The Buzzworthys Cure for Springtime Allergies

Cures From Your Kitchen:
Seasonal Allergies Bee-Gone!

'Tis the season when allergies, colds, coughs and flus hit households around the globe. Living at Lake Tahoe is a treat during autumn but...this year while Indian Summer is welcomed, the ups and downs of temperatures are wreaking havoc on my body. Walking in a snow flurry last week and gardening in the sunshine this afternoon is enough to make anyone feel a bit out of whack. But honey comes to the rescue!
As the author of the book The Healing Powers of Honey (October 2011, Kensington Publishing Corp., ) I forgot about this sweet home remedy that is good for the body and spirit --as I note in both The Healing Powers of Chocolate and The Healing Powers of Honey books.  That's right, by turning to immune-boosting, antioxidant-rich chocolate, you may find your own allergy symptoms, from hay fever to seasonal-change woes, may stop in their tracks--rain, slush, snow or shine.
The truth is, I've been too busy fighting allergy symptoms that I forgot about home sweet cures like chocolate and honey Blame it on the new season and oh, oh, oh--the two shedding dogs and cat. Hairs, hairs, hairs everywhere. My black T-shirts and sweaters look like a white bunny rabbit's fur. Two weeks ago, I paid a visit to my doctor. My eyes were red, itchy, runny, and oh-so puffy! Not to forget the post-nasal drip and sneezing--not fun. And today, my throat is sore and voice is raspy. It's time for this honey book author to practice what she preaches and take her own sweet ancient cure, straight from the hive.
Allergies (Stop Seasonal Misery): Dealing with a runny nose, and coughing can ruin an indoor and outdoor event, thanks to seasononal pollen. Every year when the yellow pollen arrives in the spring like an uninvited visitor at Lake Tahoe I hold a tissue in one hand and am on the phone to a pharmacist with the other. I am always on a mission to find the natural remedy to stop my sniffles.
What Honey Rx to Use: Try eating a tablsepoon of locally produced honey. Proponents of honey tell me that your immune system will get used to the local pollen in it (it should be withing a 50-mile radius from where you live).
Why You'll Bee Happy: If you have mild allergies, honey may enhance the immune system to build up a better arsenal against airborne allergens. Honey enthusiasts like D.C. Jarvis, M.D., believe honeycomb is excellent for treating breathing problems. The honey prescription, according to him, was chewing honeycomb, which may line the entire breathing tract... "Vermont folk medicine uses honeycomb as a desensitizing agent; from the results obtained by its use it appears to be anti-allergic in its action," notes the good doctor who gives credit to the honey bees.
Beekeepers tell me that honey may help allergies linked to trees and ragweed--the culprit in hay fever and its irritating symptoms during spring and autumn months. So, as beekeepers are workerbee busy at work selling local honey to allergy sufferers, like me (and maybe you, too), I am busy including all types of honey in my diet becasue I want to be covered. And if honey can help me cope with congestion and pesky sniffles, I'm in. While further research is needed, I'm not going to wait for scientists to go to their lab rats for a go-ahead. More honey, please.