Nature’s Local Weapon Against Allergies
By Katie Del Balzo
Health and Wellness Editor, MavenMag
I am a winter person, and I positively loathe the coming of spring. Give me the cold, blistery weather, layer me up with coats, scarves, and sweaters, and let it snow. Let the snow cover the ground, freeze the vegetation, put all living things into desolate hibernation. Even though winter can be pretty depressing, I love, love, love it.
Spring is beautiful, yes. Birds singing, flowers blooming, warm weather. But spring is also the time that the bees start stirring, and they start feasting on the pollen of flowers. It might be nice for the bees (and the flowers!), but it’s murder for me. My throat develops that irritating scratch, you know the one, where you can’t really tell if you need to scratch your throat, the back of your nose, or your ears, so you scratch them all and the irritation worsens? Yeah, that one. I want to kill that one. My eyes also react to allergies: they become red with irritation, itchy because of the floating pollen particles and start to feel thick and hazy. Gross. I’m usually firmly against pill-popping, but when it comes to these sickening symptoms, my opinions on chemically-based medications go right out the window. Damn flowers.
This year, however, I might be lucky. This year, I learned something new and something natural; something that might change the way I approach allergies forever. This year, my medication is going to be coming straight from the source of all my pain. This year, I’ll be seeking the benefits of local honey.
It makes sense, when you think about it. The bees get the pollen from the flowers (damn flowers), and what do they do with it? First they spread the pollen around and then they go back to the comb to make honey. Honey! It’s natural, it’s sweet, it’s abundant, and it’s normal food; no chemicals added. And, since the bees use those same ingredients that irk me from the neck up, it seems like honey would make a great answer to the allergy problem. Taking honey instead of medicine is unique approach to allergies – and it sure seems to make a lot of sense.
The catch? Honey is great for your allergies, yes, but there’s a stipulation: it has to be local honey. You can’t go into the grocery store, buy some Brazilian honey and expect it to fix your allergies. The honey that you use has to be made in the area; that way, you can guarantee that the flowers around you (i.e., the flowers that are affecting your allergies) are the ones that were used to make the honey. Otherwise, it’s just honey, and it won’t give you any of the allergy relief that you seek. Look on the back of the bottles at the grocery store and you can see where the different brands of honey are made. This will give you an idea of whether the bottle in your hand is local or not.
If you are looking for local honey that might be able to kick your seasonal allergies, I suggest going straight to the source: the honey farms that are near you. The Worcester Honey Farm is a honey farm in Lansdale that you may want to consider, or you can always look for the farms closest to you by visiting Local Food Philly.
When you do find a honey that you like, just a couple of spoonfuls a week should be able to give you some relief. The amount of honey you will need varies from person to person – I know some people that take two spoons a week, while some take two spoons a day. Depending on the severity of your allergies and the the season, you can alter the amount that you take to suit you. The good thing is that it’s a natural product – an extra spoonful is not going to hurt you. So go ahead, find some local honey, get out a tablespoon from the drawer, and toss the old allergy medicines in the trash. Hopefully your allergies will take a step back this season by working with the bees and the flowers instead of against them. Go ahead. Love the flowers again.
Health and Wellness Editor, MavenMag
I am a winter person, and I positively loathe the coming of spring. Give me the cold, blistery weather, layer me up with coats, scarves, and sweaters, and let it snow. Let the snow cover the ground, freeze the vegetation, put all living things into desolate hibernation. Even though winter can be pretty depressing, I love, love, love it.
Spring is beautiful, yes. Birds singing, flowers blooming, warm weather. But spring is also the time that the bees start stirring, and they start feasting on the pollen of flowers. It might be nice for the bees (and the flowers!), but it’s murder for me. My throat develops that irritating scratch, you know the one, where you can’t really tell if you need to scratch your throat, the back of your nose, or your ears, so you scratch them all and the irritation worsens? Yeah, that one. I want to kill that one. My eyes also react to allergies: they become red with irritation, itchy because of the floating pollen particles and start to feel thick and hazy. Gross. I’m usually firmly against pill-popping, but when it comes to these sickening symptoms, my opinions on chemically-based medications go right out the window. Damn flowers.This year, however, I might be lucky. This year, I learned something new and something natural; something that might change the way I approach allergies forever. This year, my medication is going to be coming straight from the source of all my pain. This year, I’ll be seeking the benefits of local honey.
It makes sense, when you think about it. The bees get the pollen from the flowers (damn flowers), and what do they do with it? First they spread the pollen around and then they go back to the comb to make honey. Honey! It’s natural, it’s sweet, it’s abundant, and it’s normal food; no chemicals added. And, since the bees use those same ingredients that irk me from the neck up, it seems like honey would make a great answer to the allergy problem. Taking honey instead of medicine is unique approach to allergies – and it sure seems to make a lot of sense.
The catch? Honey is great for your allergies, yes, but there’s a stipulation: it has to be local honey. You can’t go into the grocery store, buy some Brazilian honey and expect it to fix your allergies. The honey that you use has to be made in the area; that way, you can guarantee that the flowers around you (i.e., the flowers that are affecting your allergies) are the ones that were used to make the honey. Otherwise, it’s just honey, and it won’t give you any of the allergy relief that you seek. Look on the back of the bottles at the grocery store and you can see where the different brands of honey are made. This will give you an idea of whether the bottle in your hand is local or not.
If you are looking for local honey that might be able to kick your seasonal allergies, I suggest going straight to the source: the honey farms that are near you. The Worcester Honey Farm is a honey farm in Lansdale that you may want to consider, or you can always look for the farms closest to you by visiting Local Food Philly.
When you do find a honey that you like, just a couple of spoonfuls a week should be able to give you some relief. The amount of honey you will need varies from person to person – I know some people that take two spoons a week, while some take two spoons a day. Depending on the severity of your allergies and the the season, you can alter the amount that you take to suit you. The good thing is that it’s a natural product – an extra spoonful is not going to hurt you. So go ahead, find some local honey, get out a tablespoon from the drawer, and toss the old allergy medicines in the trash. Hopefully your allergies will take a step back this season by working with the bees and the flowers instead of against them. Go ahead. Love the flowers again.
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