"There's no evidence that local honey relieves allergy symptoms." from NYTimes

[BeeCurious]

Does anyone know of other studies?

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/05/10...h/10really.xml

[Adam Foster Collins]

I never really heard much about local honey "curing" allergies anyway. I've heard that pollen supplements can help...

But "evidence" that defies any scientific scrutiny can be a very long time coming. I wonder what others have found in their own experience?

Adam

[NasalSponge]

I have a friend that has been eating a spoonful of local honey a day for decades and swears it "cured" his allergies, I have no reason to believe he is making that up. Have been thinking about giving it a go myself.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

So unrefined honey has pollen, but honey does not work and pollen supplements do?

[Bsweet]

Well my sister inlaw had to have allergy shots every year, since she has been eating my local RAW,UNFILTERED honey she has not had to have any in the past year. But thats a shallow case study and not very scientific

[Bsweet]

The link won't work for me(might be my lap top)but who paid for the study?
Drug companies don't want anything to work if they can't patent it.

[snapper1d]

In the 30 years I have keep bees and eat the honey it has doesnt done a thing for my allergies at all.When I first heard about this I started eating the honey according to the bloom times and used the honey from the exact year before to be sure I got the same as what was blooming and I cant see any difference.But I will still keep trying!!! Love honey with everything I eat!!!!

[BeeCurious]

Some years back, I heard Dewey Caron say that human's digestive system can not break down the outer shell of pollen grains. And therefore, ingesting pollen had no effect...

[TIMER]

I'm not so sure I believe some of these scientists. The last paragraph in that article does not make a lot of sense to me. I thought the bees used pollen from just about all sources.
I don't trust much from the NYT anyway.

[Acebird]

There's no evidence that local honey relieves allergy symptoms.

So if a reporter make a comment like this it must be true?

If you are an allergy sufferer and you get relief you are going to stop eating honey because of this article? I don't think so.

[megank]

Some years back, I heard Dewey Caron say that human's digestive system can not break down the outer shell of pollen grains. And therefore, ingesting pollen had no effect...

True, but it's the protein coat of the pollen that triggers an immune response...NOT the genetic material inside the capsule

[bluegrass]

If your selling honey and your customers believe it cures their ailments what is the problem? Just don't advertise it as a cure and let them buy if for whatever reason they want to.
Personally I don't think there is enough pollen in a teaspoon of honey to have any effect, if I could figure out a method to measure the pollen content of honey I would bet a teaspoon has less then .1 mcg of pollen in it.

It is not unheard of for people to outgrow an allergy. I used to extremely allergic to shellfish, but accidentally ate some crab a couple of years ago and had no reaction, I have since tried clams, oysters and shrimp which in the past would send me to the emergency room and have had no reaction to it.

[Katharina]

I see it this way it is worse a try and honey cost way less then those allergy shots. It's great if it work, and not much of a loss if it doesn't. Plus the health industry doesn't want people to experiment, because they loose money for the facility they are working for and they worry that a bad advise can harm a person which in return can mean law suit. Here is an example I know quite well. Chicken eggs can cause an reaction in some people, so the doctors tell them to avoid eggs. Wrong answer, because someone who may be allergic to chicken eggs can quite often eat quail or duck eggs instead. I know people who haven't had eggs in a decade, because they thought they could not eat them. I gave them duck eggs and told them to take it to their allergy clinic and have them test this egg on them. They usually do a skin test. If fine then the patient can eat a small amount the see what happens. That simple. Here is something I've personally encountered. It is not an allergy thing but a knee issue I have. My knee caps are damaged from a hiking accident I had 15 years ago. The only option several doctors gave me is cortisone injections. They work great, but do not last long. I googled and searched the internet and hit a supplement called hyaluronic acid. Many users claimed that 100mg per day of this worked wonders for them. So I ordered it from Amazon and sure enough 2 weeks later I was so much better. Now it is 4 months later and I'm hiking again. Sure not big hikes and 4 miles is usually my limit, but my knees were so bad that I could not even walk 5 minutes. Now I'm going without those 280 dollar injections that only last 2-3 months in my body. So don't always listen to the industry or those that are suppose to be on top of things. Have an open mind and give it at least a try.

[RiodeLobo]

It should be cautioned that even small amounts of allergens can cause severe reactions in some people. The incidence is very low, but the consequences can be great.

[NasalSponge]

humans digestive system can not break down the outer shell of pollen grains. And therefore, ingesting pollen had no effect...

SSHHHH....my customers might hear you.

[Katharina]

That's why I tell my duck egg customer, that are allergic to chicken eggs, to take it to the allergy clinic. Any doctor will test you on a particular allergen, if you bring it in. It is a safe way of testing before trying. Our local clinic has gotten so many egg people with our duck eggs that they now recommend to test those with chicken eggs on our duck eggs. It has become a very positive thing in our community. On of the workers told us that about 90 are fine with our duck eggs. That is much higher then I thought it will be. Anyway I do not tell anyone to test themselves by eating first. That would be playing Russian roulette in my point of view.

[Acebird]

That's why I tell my duck egg customer, that are allergic to chicken eggs,

Maybe...

Your customers might not be allergic to chicken eggs if they don't come from a factory bird.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

If you want to know the pollen in your honey contact Dr. Vaughn Bryant. Dr. Vaughn Bryant is a professor of anthropology at Texas A&M University and the founder of the Texas A&M Palynology Laboratory. Dr. Bryant is internationally known for his research in forensic pollen analysis, prehistoric diet reconstruction, honey research, and in the reconstruction of paleoenvironments. Dr. Bryant pioneered efforts in three new and emerging areas of pollen research including: 1) the floral sources used by honeybees to produce honey and techniques used to identify the geographical origin of commercially-imported and exported honey; 2) the use of pollen data to track and help eradicate agricultural insect pests such as the boll weevil, corn earworm, root worm, and celery looper

[okaive]

Thats it, I am getting rid of all my hives now. They are no use to me if I cannot get rid of these allergies.

[David LaFerney]

Real scientific studies cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to perform. Nowadays they are usually paid for by pharmaceutical companies to prove the safety and effectiveness of the products that they hope to make lots of money from. Now why would anyone other than us spend the money to prove that local honey has any positive health effects whatsoever? Anybody want to start a fund?

On the other hand the anecdotal evidence that comes from many people reporting that local honey seems to have helped them actually is valid evidence. It just isn't scientific proof. I think it has helped me. Something sure has.

Also - the reported study spanned only a few months - The effect (if any) may just take longer than that to be measurable.