ALL IN YOUR HEAD:

One more promising study suggests that it might also be about the type of honey. Local honey will have a variety of pollen sources, each of which may not be enough to have substantial microbial communities to train the eater's immune system. Finnish researchers decided to test the effect of birch pollen honey--regular honey, but with added bee-collected birch pollen. Birch pollen is one of the dominant season allergy sources in Finland, so the scientists gathered volunteers who were allergic to the tree and prescribed them either regular honey or birch pollen-enriched honey. A third control group ate no honey. Those who got the extra birch pollen had significantly reduced symptoms and more symptom-free days, even more than those who got regular honey.

The one problem with this study is that the control group didn't get a placebo. They were simply advised not to eat any honey-containing foods during the study period. It's very possible that both forms of honey produced a strong placebo effect. The differences between the regular honey and birch pollen honey group weren't statistically significant, so this study may be a fluke. Or, the extra pollen may really have helped. We're still not sure.

All this being said, like all naturopathic remedies, you may genuinely feel better taking honey. These studies prove that the results you see are most likely the placebo effect--but the placebo effect can be helpful. If you believe the honey helps, then the honey helps. All that matters in the end is that you feel better, and if eating a tablespoon of honey is what enables you to spend summer days outside in the grass, you should go for it. Honey is delicious. Worst case scenario, you're consuming a natural sweetener that's less of a blood sugar rush than table sugar. Best case scenario, you help your allergies. It's no surprise this particular remedy has a lot of buzz.

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