Supporters Swear by Local Honey for Allergy Relief

Some Swear by Honey's Medicinal Qualities
By Melody Brumble, Shreveport Times, 7/1/2010

Natural foods supporters swear by local honey for allergy relief despite a lack of research-backed evidence.

"The bees get a little pollen from the local flowers on the hairs on their legs, and it gets in the honey," said R.D. Trichel, who's kept bees in the Shreveport area since the 1970s.

The theory goes that the pollen acts a little like a vaccination by triggering a mild immune system response. Repeated exposure to the allergy-causing substance by eating a little honey every day helps a person suffer less during allergy season.

The key is getting honey made by bees that feed from the same plants where you live. Honey available at chain stores could come from hundreds of miles away or even from another country.

"It needs to be honey from a 20-mile radius," said Don Sorrells, who owns Westdale Honey Farm with his wife, Fran Sorrells…

There's little research into honey as an allergy cure. Xavier University students conducted a limited trial among volunteers in New Orleans in 2003. They found that some participants reported improved allergy symptoms after getting local honey for six weeks…