Local Honey and Allergies

doobabe

Ok, I have to start a topic for this today....
I have allergies (mostly trees/some mold) that cause absolute havok at least 2 months out of every year. I didnt get these allergies until I was about 23 years old, but they have seemingly gotten worse over the past few years.
I am not a "pill person" meaning I rarely take anything for them- and usually suffer greatly as a result..... However, most over the counter and even prescription products make me really SLEEPY and just out of sorts so I omit those completely.

I was looking for a more natural approach and came across Apple Cider Vinegar- and I have a friend that swears by it.....
THEN some of my wonderful MFP friends commented on the effectiveness of "local honey" treating allergies...........

WHHAAT?? Tell me more- I mean A LOT more!! Is there a light at the end of the tunnel????

I cant even run anymore without choking because my sinus' are completely CLOSED and drainging in every direction (GROSS and a BIGTIME PAIN!)

So- tell me peeps....

How much of this honey do I need to take and how often? How local does it need to me (i.e. within 10 miles or something)? Who does this and how has it worked for you?? can I store the honey over the winter and will it still work?? Does it work on all respitory allergies (i.e. mold/trees/pollen)?

I am a generally healthy person and it appears the allergies came out of no where land, and I am sick and tired of being sick and tired!!! haha

wiggleroom

I think a tablespoon per day is the recommendation. And the closer you can get to your home, the better! I am extremely lucky -- our local honey producer lives literally three houses down from me (which is about a mile away, since I'm in the boondocks), and they harvest their honey from all around me. They sell their honey at the little coffee shop in the center of "town" (not really a town; it's a tiny cluster of buildings...).

I'm not sure how you'd find out where the nearest honey producer is in your neighborhood. I just stumbled across mine (almost literally -- I met the wife on a walk one day!).

marindak

It helps with my sinuses tremendously! I put a Tablespoon in my hot tea every day! The honey I get comes from the same state that I live in but not close by. Still helps!
Give it a try.

tater8589

Local honey works. like the above poster said about a tablespoon a day. I use it and it really helps. Honey is also useful as an antibiotic on cuts and as a cough suppressant (which is why its in a lot of cough drops)

I still take allegra (my allergies are aweful) but honey helps when I have flairs and keeps me from having sniffles year round

The reason you need local honey is cause its made with pollen, if you have the pollen (in the honey) in your system then your body won't react as strongly to it when you breath it in. Google it, the sites that pop up explain it better than me :blushing:

radicalreader

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/allergies/local-honey-for-allergies.htm

Two teaspoons daily.
I buy local honey at the farmer's market. I still have to take allergy meds for my non-pollen-related allergies, but the local honey has significantly cut down on symptoms from my seasonal pollen allergies.

neelia

I use local honey for my allergies as well. I agree with the above posters- a tablespoon a day and as local as you can get!

LarryPGH

I always presumed that the way it worked was by acclimating your system to pollens found in the area. So, while it would seem to help that the honey would be from the local types of blossoms, I guess I just would never have thought that it might help allergies to mold or to trees, per se.

Interesting question! And since I've been known to make mead (honey wine), I'll have to shake the trees (so to speak ) of my contacts in that community to find out what they've heard...!

tater8589

I always presumed that the way it worked was by acclimating your system to pollens found in the area. So, while it would seem to help that the honey would be from the local types of blossoms, I guess I just would never have thought that it might help allergies to mold or to trees, per se.

Interesting question! And since I've been known to make mead (honey wine), I'll have to shake the trees (so to speak ) of my contacts in that community to find out what they've heard...!

MMM Mead... good stuff

frostiegurl

I live in Sacramento and didn't have allergies until I moved here. The vast number of trees around the area is astounding. Local honey is really the best non-medicinal way to treat allergies as it contains trace amounts of pollen and propolis so it really helps in building up your immunities to the pollens in your area. You can also get bee pollen from your local bee supply store (if you have one, that is) and take a bit of that every day to help.
I got really lucky after moving here as I met a great guy who happened to want to be a beekeeper. So here we are with a couple of hives in our backyard producing honey for us every year.

givprayz

If you can get the honey with bee pollen in it, like some of my local sellers sell it, it's even more effective. Also consider getting a nasal rinse. My allergies are better and I haven't caught a cold since I started doing twice daily saline nasal rinses. It washes out the pollen, mold, germs, whatever so they have less effect on the system.

doobabe

If you can get the honey with bee pollen in it, like some of my local sellers sell it, it's even more effective. Also consider getting a nasal rinse. My allergies are better and I haven't caught a cold since I started doing twice daily saline nasal rinses. It washes out the pollen, mold, germs, whatever so they have less effect on the system.

No rinse for me- I cant do it! I have tried- but choke every time lol I guess I am not coordinated enough for the process!

Better_Balance_2011

I have had allergies since I was a kid and live in one of the worst allergy capitals of the country in the Ohio Valley. This past year I have started eating almost exclusively local beef/buffalo. About a month into spring it hit me - I hadn't had allergies at all! Same concept I presume - the buffalo feed on local grass, etc. and therefore by eating them I am ingesting pollens that my body over time got used to throughout the winter. I hear honey is great too, but I think there may be other options. Good luck!

doobabe

I have had allergies since I was a kid and live in one of the worst allergy capitals of the country in the Ohio Valley. This past year I have started eating almost exclusively local beef/buffalo. About a month into spring it hit me - I hadn't had allergies at all! Same concept I presume - the buffalo feed on local grass, etc. and therefore by eating them I am ingesting pollens that my body over time got used to throughout the winter. I hear honey is great too, but I think there may be other options. Good luck!

No buffalo for me- I am a vegetarian lol But thatnks for the info- makes a person wonder what options are really out there!