Q: Is it true that eating local honey can improve my seasonal allergy symptoms?
A: While it tastes great, there have been no scientific studies showing that local honey is any more effective in treating allergies than a placebo. Local and unprocessed honey does contain small quantities of pollen from flowers where the bees live, but the pollen in flowers is not what we are allergic to. Allergy sufferers are allergic to airborne tree pollen in the spring, ragweed in the fall and grass pollen in the summer, which is not found in local honey. It is also important to remember that you should not give honey to children below one year of age because of the risk of botulism, a severe form of food poisoning.
Dr. Marc Cromie is a board-certified allergist with Chattanooga Allergy Clinic and a member of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society.
Dr. Marc Cromie