Are you prone to allergies? Are you aware of the goodness of honey for allergies? Well, if you have answered a yes for both, this post may be of help.
Honey has many therapeutic qualities. But, can honey treat allergies? Read this post to get the answers!
Some researchers suggest the consumption of honey reduces the risk of developing allergies, especially if the honey is unprocessed. Bees visit many flowers and pick up many allergens. The theory suggests that these traces of allergens in honey act like vaccines and induce micro bodies to prevent allergies.
Honey as an anti-allergen sounds delicious! However, theories like the ones above do not successfully prove that this tasty treat can help cure allergies. Scientific study, to support the concept, remains inconclusive.
Researchers from the University of Connecticut conducted a study to test honey as an ‘allergy vaccine’. It involved 36 volunteers, all of whom had ‘allergic rhinoconjunctivitis’, a seasonal nasal allergy. The researchers made three groups of a dozen volunteers each. The first consumed unprocessed, homemade honey, while the second had filtered and processed honey. The third group had artificially flavored corn syrup believing it was honey. The next ten days, every participant had a tablespoon of honey and carried equipment to track symptoms, taking medications as required.
The volunteers experienced no significant changes, and the research team wasn’t able to identify any improvement in the first group. The study concluded that honey did not effectively reduce allergy symptoms as the first groups’ medical reports were identical to the corn syrup group.
In another study by Finnish researchers, patients with known birch pollen allergies consumed pollen-fortified honey with birch pollen. They consumed the fortified honey daily for 150 days prior to the pollen season. The results showed that patients, who consumed the fortified honey, had 60% lower symptom scores than people who did not consume the pollen-laced honey.
The research indicated that while the pollen-induced honey helped reduce allergic symptoms, it could not conclude whether unprocessed honey could offer the same benefits. Thus, the role of using honey for allergy relief remains shrouded in mystery.
Honey has many medicinal uses and is a regular ingredient in the kitchen. It may not ease allergies. Although it contains many antibacterial and antimicrobial compounds that can help treat a myriad of afflictions.
While honey may be a super ingredient that has many uses and benefits, babies less than one year old shouldn’t be fed with honey. This is because there are chances of the infant contracting botulism or food poisoning because of spores in honey. The spores may grow in the intestinal tract to release a toxin that can prove fatal for a baby.
So, can local honey help with allergies?
Well, as we have seen, the answer is no. Usually, the air-borne pollen causes seasonal allergy. The pollen carried by bees does not contain the allergy inducing toxins. Thus, even unprocessed honey might not contain the pollen needed for the mooted vaccination.
Bees usually don’t collect flower pollen. They carry tree pollen and grass pollen along with mold spores, contaminants and diesel particles back to their hives. Bees usually can’t make honey from only one source of pollen (1).
We hope that reading this article has helped you answer this question. Honey has many uses, it tastes good, it helps soften the hair and it even helps treat cystic acne, but it cannot help you treat allergies.
Like and share this information with your friends and family. Please tell us if you have any corrections or suggestions. Leave a comment below.