Link to Original Story

Throw out the allergy meds, grab honey instead?

By Lauren Keith

(KFVS) - The spring weather brings us all the pretty flowers, blooms, trees and freshly cut grass....but also allergies. There might be a natural way that can help ease those symptoms. In fact, many people in the Heartland say it's time to throw out the pills and nasal sprays and take a teaspoon of locally harvested honey instead.

"I take a TBSP before I go to bed at night," said Jim Blakemore of Cape Girardeau.

That's been his ritual for the last 15 years. It didn't take long for him to see the advantages to eating a bit of locally-harvested honey.

"Within a couple of days, I quit taking all my allergy tablets that I had to buy and I could enjoy the outdoors more."

He's not alone. Just ask local beekeeper Grant Gillard.

"The secret is the honey is locally-produced with pollen from the surrounding area. The bees bring it back, and that's what you ingest orally. So, when you breathe in the pollen, your sinuses don't go crazy," Gillard explained.

Just like the bees flock to Gillard's flowering bushes and trees, so do local allergy sufferers. Some are desperate to try anything to relieve their symptoms.

"Most people--when they come to see me, they have run the gamete of tests and been to the doctor. They take my honey as a last resort, and then they'll come back several weeks later looking for more locally-harvested honey," said Gillard.

In fact, Gillard now sells honey to five different stores and even in his own driveway, but before you tell your allergy meds to "buzz off", Gillard says raw honey won't necessarily cure all your coughing and sneezing.

"if you're allergic to dog hair, cat hair, cigarettes, dust--- it won't really help. It can't hurt, but it probably won't help."

He reminds everyone: taking a bite of honey won't cut the sting of allergy season right away.

"It's not instantaneous. It's not like taking Benadryl where you're dried up like that. They'll come back three to four weeks later and say though, 'my cough is gone, I've stopped sneezing so much and I'm a believer."

Jim Blakemore certainly is. He says his allergies have not only eased up after eating raw honey, but he's also saved money these last 15 years.

"With my health right now, I take a lot of pills. Anytime I can keep from having to take pills, I think that's a plus. You don't have to get a prescription from a doctor either," said Blakemore.

That said though, before you head out to buy locally-made honey, do talk with your doctor about it. If you get the doc's OK, you'll definitely find raw honey at several different orchards and small specialty stores in the heartland.

Beekeeper Grant Gillard is one of the leading producers in Missouri. You can contact him at (573) 243-6568 or his web site: www.prohoneyandhealth.com Be sure to click on "Symposium Info" link. This summer, he'll sell his raw honey at the farmers' markets in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. You'll also find it at Natural Health in Cape, Fruitland Dressed Meats, Family Friendly Farms, Jones Heritage Farms, Green Gardens in Patton, ALPS in Perryville and Rozier's in Perryville.

JOIN ME!

As I tour the country and the world...all on the government's dollar, the dollars of private benefactors, whomsoever!

I have seen enough silly studies to know that my idea has merit.

I'm going to fire off some form letters to anybody and everybody that always seems to have money to throw away on investigating why bees buzz, why chickens cross the road, why possums never make it, etc.

My "Research Topic"...

Since the article puts forth the hypothesis that:

"The secret is the honey is locally-produced with pollen from the surrounding area. The bees bring it back, and that's what you ingest orally. So, when you breathe in the pollen, your sinuses don't go crazy."

Local honey, containing local pollen, collected by local worker bees fortifies the body's immune system against local airborne pollens.

So...

Me and my partner are going to use public and private grant money to travel the country...and, depending on how deep the pockets, maybe even travel the world...exposing ourselves (no wise cracks, please...this is a serious scientific study) to pollen-rich areas far removed from the local worker bees. At each stop, my partner shall ingest only our Midwest-based honey as I dutifully keep careful record of any increased allergy-related symptoms...coughing, sneezing, runny eyes, yada, yada, yada. (We shall take special care to away from dog hair, cat hair, cigarettes, dust, and whatnot so as not to invalidate our raw data. This shall have the added benefit of justifying our expense account...that we could only stay at 5-Star Hotels that were pet-free, no smoking...and sparkling clean! Hey, if you are going to become a professional research guru, you quickly learn to play the game!)

If you wish to be my partner in this scientific study, there is but one qualification...

You must be deathly allergic to pollen.

It does not matter whether you are male or female, as we shall always book separate rooms. (Hey, it has nothing to do with sex or sexual orientation. If you think I'm taking the chance that your allergies will explode when exposed to "foreign pollen" and I'm going to have to try to sleep while you are coughing your damned head off...well, that's why YOU were identified as the "Research Assistant" on all the grant forms...and I am listed as "Research Scientist Extraordinaire".)

Incidentally, all legitimate studies have a test group and a control group. My allergy-infested partner is the test subject. The control group is allergy-free, little ol' me!

And, if you are wondering about a third group - an allergy-infested partner who eats the local raw honey wherever we go - to see if he/she continues to fight off allergies, well, you are obviously not ready for prime time.

If I did that, then we would have the "whole allergy story" on one and only trip. Oh, but, no. THAT need for new data will give us reason to fund a second study. Silly you!

Warning to my partner...

If you are a good traveling companion, you will be invited to participate in the second, all-expense-paid vacation, uh, study. If not, well...time to change partners!