Honey and hay fever

Hay fever is caused by an allergic reaction to the proteins in air borne pollen grains which come into contact with the eyes and the sensitive lining of the nose. It appears to be on the increase especially among young people and it is estimated that it now affects around a quarter of the 10-25 age group.

In days gone by your doctor might have recommended 'a change of air'. Today the usual treatments are antihistamine tablets, steroid injections, eye drops and nasal sprays. All more convenient to take than the long sea voyages favoured by the Victorians. But many people are reluctant to take anti-histamines and steroids long term and so seek more natural remedies. A search on the internet will turn up various and sometimes extreme alternatives, but one remedy is mentioned time and time again and that is honey, especially local honey.

The beekeeper can sometimes find the situation difficult when a hay fever sufferer arrives on the doorstep expecting to be able to buy a miracle cure at a bargain price. It is easier to cope with this if you understand some of the theory behind the idea as well as having some suitable honey readily available.

Why local honey?

It is usually recommended to use local honey that has been produced as naturally as possible and is preferably still in the comb. 'Local' honey means honey made by bees kept near to where the sufferer lives or works. This is because the allergy may be to specific pollen, from plants growing in a particular area. If the honey contains minute quantities of that pollen, then eating the honey little and often may help to desensitise the body.

Most supermarket honey is imported. It has usually been heated and much of the pollen filtered out. This helps to give the honey a long stable shelf life, but it can also reduce the goodness.

Organic honey might sound to be the ideal solution but you are unlikely to find any locally produced. The rules for producing organic honey in the UK are so stringent that it is almost impossible to do so. Most organic honey available in shops is imported and from the pollen point of view, unlikely to be of much help.

Pollen Although most people associate hay fever with a reaction to grass pollen, the culprits can also be other plant and tree pollens such a horse chestnut and birch.

Pollen is a source of proteins, minerals and vitamins for bees. On a sunny day, if you watch at the hive entrance, you will see the returning bees bringing back their different coloured pollen loads in the pollen-baskets on their hind legs. Some pollen can easily be identified by the colour. Horse chestnut for example, although the flowers are pale, the pollen is a distinctive dark brick-red. Some of the pollen grains will get into the honey.

Bees do not usually collect pollen from grasses because of its low nutritional value but as grass pollen is in the air it gets into the hive and can be found in honey too.

Niche market?

So, is there a niche market for beekeepers here? Can honey be marketed especially for hay fever sufferers? The answers are yes and no. There is certainly a market and one that looks set to expand so it makes economic sense to cater for local demand in a small way. But you should never make any specific health claims when selling your honey. It could get you into very deep water. There are two different types of honey that hay fever people are generally looking for. These are unfiltered honey and comb honey. It is quite easy to have one or both of these available alongside your usual hive products.

Producing unfiltered honey Unfiltered honey simply means honey which is as natural as possible, unheated, unfiltered and with almost nowt-taken-out. The pollen and minute wax particles remain in the honey and only the larger pieces of wax are removed by roughly sieving. The honey can go into the jar straight from the extractor. This is the way that honey is usually produced by new beekeepers with minimum equipment. Beekeepers with more sophisticated extracting set-ups can still easily bottle a few jars in the old fashioned way and keep them separate. This is what Americans call 'raw' honey.

Producing comb honey The most natural way to eat honey is fresh from the honeycomb just as the bees made it. When the honeycomb is cut into portions it is referred to as comb honey or cut comb. You can eat the honey and the wax together, and it tastes much better than it sounds.

Producing comb honey is not difficult even for the new beekeeper. The important point to remember is that the honey must stay liquid in the comb so that it is luscious and gooey when you bite into it. If you are in an oilseed rape area this will not be a suitable product for you because your honey will set too quickly.

There is no extra equipment needed, but you do need to use a different type of wax foundation in the frames. Frames of honey that are going to be extracted by machine have to be strong to withstand the force of the extraction process, so the foundation needs to be reinforced with wire. For cut comb honey, where it is all intended to be eaten, a very thin foundation is used and as the frame is not going to be spun, no wires are necessary to support it.

Mark the frame top bars so that you know which are the unwired ones and use them in the normal way in the honey super. As soon as they have been filled and capped over they are ready to remove. Make sure that you fill the gaps they leave with more frames or the bees will build wild comb in the spaces.

Put the frame on a tray to catch the drips and simply cut the honeycomb out of the frame. Divide it into pieces as required. You do not need a special cutter for small quantities; the carving knife will do nicely.

A National super frame will cut into five pieces usually weighing 7-8oz. Plastic containers with see-through lids are available for easy packaging. These sell very well and make a good addition to your range of hive products.

Does honey work?

Honey obviously does not work for everyone otherwise hay fever would already have become a thing of the past. However, there are a number of people who come back to me year after year for their 'hay fever honey' because they swear that it works for them. They usually start by taking a teaspoonful or two a day from February onwards and continue until the hay fever season ends. It seems that small regular doses of honey taken well in advance may help the immune system and may be the key to some people getting relief.

Honey may seem to be an unlikely sounding remedy for hay fever but it is certainly worth a try. It would be very interesting to do a survey of beekeepers, who eat honey all year round, to see if they suffer less hay fever than the rest of the population. I have a sneaky feeling that they might.