(no subject)

[ewx]

So people say that "local honey" helps against hayfever. I don't like honey anyway (though I do like mead...) but this got me wondering.

Presumably the logic is that the bees that make the honey will have pollen from local flowers on them, and that some of this will get into the honey, and that this somehow causes you not to react to the pollen when you encounter it in your eyes and nose; and that it has to be "local" so that the mix of kinds of plants is right for where you are.

But surely, the plants that use bees to spread their pollen won't be spraying it into the air?

Can anyone clarify this (either regarding the final question or the whole thing)?

Comments

[sobrique.livejournal.com]

IIRC mass market honey is very often made up of a single type of plant. Usually something like clover, because that has a good yield, and rich gloopy sort of fluidity.

Local honey is made up of a mix of ingredients, from the local area, and so has the advantage of 'exposure' to pollen, that's not in the nasal passages, reducing the hystamine response (again, IIRC).

Oil seed rape for example is very good for producing large amounts of pollen and nectar, but it's terrible for honey, because it has a tendancy to cause crystalisation.

I believe the majority of plants use insects/birds to transport pollen - the quantity dispersed in the air is actually relatively small, and triggered because pollen it typically rather 'dry and dusty'.