Tommy Washbush
A selection of Donna's Sweet Honey's products at the Dane County Farmers' Market.
Donna Gilbert of Donna’s Sweet Honey says her daughter has been taking honey for years for her allergy symptoms.
Wisconsin license plates read America’s Dairyland. Madison residents should be offered another option: America’s Allergyland. I am new to Madison, new to allergies, and open to new things that might help — including honey, which I first heard about from a physician’s assistant.
She could not share this as medical advice, but she did share a family story. “My dad has terrible allergies. Try honey, he takes a little bit every day in his tea. Local honey — hives not too far from Madison.”
Her father’s story is relevant to a new reality — allergy sufferers are getting hit harder and harder by long-term trends in pollen creation due to climate change. And for some, her father’s success might become theirs by consuming raw honey or bee pollen. Medical professionals often recommend honey to coat and soothe the throat, in turn reducing the need to cough. What they cannot say, as there is no hard clinical evidence, is that honey containing traces of bee pollen can boost the immune system and reduce allergy symptoms.
This lack of clinical evidence leaves the use of honey by allergy sufferers in a gray area — there is no hard data, yet a large body of anecdotal evidence that local, raw honey may work for some allergy sufferers.
There is some data that is incomplete, preliminary or drawing from “too small a sample size.” In 2011, the National Institutes of Health concluded “patients who used pre-seasonal birch pollen honey had significantly better control of their symptoms.” However, the study continued, “these results should be regarded as preliminary.” Another study, in Malaysia, found the ingestion of honey “significantly improves” symptoms.
One source of anecdotal evidence is the Madison area community of beekeepers who attest that, based on feedback from their customers, honey can work for some people.
I spoke with several beekeepers at a recent Dane County Farmers’ Market. Several say it’s a thing. “Yes, my customers talk about allergies but in my own home, my daughter has allergies, she has been taking honey for years,” says Donna Gilberts of Donna’s Sweet Honey.
Tim Woller, owner of Gentle Breeze Honey, echoes these comments. “My family has been in business for two generations and there are customers who swear honey helps them with their allergies.” Mary Celley of the Bee Charmer, who has been selling at the market for more than 40 years, says “some customers come back, they say it works, and some move from raw honey to pollen.”
Yes, you can buy pollen in bottles! How do you consume it, I ask Celley?
She smiles, points to a small bottle with little beads that look like very small, dried beans. “Just a little bit, in yogurt, some other food, tea maybe. Whatever works.”
The pollen is collected when bees leave the hive and drop it off their wings, says Mark Gilberts of Mark Gilberts Apiaries. “We catch it in drawers at the bottom of the hive.”
Tommy Washbush
Mark Gilberts at the Dane County Farmers' Market.
Mark Gilberts sells pollen, collected at the bottom of the hive.
Many beekeepers, including the Bee Charmer and Donna’s Sweet Honey, also sell honeycombs, another way to consume bee pollen. “Just break off a little and chew on it, or drop it in hot water or tea,” says Gilberts. While enthusiastic about the potential healing powers of raw honey and bee pollen, beekeepers are also circumspect, understanding there are no definitive studies supporting their use to mitigate allergy symptoms.
“The government has regulations about what you can say about something that has not been FDA approved, so I am never going to go out there recommending anything,” says Bradley Moore of B’s Honey. “I just say some people I speak to believe honey works for them.”
The Wisconsin Honey Producers Association agrees. The group’s website says that honey “may relieve seasonal allergies.”
It is not hard to find local honey. There are 19 apiaries within 30 miles of Madison.
Seven producers can be found off and on again at the downtown Dane County Farmers’ Market. Local brands of honey are also sold at the Willy Street Co-op, Metcalfe’s Market and Brennan’s.
When you pick a bottle off a shelf and examine a label, understand that “Wisconsin” or even “local” may not be what you are looking for because every brand defines “local” in a different way. You can see how close they are to the city by visiting their website or, even better, calling the producer or visiting with them. Many producers are small — Olbrich Gardens has two small sets of hives, one producing honey sold in the gift shop.
For allergy sufferers ragweed pollen is next, with the season starting in August and lasting through September. Whether to try honey to relieve symptoms is a personal choice. The argument remains the same — a lack of scientific or clinical data versus anecdotal evidence from beekeepers and their customers.
As for me, I anticipate working through a quart or two of local honey — between sneezes — this fall.
