Fighting Allergies with Local Bee Honey

My wife and two of my children are certified North Carolina beekeepers and we have several hives out in our yard.  While we do not produce enough honey to start a business (we spend more than we bring in), we do harvest fifteen to twenty gallons of honey each year.   This is enough both for our own use and to meet the needs of our friends who have (or have had) severe allergies.

What’s this about severe allergies?

The use of “local honey” to boost the immune system, helping the body in fighting allergies, is well understood but not necessarily wide spread information.  Here’s how it works.

The pollen of some plants contains allergens, and prolonged exposure to these allergens can cause people to be allergic to these particular plants.

As local honey bees gather the pollen, this will cause the bees to produce honey that contains small traces of the pollen, which means that the honey has small amounts of the allergens as well.

Why would small amounts of the allergens help your immune system fight that particular allergy?  I don’t pretend to know the physiology behind it, but allergy shots do the same thing.  Allergy shots contain trace amounts of the allergens that cause the allergies.  Introducing these allergens into the body in small amounts helps the body build up an immunity to those allergens.

This can be particularly effective if the individual fighting the allergies begins ingesting the local honey several months before the associated pollen is found in nature.

How local is local?  Ideally, the person suffering from allergies should eat honey that is produced by bees in the same neighborhood or town or county, the closer the better.

Local honey is generally available at local farmer markets.  Check online and in newspaper listings if you are having trouble finding local honey.  Many state counties have beekeeper associations who would be able to help you find honey as well.  Check with your local county extension agency.

How much honey is needed?  This varies from individual to individual, but it appears that a couple of teaspoons of honey each day may do the trick.  Your mileage may vary.

Do I have evidence that it works?  You bet.  A good friend of ours buys four gallons of honey from us each year.  He used to suffer from severe allergies to such a degree that he could not sit outside on his porch at night.  As an experiment, he started adding a couple tablespoons of honey to his cereal every morning.  In less than a year, his allergies — for the first time in his life — were all but gone.

Eating a little honey each day is certainly more cost effective and much more pleasant than having allergy shots!  If you are suffering from allergies that are pollen induced, this is certainly worth a try!