Allergens are everywhere and are specific to each region of the country. When I lived in NY I never had any allergies but living in GA for the past 4 years has provided me with more than enough exposure to many highly allergenic types of pollen. Down here we see something every year called the "yellow death". Its when the pine pollen blooms and covers everything in sight. Seriously, this yellow pollen coats my front porch, my driveway, my back deck and any cars that may be parked on the street. The yellow death lasts for about a week and is unavoidable. However, that pollen is not as highly allergenic as some of the others that bloom simultaneously (birch, oak, sweet gum and sycamore). Atlanta is one of the cities where allergies run rampant due to the thick flora in the city. Atlanta has more trees than almost any other major American city and its even sometimes called the city of trees.
I can tell when my allergies are starting up because I feel like I am getting sick only I never do. My eyes get itchy and my nose becomes stuffed up and itchy, sometimes a cough presents too. Its extremely uncomfortable and I can understand why people run to the pharmacy to get relief. But there really is no need to. A teaspoon full of honey a day can help ease your allergies and keep you away from pharmaceuticals.
My friend who owns the host house for our farm coop is also a bee keeper. She harvests local raw honey every year. I never knew about the powerful effects that honey can have on allergies until I did some research. We know that bees (and the wind) are essential for keeping our flowers, plants and trees naturally repopulating. Without honey bees many species of plants would simply become extinct. In fact we are seeing a mysterious decrease in the world's honey bee population that can not be explained (this is another story entirely - and a scary one at that!). These little bees take with them microscopic pieces of the pollen they are transporting from one tree to another and it becomes a part of the honey they produce. Honey has strong immune boosting properties due to all the natural allergens it contains. It may seem odd that straight exposure to pollen often triggers allergies but that exposure to pollen in the honey usually has the opposite effect. But this is typically what we see. In honey the allergens are delivered in small, manageable doses and the effect over time is very much like that from undergoing a whole series of allergy immunology injections. The major difference though is that the honey is a lot easier to take and it is certainly a lot less expensive.
The best way to see results is to go out and buy local raw honey. It must be raw and it must be local. The reason being is that local honey will contain the specific pollens that are in your area and will boost your immune system to protect itself from those very allergens! You may be asking, how local is local? Well, as close as you can get. I am lucky to have a bee keeper friend less than 2 miles from my house. But if you can get honey from less than 50 miles away, you should be OK. Raw, local honey will most likely be sold at your farmers market.
I am taking a teaspoonful a day now in preparation for fall allergies. The key is to preempt the allergy season to build up your immune system. Try it out and see what happens, I bet you will wind up throwing out your Claritin, Zyrtec and Allegra and saving money while you do it!!
I can tell when my allergies are starting up because I feel like I am getting sick only I never do. My eyes get itchy and my nose becomes stuffed up and itchy, sometimes a cough presents too. Its extremely uncomfortable and I can understand why people run to the pharmacy to get relief. But there really is no need to. A teaspoon full of honey a day can help ease your allergies and keep you away from pharmaceuticals.
My friend who owns the host house for our farm coop is also a bee keeper. She harvests local raw honey every year. I never knew about the powerful effects that honey can have on allergies until I did some research. We know that bees (and the wind) are essential for keeping our flowers, plants and trees naturally repopulating. Without honey bees many species of plants would simply become extinct. In fact we are seeing a mysterious decrease in the world's honey bee population that can not be explained (this is another story entirely - and a scary one at that!). These little bees take with them microscopic pieces of the pollen they are transporting from one tree to another and it becomes a part of the honey they produce. Honey has strong immune boosting properties due to all the natural allergens it contains. It may seem odd that straight exposure to pollen often triggers allergies but that exposure to pollen in the honey usually has the opposite effect. But this is typically what we see. In honey the allergens are delivered in small, manageable doses and the effect over time is very much like that from undergoing a whole series of allergy immunology injections. The major difference though is that the honey is a lot easier to take and it is certainly a lot less expensive.
The best way to see results is to go out and buy local raw honey. It must be raw and it must be local. The reason being is that local honey will contain the specific pollens that are in your area and will boost your immune system to protect itself from those very allergens! You may be asking, how local is local? Well, as close as you can get. I am lucky to have a bee keeper friend less than 2 miles from my house. But if you can get honey from less than 50 miles away, you should be OK. Raw, local honey will most likely be sold at your farmers market.
I am taking a teaspoonful a day now in preparation for fall allergies. The key is to preempt the allergy season to build up your immune system. Try it out and see what happens, I bet you will wind up throwing out your Claritin, Zyrtec and Allegra and saving money while you do it!!
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