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Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Local Honey to Fight Allergies? and as an Anti-Oxidant, Anti-Microbial and Anti-Inflammatory

Lynette and a giant bee at the 2015 NewYork City Honey Festival on the Boardwalk at Rockaway Beach.  We had the opportunity to meet local beekeepers and taste dozens of varieties of honey.


HONEY!! Just the word conjures up images of Winnie the Pooh, tea with honey, Middle-Eastern pastries like baklava soaked in it, and teaspoons of it soothing a sore throat.  I used to have it in my tea every day -- I have -- at minimum -- a cup of anti-oxidant green tea and at least a cup of black tea later in the day.  For a long time growing up, I associated tea and honey with an upset stomach.  But then I became a sort of tea connoisseur.  I remember a throat lozenge called "Honees" that I loved, because in the middle it oozed out real honey;  I bought them even when my throat wasn't sore. Mmm those things got me through my first winter as an airline reservationist.  But I digress.

I am a serious allergy sufferer. I mean all day, every day.  I pop a Zyrtec every morning and use nose sprays, and on some occasions I even have to add a benadryl if my eyes puff up or my skin breaks out in hives.  A walk in the woods means extra medication.  The beach is the best place for me, according to my old allergist, a venue-restriction that suits me perfectly.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I live for the beach.

So, I am learning that local honey can help alleviate allergies because it is derived from the honey made from the flowers near where you live.  Watch this video from ABC-TV NYC Eyewitness News.

It's important that the honey be local. The video talks about Andrew's Honey, which is based in NYC.  So if you live in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn or the Bronx, click on the above link and find the honey produced in a rooftop hive in your neighborhood.  If you don't live in NYC, go to a local farmers' market or general store that sells local honey for your area.  I haven't tried it yet, but I am planning to order the "Forest Hills Honey" which is closest to my home.  I will try anything.

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