Bee Pollen and Allergies
In my world, come springtime, bee pollen and allergies go hand and hand. (or at least their treatment!) You see, my husband has suffered from allergies his whole life. Come June each year, life can be 'difficult' to say the least. Or at least it was... Since we got married, I've had him taking bee pollen daily as a remedy. Taking bee pollen combined with some nutritional modifications allowed him to see dramatic results in just 3 months. Luckily, he was open to taking natural therapies. He has tried many, many different therapies and herbs with limited results. I have seen dramatic results first hand with him as well as with my sister and mothers allergies, not to mention the countless customers over the years in our honey shop. If you suffer from any type of seasonal allergy, you should really consider using bee pollen to help you immune system rid itself of the symptoms on its own. You just may be able to handle seasonal allergies with regular use of bee pollen. What Are Allergies?Allergies are a result of our physiological and biochemical interaction with the world around us and within us with the foods, chemicals, natural substances in our immediate environment that we ingest, inhale, or physically contact and with various internal microbes and body tissues.Our immune system determines what is needed and what is foreign. It reacts by making antibodies or releasing certain chemicals, such as histamines. This comes in handy when we really have a true foreign substance entering the body such as infectious organisms, chemicals and other foreign substances and we need to attack and defend. Pollens, molds, animal hairs, dust and foods all contain protein antigens that stimulate an antibody response or sometimes a hyper-response. Histamine and other chemicals are released into the system, causing an inflammatory reaction. This is called an antigen-antibody response. This reaction could affect the tissues, organs, the skin, mucous membranes, the lungs and gastrointestinal tract. Bee Pollen and Allergies: The StudiesConsider the following data as reported in the Journal of Allergy: 73 % of patients with hay fever averaged a 75% improvement in their symptoms when given Bee Pollen orally 78% of asthma patients averaged a 75% improvement after taking Bee Pollen 17.8% of hay fever sufferers and 33.3% of asthmatics experienced a complete improvement on oral Bee Pollen supplements the earlier Bee Pollen supplementation was begun prior to allergy season, the greater the rate of its success Bee Pollen and Allergies: Another StudyAnd here is another positive study as reported in the Journal of Phytotherapy Research in April 2009:Scientists at the Juntendo University School of Medicine in Japan fed mice bee pollen on a daily basis. What they found was that by doing this, the number of mast cells activated was reduced in a dose dependent manner (the more bee pollen they gave the mice, the better the result). Mast cells are responsible for the production and release of histamine when you come into contact with an allergen. Histamine triggers the inflammatory response you know as sneezing, itching, a runny nose and coughing. Hence the term anti-histamine when it comes to allergy drugs. So to reduce the amount of histamine being produced is VERY good for allergy sufferers. And this study confirms bee pollen's ability to do this! Bee Pollen and Allergies: How it WorksWhat is difficult for many doctors and others to comprehend is the concept of eating substances to which they know they are allergic.For example, why would I eat bee pollen if I'm allergic to pollens? The concept is this: When you put a small amount of the seemingly harmful irritant (bee pollen from local flower pollens) into your body, your immune system builds defenses or immunities against the foreign substance. This will make the immune system ready to handle any of that substance in larger quantities the next time it is in contact with it. So there is no hyper-reaction. It is a similar concept to using a vaccine. Bee pollen goes quickly into the blood stream in small doses, just enough to kick your immune system into gear. The outcome? Using bee pollen for allergy relief has been life changing for my husband and hundreds of our customers. He can now enjoy the outdoors in June and he feels empowered knowing that he conquered his allergies! Bee Pollen and Allergies: A TestimonialAs Told by Carrie L. from MaineMy husband (33, active, healthy) has terrible allergies! When I met him he was allergic to my dog and that was a very big problem for us. There was NO WAY I was going to part with my 4-legged companion but I really wanted him around as well so I started looking into natural antihistamine blockers. I started reading up on bee pollen and was astounded by the testimonials. However, testimonials can come from just about anywhere so I bought a small container of bee pollen granules and we gave it a try. My husband (boyfriend at the time) didn't feel the effects right away but over time and without our really noticing, his eyes stopped itching and watering after he mowed the lawn, he didn't seem to have such a negative reaction to my dog's fur and even his mother's cat was tolerable! My husband's daughter is 6 and also has allergies to pollen, dander, dust and things of that nature so we started giving her a small amount of bee pollen with her breakfast and dinner and sure enough, she has suffered far less from her allergy symptoms. Even after they stopped taking it for a while their symptoms were less severe. However, we ran out, spring is here and so are their allergies! While bee pollen does not cure seasonal allergies or even relieve the symptoms immediately, it certainly helps to make them manageable once you have started to make it a regular part of your diet.
Bee Pollen and Allergies: Supplements & Lifestyle 2 - 3 months before summer (the earlier the better), gradually introduce bee pollen into your diet. Take 1 - 2 tablespoons per day after you have slowly introduced it into your diet.If you find you are sensitive to bee pollen, read my article on how to properly desensitize yourself. Remember to start slow. And be aware that symptoms could worsen temporarily. Take more Vitamin C and Quercetin (Mark takes 3000 mg per day during allergy season) Control your stress levels (exercise, sleep, mediation, yoga, breathing, say NO) There is a great product out there called Anti-Stress (by Brad King) that Mark uses. Change your fabric softener, laundry detergent, household cleaners, cosmetics to natural, green non-allergenic brands. Chemical overload stresses the liver and weakens the immune system. Remember to change your furnace filter every 3 months Avoid sugar and food with added sugar (Use Raw Honey instead) Avoid sulfites and sulfates Rotate foods and diversify the diet Try converting to organic foods Increase fiber intake to 20g per day minimum Drink more filtered water Get an allergy test from a Naturopathic Doctor to see what foods upset your immune system. (the items on the list may surprise you!) We had this done for Mark - the results were unbelievable. Take 1 2 tablespoons of raw, local honey each day. Bee Pollen and Allergies: Nutritional RecommendationsClick here to read a great article on using local honey for allergies. Try removing wheat and gluten from your diet for 4 weeks and then introduce it on a less frequent basis. Observe whether or not your allergy symptoms change at all while on a gluten free diet. Remove all dairy products from your diet for 4 weeks and then introduce back into the diet gradually while carefully paying attention to allergy symptoms that flare up with reintroduction.
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