Honey A Medical Miracle?

I love honey, I also suffer from tons of allergies most of the time.   When a friend recently claimed that honey had been the cause of an allergy free year for her, it sounded like something I should at least look up, even if I did hear a bit of quacking somewhere in the back of my mind.

After a brief web search, I have found a ton of sites claiming that local honey (the stuff you buy at a farmers’ market etc) exposes one to local pollen and other allergens.

Dr. William G. Peterson of Oklahoma is quoted as saying :

“It must be raw honey because raw honey contains all the pollen, dust and molds that cause 90 per cent of all allergies,” he told a meeting of the Oklahoma Beekeepers Association. “What happens is that the patient builds up an immunity to pollen, dust or mold that is causing his trouble in the first place. The raw honey must “not be strained, not even through a cloth.”

This sounds quite amazing, but it’s likely false.  You see, most pollen allergies come from tree and grass pollens, not flower pollens.  This means, of course, that these aren’t the pollens bees are likely to collect and put into their honey.  It appears to be just another aspect of this “natural is better” craze that is strong right now, even though it is so often illogical and unproven (or disproven).

Don’t believe me?   A controlled study in the Annals of Allergies, Asthma, and Immonology, (Abstract here) concluded that

This study does not confirm the widely held belief that honey relieves the symptoms of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

This was based on a study of three groups, one with fake honey, one with local honey, and one with shipped honey.  The results across all three groups were

Neither honey group experienced relief from their symptoms in excess of that seen in the placebo group.

So, why does the good doctor quoted above find positive results in his practice?  Well a further explanation from the same source may offer some light.

Dr. William G. Peterson, an allergist from Ada in the 1950’s, said he now has 22,000 patients across the nation who are using raw honey along with more customary medications to relieve allergy symptoms.

Yes, they are still taking traditional therapies in addition to the alternative medicine.  Certainly there is absolutely no reason to believe any of the success is due to honey.

I would also like to note the following quote from the same source:

Dr. Peterson said he and the 20 doctors at his clinic at Ada normally prescribe a daily teaspoon of raw honey. The honey treatment continues even after the allergy is under control.

I also wonder if one teaspoon of honey has enough of a dose anyway.   How often does hey-fever act up after eating honey?  Thinking about actual allergy shots (which have had their efficacy shown in trials), there is a very real potential for adverse allergic reactions.   Not so with honey, and while proponents will likely claim this is because it is natural, the lack of an actual reaction of any sort to it, likely means that your body is not having a strong enough allergic interaction to create an immunity.

Likely, any claims of honey’s efficacy rely more on chance observations of periods of low allergies and subconsciously ignoring periods of high allergies leading to a false positive, similar to what’s seen in many alternative medicines.

Rajan, T. V et al Abstract of “Effect of ingestion of honey on symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis” Annals of Allergies, Asthma, and Immunology 2002 88.2 Accessed 4-26-2008