Honey Recommended for Allergies

Of Bees and Caterpillars
The New York Times, 1/5/2009

To the Editor:

As a beekeeper, I was drawn to “The Buzz of Bees, though Benign, Halts Caterpillars’ Munching” (Observatory, Dec. 30) and pleased to learn of another benefit of the remarkable honeybee. From there my eye descended to the item on “Tormenting Pollens.” There is an important connection. Honey is the perfect antidote to those pollens. In much of the world, it is understood that a teaspoon of local honey daily can immunize sufferers from the bothersome sneezing, runny nose and weeping eyes. It is yet another way in which the honeybee and her products are a boon to humans.

Christine Lehner
Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.