More confirmation that local honey can help alleviate allergies. The theory is that by eating a few spoonfuls of local honey each day for several months leading up to your pollen allergy season, you expose yourself to low doses of the allergens, allowing you body to habituate to them.
I’d mentioned this in a talk I gave at Ignite Seattle a few months back, and someone from the audience asked if he could have some of my honey to try it out. He just wrote me a few days ago:
that honey has been liquid gold to me! I was pretty skeptical when you talked about how it can help with pollen allergies, but it’s now far enough into my allergy season that I’m absolutely confident that it helps. A lot. At least it does for me! … Thank You!! This has made my summer so much easier to deal with, as compared to recent years.
He was writing to ask if he could buy my honey. Partly because I’m a big believer in gift economies and partly because the amount of work I put into the bees would make its “real” price ridiculously expensive, I refuse to take money for the honey. I suggested that if he didn’t feel comfortable taking it for nothing, he should feel free to come up with something in exchange: a bottle of home brew beer, a tray of lasagna or perhaps a new design for my web site (which I desperately need). He came by tonight to pick up a jar, and now I’m looking forward to seeing what he comes up with in return.
