Many of my customers ask me about honey and hay fever. They often say they have heard that you should eat local honey to help alleviate hayfever symptoms. Is there any truth in this or is it just an old wife’s tale? Well, to be perfectly honest, it’s a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no. So, let’s take a nose dive, (pardon the pun…), and explore the subject of honey and seasonal allergies a bit more in depth…

We are dealing here with two different hypothesis. The first one is that taking honey regularly throughout the year can help you build up immunity to pollen so that your body can cope better when hay fever season begins. The second hypothesis is that honey can be taken to alleviate the symptoms of hayfever: to soothe itchy throats, coughs etc. I will try to discuss both with the aim to give an understanding of the subject including results of scientific studies as well as anecdotal evidence. It is important to note that this article is a discussion and information piece, and is not intended to provide medical advice. Individuals with hay fever should seek professional healthcare advice for treatment options.

Let’s begin!

Hypothesis 1: Taking local honey regularly can help build the body’s immune responses to pollen

Our first point of exploration is the hypothesis that repeated consumption of local honey could potentially reduce the severity of hay fever over time. This idea stems from the belief that consuming honey, which contains local pollen, could help the body acclimatize to these allergens so that the immune system knows how to deal with pollen when hay fever season begins, lessening the symptoms and the allergic reaction.

Understanding Hay Fever

Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis as it’s medically known, is an allergic response to allergens contained in pollen. Symptoms may include a runny nose, congestion, sneezing, coughing, and sinus pressure.

People may also suffer from itchy or puffy eyes, or allergic conjunctivitis, which is an eye inflammation resulting from an allergic reaction to substances like pollen or mould spores. The symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis include red, itchy, watery eyes, a burning feeling in the eyes, a feeling of grittiness, sensitivity to light, swollen eyelids, and puffy eyes in the morning.

Both Allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis are triggered by an allergic reaction to allergens contained in pollen.

The Role of Pollen and Allergies

Pollen, a fine powder produced by plants, plays a crucial role in plant propagation. However, it’s also the main trigger for hay fever symptoms in many people. Studies have shown that approximately one in five people suffer from hay fever, with numbers for children as high as 40%.

The specific type of pollen that triggers allergic reactions varies among individuals, with some reacting to tree pollens like birch and oak in the spring, while others are affected by grasses and weeds in the summer. Many of these plants are wind-pollinated, meaning their pollens are airborne and don’t require bees or other insects for pollination. Interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it is often the windborne pollens that most people are allergic to.

The pollen grains of wind-pollinated flowers are lighter, facilitating their transport by the wind. Conversely, pollen grains of insect-pollinated flowers are often heavier and sticky, enabling insects to carry them with ease. Wind-pollinated flowers often have light-coloured petals and lack a pleasant smell. In contrast, insect-pollinated flowers usually have bright-coloured petals and emit a pleasant fragrance.

Immunotherapy and Desensitisation

Pollen desensitisation, also known as immunotherapy, is a treatment option for severe hay fever. It involves administering regular injections of pollen allergen to ‘reset’ the immune response. Over time, this results in symptom improvement for most individuals. Desensitisation is the practice of administering gradually increasing doses of an allergen extract to reduce the symptoms of hay fever or asthma that it causes.

Can Honey Be Used for Pollen Desensitisation?

This brings us to the question: can honey containing pollen be used for pollen desensitisation to treat hay fever? The answer is not definitive. While there’s a wealth of anecdotal evidence suggesting it can work, scientific evidence has yet to corroborate this. Most studies looking at honey and hay fever have looked at the potential benefits of taking honey to alleviate symptoms of hay fever, not at the potential for using honey as part of a desensitization treatment before the symptoms occur.

The Elephant in the Room: Honey Contains the ‘Wrong’ Types of Pollen…

While local honey will contain local pollen, it often does not contain the types of pollen likely to cause hay fever. This is because bees don’t pollinate grasses and only forage on certain types of trees. Hence, much of the pollen contained in local honey comes from other flowers than the ones which typically cause hay fever. There may be other pollens in there also, but most of the pollen would be from insect pollinated plants and not wind pollinated plants.

Despite the fact that honey contains the ‘wrong’ type of pollen and the scarcity of scientific evidence, many individuals attest to the effectiveness of local honey in preventing and alleviating hay fever symptoms. They believe that consuming a small amount of local honey each day throughout the year can help desensitize you to pollen and alleviate or lessen hay fever symptoms. For instance, some hay fever sufferers have reported a decrease in their symptoms after incorporating local honey into their daily diet.

NB. The effectiveness of honey as a prophylactic treatment for hay fever may depend on several factors, including the specific type of pollen causing the symptoms, the individual’s immune system, and the amount and type of honey consumed. It’s also important to note that not all types of honey are equal in terms of their potential effectiveness for hay fever. Raw, unprocessed honey is thought to be more beneficial than commercial honey, which is often heavily processed (heating and filtering) and may not contain the same levels of pollen.

Hypothesis 2: Honey can help soothe and alleviate the symptoms of Hay fever

The second hypothesis is that honey can help alleviate and soothe symptoms of hay fever for people who suffer from it.

What Does Science Say?

Scientific research into the effectiveness of honey for hay fever is limited. A study conducted at the University of Connecticut found that honey had no impact on hay fever symptoms. Another study found no difference between pasteurised honey, unpasteurised honey, or a corn syrup artificially flavoured to taste like honey in reducing hay fever symptoms. Yet another study showed that ingesting a high dose of honey improves the overall and individual symptoms of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and could serve as a complementary therapy for AR.

It’s noteworthy that only a handful of studies have been conducted on this topic in the last 20 years, leaving a gap in the evidence. Why is there a dearth of research on this topic, despite the abundance of anecdotal evidence? Most medical research is funded by commercial entities, such as pharmaceutical companies. This makes areas with limited commercial value, like local honey, less attractive for funding. Also, as each batch of honey is unique, it is very difficult to carry out tests and to verify results, as all results would be different depending on the nectars and pollen contained in each batch of honey. Consequently, research into the medicinal properties of honey is lacking in resources and research.

However, studies have shown that honey have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, it’s unclear whether these properties are potent enough to effectively treat hay fever symptoms.

Honey is also renowned for its soothing properties and can be used to soothe the throat and reduce coughing, offering relief for those battling hay fever. It is also said that the sugars in honey help increase saliva production which can help lubricate the throat.

Climate Change and Pollen: Making the Situation Worse

Many people say that the hay fever season is getting longer and more intense. Some are attributing this to climate change. A study published in Nature Communications reveals that warmer end-of-century temperatures could shift the start of spring pollen emissions 10–40 days earlier and summer/fall weeds and grasses 5–15 days later, effectively lengthening the season duration.

This means that the allergy season could start earlier and end later, potentially making the situation more problematic for people who suffer from hay fever. Moreover, it is discussed that increasing atmospheric CO2 may also increase pollen production significantly.

These findings underscore the importance of addressing climate change not just for the health of our planet, but also for our personal health.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the scientific evidence supporting the use of local honey for hay fever is contradictory and inconclusive, the anecdotal evidence is very positive with a lot of people using it both to acclimatise the immune system to pollen and to soothe the symptoms of hay fever.

If you’re considering trying local honey for your hay fever, remember to opt for wildflower or summer honey as it contains the most different types of pollen. If taken with the aim to prevent symptoms, it should be consumed throughout the year to build the body’s immune responses to pollen. Stay healthy and keep buzzing!

NB. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen. Remember, I’m not offering medical advice, just sharing information and some of our customers’ personal experiences.

Hanna Bäckmo

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