Gorgeous local Honey produced by Marie-Hélèn's Bees |
Well Science says no and I quote "No. The myth is that local pollen in honey can desensitise the allergic reaction, but there’s no evidence to support it. A 2002 study at the University of Connecticut compared locally-produced, unfiltered honey, with nationally-produced, filtered honey and honey-flavoured corn syrup. In double-blind trials, there was no difference between the three in reducing hay fever symptoms. The pollen in honey is nearly all the heavy, flower pollen that doesn’t cause hay fever. The pollen that sets your nose running is much lighter and comes from grasses and trees that bees don’t visit."
However I beg to differ, as I honestly do find that a teaspoon of local Honey helps my Hayfever symptoms, granted I only suffer mildly but after a teaspoon of Honey I can go from being stuffy to breathing clearly within a matter of minutes.
Placebo? ... perhaps, but if it works why not :) Trying a teaspoon of local honey to cure your Hayfever symptoms can't be a bad idea because even if it does not work for you, you still have some delicious local honey to spread on your toast and you will be supporting a Local Producer :)
The Honey in the photo comes from Marie-Hélen's little Black Bees (Well they are not exactly black but they are much darker than other bees) and the good news is that her hives have survived the Winter, however there is still the danger posed by the Asian Hornets (Vespa velutina) that have been decimating hives acoss France. So fingers crossed her little Bees have a happy, healthy year ahead of them.