Raw Honey for Allergies?

[Jack D.]

[ztirffritz]

My wife and father in law both have auto-immune issues that they 'treat' with Manukah Honey from New Zealand. Does it work? I doubt it but it isn't doing any harm either. If it makes them feel better who am I to dispute the claim.

http://manukahoney.com/

[N-OS X-tasy!]

Paul F. wrote:
One claim was that if you rub it on your dangly bits, it will cure infertility!

Don't know if that's true, but I can see how doing that could cure celibacy... :devil:

[N-OS X-tasy!]

Paul F. wrote:
[quote=cbelt3]
If you'll refer to your copy of the Kama Sutra, you'll find a method for male enhancement. Involving arranging for a swarm of bees to sting you there, repeatedly. The resultant swelling supposedly introduces tissue growth. I will stick with what God gave me, thank you very much.

My annotated copy says "if you actually do this, you're an idiot!"

:terror:
Thank goodness for errata sheets!

[N-OS X-tasy!]

ztirffritz wrote:
My wife and father in law both have auto-immune issues that they 'treat' with Manukah Honey from New Zealand. Does it work? I doubt it but it isn't doing any harm either. If it makes them feel better who am I to dispute the claim.

http://manukahoney.com/

I tried some of this honey for the first time last week. As honey goes, its flavor is quite complex/robust.

[cbelt3]

I'll also add that one of the classic cures for non-healing wounds was a honey-based poultice. After four months of open sores on her leg after a vein graft, my wife tried that on my mother in law. And it WORKED.

[beagledave]

No. There is little supporting the belief that local honey helps to reduce allergies.

http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-...5/abstract

There IS one study suggesting it may be helpful for specific birch tree pollen allergies
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/pro...Doi=319821

Honey DOES work better than many cough medicines for children
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content...61/12/1140

[TLB]

beagledave wrote:
No. There is little supporting the belief that local honey helps to reduce allergies.

http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-...5/abstract

The study listed is a little different; it was looking at honey to relieve exisitng allergic symptoms. I believe the other hypothesis is that injestion of local honey exposes your system to local pollens and reduces the severity of future allergic reactions--not unlike periodic allergy shots. My MD subscribes to the theory and strongly recommeds local honey for most everyone with seasonal allergies. YMMV.

[mrbigstuff]

on a related note, I had some "wild" honey (probably raw) last year that gave me such an allergic reaction I got a little concerned.

maybe in the long run it was good...? didn't seem that way at the time.

[AllGold]

The placebo effect can be very powerful.

That said, I don't know anything about anti-allergy effects and I doubt there's anything to it. However, honey IS definitely a natural antibiotic. (applied topically but I don't know about ingested)

Also, I never knew this before but just learned that vitamin C is an antihistamine. There are a bunch of allergy-suppressing properties that might exist in honey, so who knows?