested as a natural way to help you deal with allergies when spring comes around.
But does honey actually help with seasonal allergies? To answer that question and separate myth from fact, lets look at how allergies work, how honey is made, and where the two might intersect.
Mild Honey Allergy Symptoms:
After eating raw honey, contact your doctor immediately if you have severe allergy symptoms.
Additionally, children under 12 months old should never be given honey. Honey can contain bacteria that leads to infant botulism, a rare but serious foodborne illness. Once children are over 12 months, they can consume honey because their immune system is more mature.
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What Is The Best Honey For Allergies
Any good quality, raw and unfiltered honey that still contains pollen would be a good choice. You might want to try a polyfloral honey such as wildflower, which is made from lots of different flowering plants. It is a bit of a myth that the honey must be local . As long as the flora visited by the bees are the same or similar to the flora causing your allergies, then that honey will be a good choice.
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Is Honey Good For Allergies
Honey hasnt been scientifically proven to be good for allergies.
But the idea isnt far-fetched, though. Many people have used allergy honey treatments as a natural remedy for allergies.
According to anecdotal evidence, raw honey has been observed to help with seasonal allergies. However, these findings have yet to be reproduced in clinical trials.
That said, in clinical trials, honey has been shown to be a good cough suppressant with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits. Honey has been shown to contain traces of flower pollen, which is an allergy trigger.
Repeated exposure to minor amounts of allergens is considered by many as an approach to alleviate allergies.
But for the time being, honey appears to just be a sweet treat with antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory benefits. Theres no scientific evidence suggesting that honey is a cure for allergies.
That said, you can try it to see if it works for you.
Just dont give honey to babies under a year because it has an elevated risk of infant botulism, a rare yet dangerous foodborne illness.
Which Type Of Honey Is Best For Allergies
This is due to its higher levels of antibacterial and antioxidant activity than other honeys.
These two factors are important in reducing inflammation, regulating the immune system, and clearing sinuses of mucus – all the allergy symptoms you may want to avoid.
So if youre after a more natural antihistamine, consider manuka honey for your allergies.
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Why Is Honey Believed To Help With Allergies
Honey has been anecdotally reported to lessen symptoms of seasonal allergies based on the principle of immunotherapy, which involves repeated exposure to an allergy to make the person less sensitive to it.
The theory is similar to that of allergy shots, in which the body builds up immunity to an allergen by repeated exposure in larger doses. Since honey contains local pollen, it is believed that eating honey can make someone less sensitive to the pollen over time.
Does Honey Have Health Benefits
Honey is the thick, golden, sweet liquid produced by the bees by collecting nectar and pollen from flowers. For centuries, honey has been used as both a natural sweetener and as a potential remedy due to its potential health benefits.
Honey has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, and wound-healing properties. High-quality honey is also rich in antioxidants, especially flavonoids, which may play a role in preventing cardiovascular diseases.
The World Health Organization, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American College of Chest Physicians recommend honey as a natural remedy for soothing coughs and sore throats caused by the common cold.
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One Final Thought On Honey As Allergy Relief
As a naturopath, I always like the idea of using natural solutions to relieve health problems before medications need to become involved.
Theres no harm in giving honey a shot in your pursuit to get rid of some of your allergy symptoms.
That being said, if you suffer from severe allergy symptoms like wheezing, burning eyes, rashes, throat swelling, or any other symptom that would compromise your safety, you need to consult an allergist before you give honey a try.
Can Local Honey Help With Allergies The Answer Is
Its one of the most common folk remedies that people swear by eating local honey to ease seasonal allergies that affect so many of us.
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The thinking has been that consuming local honey produced by bees acts as a natural allergy shot of sorts by exposing you to local allergens.
Bottom line: it’s a tidy little theory, but theres very little research to suggest that it actually works.
Aside from the lack of supporting research, most people who get seasonal allergies are actually reacting to tree and grass pollen, not flower pollen collected by bees.
Allergies aside, for children over 1, honey is considered as an effective cough suppressant.
And when it comes to natural allergy remedies, you might consider butterbur, quercetin and stinging nettle. Before you start taking anything, howerver, check with your doctor or other provider first.
Neti pots that use sterile saline to flush out nasal passages might also be an option for some patients. Doctors have lots of patients who swear by their neti pots. Note: don’t use tap water with a neti pot.
Some patients might also consider using a HEPA air filter, especially in their bedrooms.
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