How Australian honey for hay fever relieves symptoms
Spring has sprung and while it’s a thrill for some, it’s a nightmare for allergy sufferers… and it’s not just spring! Summer, autumn, winter or spring, there are always allergens in the air! You know the feeling, that first hint, the little itch in your nose, waking with watery eyes, or the scratchy throat that tells you, the next week is going to be a sneezy one! So, let’s talk natural remedies for hay fever and other seasonal allergies.
Seasonal allergies like hay fever kick off when plants start in spring to produce pollen, which is the powder-like substance that helps plants make seeds and reproduce. Mostly this is a spring thing, but you can be one of those unlucky folk who get hayfever all year round. Yay!
As sufferers know, hay fever is caused when your nose and/or eyes encounter environmental allergens, such as pollens, dust mite, moulds, and animal hair.
At Australian Beekeepers’ Honey, we are often asked by customers if our 100% raw Australian honey can help with their hay fever. Although it’s not a cure, we do believe that our honey can assist with relieving the symptoms associated with hay fever. Here’s how!
Honey and allergies
Let’s start by confirming that honey has not been scientifically proven to cure or reduce allergies. However, although it’s not a “cure” for hay fever, research does show that honey can help with symptoms like those you experience with the common cold: sneezing, a runny nose, coughing, difficulty breathing, and watery eyes.
We’ve written before about how honey can help with coughs and colds: Is honey good for the flu?
Can honey cure hay fever?
Rather than taking antihistamines, could a spoon of honey help cure hay fever?
Some people do swear by it, while others we talk to question it. It’s believed that consuming honey will remedy an allergic reaction by ingesting the small doses of pollen found in honey. However, if you have an allergy to grass pollen, honey won’t help since bees don’t forage for grass pollen.
But we have some great news. Honey does help with some symptoms of hay fever!
Honey as a cough remedy
We know that honey contains antioxidants that help fight viruses. Honey is also praised as a cough remedy since it soothes the irritation in your throat that causes coughing – in fact, it’s so good that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends honey as a natural cough remedy.
Another study states “honey reduced night-time coughing and improved sleep quality in children with upper respiratory infection to a greater degree than the cough medicine dextromethorphan.”
Honey as an anti-inflammatory
Honey contains naturally occurring anti-inflammatories. Manuka honey contains multiple kinds of anti-inflammatories. Allergies like hayfever are an immune response to “the allergen”. It’s your body mistaking an allergen like pollen for germs. In response, it fires up your immune system to attack the “germ”. The immune cells release histamine and a host of other bio-chemicals that start your nose running and trigger inflammation. Anti-histamines stop the histamine in its tracks but don’t address the sustained inflammatory reaction. This is where honey comes in. Its natural anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce those other symptoms, like that “feeling of pressure” in your sinuses and nose.
Buy 100% pure raw Australian honey from AB’s Honey
The antibacterial properties of honey are increased in darker kinds of honey, such as AB’s Honey 100% pure raw Australian Manuka honey. According to global research, 100% pure Manuka honey – especially with an MGO of greater than 100+ – offers relief for a dry and tickly throat and can assist with improving energy levels.
Check out our entire honey range at our online honey shop Simply Honey:
Shop 100% Australian Table Honey
Shop 100% Australian Manuka Honey
Information for Australian allergy supplement manufacturers
At Simply Honey we only supply honey from the best hives in the country – no imports, just pure raw Australian honey.
