Can a spoonful of honey keep seasonal allergies at bay?

More people are searching for natural remedies to seasonal allergies, such as honey, to try and alleviate those pesky coughs, sneezes, and sniffles. But why are allergy sufferers flocking toward this natural sweetener?

A nutrient-rich substance made to nourish bee colonies, humans have been harvesting honey for millennia. Many ancient cultures assigned myth and magic to the sugary treat’s wound-healing properties, and today, the syrup is a well-known balm against a sore throat.

There are many other reasons why people champion honey as a solution to their physical issues—for one, many assume that since it originates from local flora, it can strengthen the immune system against allergies. 

Yet the actual role honey plays in bolstering the body’s natural defenses against allergies and other immune illnesses is still relatively unclear. 

“There's not really great evidence to suggest that local honey can help seasonal allergies,” says Priya Katari, a pediatric allergist and immunologist at Weill Cornell Medicine. “What evidence exists now really doesn't back up the claims.” Still, honey has other, proven health benefits—if you’re getting the right kind of honey. Here’s what to know.

Honey and allergies

The idea that honey can be used to ward off seasonal ailments probably comes from the concept behind immunotherapy, which involves introducing very small amounts of an allergen over a prolonged period to aid an individual’s immune system in tolerating it. 

In theory, consuming honey to relieve allergies seems like a plausible one. Unfortunately, pollen that typically causes seasonal allergies are wind-based, meaning it comes from trees, grass, or wheat, whereas bee’s honey is made from pollen gathered from brightly-colored flowers—which doesn’t contribute much to allergens in the air. Because of this distinction, it’s unlikely that pollens found in local honey would lead to tolerance, says Katari.

Much of the current scientific consensus is that there hasn’t yet been enough research done to definitively make the claim that honey can combat allergic reactions. There also isn’t a scientifically recommended amount to eat per day either, as the quantity of pollen in one serving size of honey often varies as well. This means even if the honey did work, mass-produced bottles may not even reflect the sorts of allergens in your local environment. 

That said, individuals may have better luck wrangling their allergies by seeking over-the-counter or doctor-approved medicines.  

“People really want a natural remedy for things, but I wish more people knew that the medications that we prescribe for allergies are generally very safe, including for children, and well-tolerated,” she says. “Sometimes natural remedies can be more dangerous and less effective than the treatments we prescribe.”

Babies less than a year old, for instance, shouldn’t be given honey, as it could contain bacteria called Clostridium that  is associated with infant botulism. which can cause muscle weakness and trouble breathing. Other natural supplements like ginkgo and turmeric can increase the risk of  bleeding, says Katari.

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The lesser-known benefits of honey

Although you shouldn’t rely on honey alone to ease your allergies, there is growing interest in its potential applications in modern medicine. 

Ferhat Ozturk, an associate professor of instruction at The University of Texas at San Antonio whose research involves studying the medicinal benefits of honey, says that it is not just a food, but a nutritious pharmaceutical agent. 

“Honey was medicine for thousands of years,” he says. “But with the advent of antibiotics and other modern medicine, honey has been put aside for a couple of decades.” 

Used topically, honey can treat burns by hastening wound contractions, and has reportedly been used as a complementary mouth sore aid for cancer patients going through chemotherapy. 

When ingested, the substance has been shown to have important properties for tempering gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, and colitis. Because of these therapeutic uses, researchers also plan to test potential uses of other bee byproducts (like royal jelly, propolis, beeswax) in various clinical trials. 

Most of these healing effects stem directly from honey’s antimicrobial and antioxidant potential, says Ozturk. When honey bees collect nectar from plants, they also pick up chemicals the plants produce to protect themselves from pathogens, natural compounds like phenolics, flavonoids and tannins which can have anti-aging, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects on the human body.

“Honey is helping our body to fight naturally with its own power,” says Ozturk. These same curative chemicals are why plants tend to cut down certain incidents of chronic illness, including diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. 

That said, not every honey on the market is created equal. “There's at least five times more antimicrobial potential in local beekeeper honey when compared to store honey,” he says. 

One honey in particular—Manuka honey from New Zealand—is considered to be one of the best antimicrobial honey agents, says Scott McArt, an associate professor of entomology at Cornell University. This is due in part to the product’s uniquely high levels of alkaloids, specifically one called methylglyoxal (MGO), a major antibacterial compound that makes it a top medical-grade substance. 

Although many individuals consume this expensive honey for its health benefits, “The scientific evidence that consuming high-MGO Manuka honey provides health benefits to humans is currently not quite as strong as its clear benefits for wound treatment,” says McArt. 

Given the amount of people who swear by honey as a complete panacea, it’s doubtful that rumors about its potential health applications will ever subside. 

But if you do plan to hunker down with a delicious jar of honey during your next sick day, Ozturk suggests sourcing honey collected by local beekeepers, both for the potential health benefits and to learn more about what nature's hardest workers have to offer. 

“Honey is something out there that has provided [a] benefit for almost every civilization on earth for thousands of years,” Ozturk says. “So there is a lot to study about honey.”