For someone who suffers with allergies, the joy that should accompany the arrival of spring and summer can be missing. Rather than playing in the sunshine and reveling in the return of grass and leaves to trees, allergy sufferers may spend their warmer months retreating indoors to hide from an array of allergens that are mixed into every warm and balmy breeze. Watery itchy eyes, scratchy throat, runny nose and headaches are just a few of the seasonal allergy symptoms that may plague the chronic allergy sufferer.
The majority of people will wind up turning to a bottle of antihistamines to control their symptoms, but are drugs the best – or even the only – option? Before reaching for a bottle of Sudafed, how about revving up your immune system for an extra boost of protection? Eating plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains provides your body with vitamins and antioxidants, which help your body to fight off allergens and seasonal illnesses. Additionally, avoiding sugar can help to give your body a boost, as too much sugar can cause you to feel fatigued and lethargic, as well as interfere with some of those vitamins and much-needed nutrients your body needs in order to perform at its best. But does that mean you can’t have anything sweet when that sweet tooth strikes? Not at all. Actually, new studies suggest an extra sweet remedy to help build immunity to local allergens: honey.
Honey has touted immunity-boosting properties for years. Now local honey is being given new attention as a healthy way to build up a resistance to local allergens. Local honey, in theory, works like a vaccine; with vaccines, your body is exposed to low doses of a dead virus so that it will build a resistance to the disease, whereas with honey, the bits of pollen and plant particles from local plants can build a resistance to the allergens. Thanks to the bees that work hard harvesting nectar from all the plants that are blooming, their honey can provide a natural way to combat those pesky allergies while giving your taste buds a yummy treat!
Sadly, finding the right kind of honey is a little trickier than simply heading to your local grocery store and hitting the honey aisle. First, it must be unfiltered and unprocessed honey. In other words it should still be 100% all natural honey. Second, it must be local honey. While the honey on your supermarket shelf may have pollen and allergens in it, they are likely from other geographic regions and your body will be working to build a resistance to plants and trees that you may never see or smell.
For the best results in building your immune system against local allergens, look for local honey in your natural food stores – or even better, at a local farmers market. Ask questions about the honey, such as “where it is harvested” and “is it put through any processes?” Once you find a great local honey, you can go home with the sweet reward of a delicious and healthy way to combat allergies. Who knew fighting allergies could be so sweet?
Why Is Honey Believed to Help Allergies?
The idea behind honey treating allergies is similar to that of a person getting allergy shots. But although it has been shown that allergy vaccines are effective, honey does not. When a person eats local honey, it is believed that he is ingesting local pollen. Over time, a person can become less sensitive to this pollen. As a result, they may experience less seasonal allergy symptoms.
It is true that bees pollinate flowers and make honey. However, it is believed that the amounts of pollen from the environment and the plants are very small and diverse. When a person eats local honey, they are not guaranteed the amount (if any) of pollen they are exposed to. This differs from allergy vaccines that intentionally desensitize a person to pollen in standard measures.
Benefits of Honey for Allergies:
- Anti-Inflammitory Remedy
An allergic reaction is the body’s histamine response kicking into gear to rid the body of allergens (pollen, dust, and so on). This causes the blood vessels to swell up, allowing your body’s white blood cells to move more quickly through your system. While this process is certainly efficient, the downside is that your nose turns red and drips nonstop, your eyes swell and water, and you sneeze far more often than is normal. Raw honey is a natural anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory, which means it’ll go to work to reduce the swelling, itchiness, redness, and other reactions your body is having.
- Pain Relief
With the anti-inflammatory response comes pain, especially when your nose is raw after blowing it so much! You can add some honey to your tea, or you can treat it like a facial mask and apply it directly to the area that’s inflamed. It will reduce the swelling and redness, and calm down the pain receptors that are bugging you.
- Increased Nutrients
When your body is feeling down, the best thing you can do for it is consume foods and drinks packed with antioxidants and nutrients. Raw honey that hasn’t been pasteurized or processed still contains pollen and propolis, which contribute to its nutritional value. Additionally, the bifidobacteria is preserved. Bifidobacteria is a probiotic that improves digestion and boosts immunity in addition to its allergy relief properties.
- Respritory Relief
One of the most apparent symptoms of allergies is frequent coughing and sneezing. As you can see already, raw honey is great for soothing the pain and inflammation associated with coughing. But a recent study published by Pediatrics found evidence that pure raw honey all by itself is enough to suppress coughing, and allowed the participants in the study to sleep better.
When you need allergy relief, Raw honey could provide some much-needed relief. Be certain that you’re only using a pure form of honey rather than a store-bought brand that might not even be honey at all. Consuming it by itself, rather than mixing with tea, gives you a more potent dose.