Saturday, May 29, 2010

Taking Local Honey Gets Allergies to Buzz Off

With my fabulous (not) insurance I get through the city my regular allergy medicine (the only one that actually works) costs me $70 per month. Because of this I have explored other options. This is one that has actually helped. I do occasionally find myself needing to take an Allegra but at least my 30 day supply lasts me months now instead. Read below for some great info.


Taking Local Honey Gets Allergies to Buzz Off
By Valerie Carruthers, posted April 25th, 2010
Contributing author for Flagler Organics.

When it comes to preventing or easing seasonal allergies, local honey works far more effectively and safely than the immune-suppressing allergy drugs prescribed by doctors or sold over the counter. It also saves you lots of money. Horticulturist/author Tom Ogren (www.allergyfree-gardening.com) has described local honey as being packed with pollen grains and other nutrients making it one of the most potent immune-system boosters.

How local honey works is similar to homeopathy’s concept of “like cures like.”

Allergies are caused by over-exposure to pollens found in our local plant species, such as the bottlebrush tree. Honeybees gather pollen from the bottlebrush and other local trees, shrubs and flowers that winds up in small amounts in the honey produced in this area.

Taking small amounts of local honey daily is like having ongoing allergy shots minus the discomfort or cost, say Ogren and www.focusorganic.com. It gradually increases your immune system’s tolerance to the pollens while decreasing the sneezing and other symptoms. [Important note: Never give local raw honey to children under the age of one. It can be highly dangerous to infants.]

For best results, take 2-3 teaspoonfuls of local honey daily, if possible beginning a few months prior to allergy season. (Highly allergic persons should start with a quarter teaspoon or less per day and slowly build up.) The more local the honey, the better it will work. Your body will then better adapt to its environment (See www.globalhealingcenter.com for more on local honey and health.)

1 comment:

Amanda said...

Does this work if the honey has been heated? I've started cooking/baking with local honey a lot. I eat it drizzled on cereal too, but just wondered if it had to stay "raw." My girls suffered HORRIBLE allergies this last spring and I don't want a repeat of that. I'm hoping that the switch to local honey will help for next year, but wasn't clear on how you had to "take" it. Thanks!!