Milk and Honey: The Best Medicine?

In case you hadn't noticed, or are one of the lucky ones, allergy season is upon us. The cherry blossoms brighten our park and the crab apple trees are flowering too, spreading their sweet aroma my way. Lovely as this sounds, all of this flowering and blooming means pollens are floating through the air. Which for seasonal allergy sufferers usually means sneezing, itchy eyes, scratchy throat and much unpleasantness .

I have suffered from horrible seasonal allergies since I was a child. I remember being excused from gym (what purpose that served, I am not quite sure though I didn't mind since I loathed gym) and sitting outside with another friend who had the same excuse. I wasn't given much medication for my allergies as a child and when I eventually began to experiment with the available medicines, I disliked the side effects.


Instead I took to drinking herbal concoctions which would help diminish my symptoms, all the while trying not to tear my eyeballs out they itched so much and counting the days until June, when my symptoms typically subside.


This year I decided to explore some alternative remedies. Apparently there is much anecdotal evidence to support the theory that a daily dose of raw, local honey and bee pollen, will help diminish allergy symptoms.

I have been unable to locate any concrete research to back these claims and even the Honey Board published an inconclusive study on the subject, yet I imagine that it can't hurt to try. It is certainly no chore to add some honey to my tea every day. Bee pollen is definitely less palatable, for it has an indescribably odd flavor, to be expected from bee vomit I suppose, which is what my husband calls it.

I have also been drinking "real milk" which is also supposed to eliminate allergy symptoms. I have found anecdotal evidence as well as a recent study which supports this remedy. Unfortunately I am not sure I have been drinking enough milk to actually test the theory but I have been drinking "real" cow and goat milk and eating the yogurt too.

So far, I am experiencing mild symptoms, intermittent sneezing and scratchy throat. Will keep you posted as the season progresses.