Have you read this or heard this before? Consuming raw honey to treat seasonal allergies? I have heard and read it many times but just in case you haven’t… consuming raw honey is a natural remedy that people try before going the medicinal route.

My husband has terrible seasonal allergies or he did anyway. Until I researched to see if I could do something to alleviate the constant sneezing, red, and watery eyes that come with each seasonal change.

Raw Honey.

To prevent seasonal allergies consume raw honey. The idea is that ingesting honey from locally sourced bee hives will desensitize ones body so that seasonal pollen changes does not induce seasonal allergies.

(It is important to remember that honey should not be given to children under 1 yrs of age, as it can cause Infant botulism.This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.)

But does it work or is it an old wives tale?

This is what I always have to know. Not because my neighbor’s second cousin’s friend tried it but scientifically does it actually work?

Initially I found that several credible resources came to this conclusion: “Only a few studies have looked at the effects of honey on seasonal allergy symptoms, and there is no convincing scientific evidence that honey provides symptom relief.” (NIH)

But I still wondered how the research was conducted and why each study reached the conclusion that it did.

If the study was broad and didn’t narrow down the criteria than the results were either inconclusive or showed no changes.  In this study conducted by the University of Connecticut Health Center’s Lowell P. Weicker General Clinical Research Center, “The cohort was randomly assigned to one of three groups, with one receiving locally collected, unpasteurized, unfiltered honey, the second nationally collected, filtered, and pasteurized honey, and the third, corn syrup with synthetic honey flavoring. They were asked to consume one tablespoonful a day of the honey or substitute and to follow their usual standard care for the management of their symptoms. Neither honey group experienced relief from their symptoms in excess of that seen in the placebo group.”(PubMed)

While it seems that this criteria is narrow enough, it actually isn’t…

What it failed to test is individual dosaging based off of body weight and raw locally sourced honey specific to the persons type of pollen allergy. 

Searching further and I found this…

In one study subjects were recruited from an otolaryngology clinic in 2 tertiary referral centres in the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

“This case group ingested 1 g/kg body weight of honey daily in separate doses for the 4-week period. Those patients who ingested a regular daily high dose of honey exhibited significant alleviation of their overall symptoms, as shown by the improvement in the mean total symptom score. The case subjects also showed a progressive, steady improvement in their overall mean symptom score throughout the study period from week 0 to week 8.”(ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

What about allergen specific honey?

“In this study, Forty-four patients (59% female, mean age 33 years) with physician-diagnosed birch pollen allergy consumed either BPH or RH daily in incremental amounts from November 2008 to March 2009.

Patients who preseasonally used Birch pollen honey had significantly better control of their symptoms than did those on conventional medication only, and they had marginally better control compared to those on raw honey.(PubMed)”

While it seems with some of the research that is available honey isn’t effective against seasonal allergies. However, studies that narrowed it down to raw honey specific to ones allergen or used 1 gm per kilogram for dosaging had significantly improved allergy symptoms.

My own experience?

I used a copious amount of raw unfiltered local honey in my family meals and drinks before allergy season hit.

No seasonal allergies.

However, if you know the seasonal allergy is pollen related and know the specific type of pollen that causes allergy symptoms. Then research supports improved symptoms when using allergen specific raw honey and proper dosaging.

If you’re trying to figure the dosaging out at home it would look like this: Weight divided by 2.2 divided by volume/gram.

Do you use raw honey to treat seasonal allergies? If so, do you find that it works? If not, have you tried using pollen allergen specific honey or proper dosaging?