The Pollen Counts

Local honey is very tasty. I love it on a bagel with peanut butter or in a good marinade. But should it be on your menu of allergy treatments, too?

The notion that local honey can be utilized to treat allergies is not new. In fact, it has been a common topic of conversation with my patients since my days as an allergy fellow. The idea is that a small amount of pollen carried by bees makes its way into the honey and that regular ingestion of the pollen leads to desensitization. It’s a tempting notion, to think that you could treat your allergies with a natural, sweet treat, but the reality is slightly bitter.

What if there's something about honey itself that is beneficial for allergies? This final question was answered over a decade ago....

First, the pollens that bees carry are not significant allergens. To make honey, bees collect nectar from flowering plants and in the process become coated with the pollen from these plants. As they buzz from plant to plant, they spread the pollen, which allows the flowering plants to reproduce. Since these pollens are carried largely by bees and not the wind, the pollens rarely come into contact with the human nose and eyes and, hence, do not cause allergy symptoms. Conversely, plants whose pollens cause allergies are wind-pollenated and are not major sources for nectar and bee pollen.

Second, oral immunotherapy doesn’t work for nasal allergies. Numerous clinical trials have looked at oral immunotherapy (swallowed allergens) as a possible treatment for this problem. These trials used large doses of purified allergens, far more than would ever be found in bee pollen, and still failed to show a benefit. (Note: this is different from sublingual immunotherapy where the allergen is held under the tongue). So, even if allergy-causing pollens are found in honey, the act of swallowing them is unlikely to improve allergies.

What if there’s something about honey itself that is beneficial for allergies? This final question was answered over a decade ago by researchers in Connecticut who did a blind, randomized trial comparing the effects of local, unfiltered, unpasteurized honey, commercial honey, and honey-flavored corn syrup on seasonal allergies. They found no benefit for either honey group compared to the corn syrup group. In other words, honey is, literally and figuratively, a simple sugar pill.

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Mail-in Allergy Testing

By Dr. Nicholas Cline • May 27, 2026

If you spend any time browsing the internet or social media, you’ve likely seen advertisements for mail-in allergy kits. They promise to test for hundreds of food intolerances and environmental sensitivities using just a few strands of your hair or a quick saliva swab. It sounds incredibly convenient, painless, and comprehensive. But if it sounds like a gimmick, it probably is. While these mail-in tests are heavily marketed, they often lack scientific backing and can leave patients feeling more confused than comforted. The Science of Allergy Testing. What Are We Looking For? To understand why hair and saliva tests don't work, we have to look at how the immune system reacts to allergens. When you have a true allergy, your body produces a very specific type of antibody called IgE (Immunoglobulin E) . These antibodies bind to mast cells (allergy cells), which are on high alert to protect you from perceived invaders like pollen, dust mites, or specific food proteins. The fundamental flaw with mail-in hair and saliva kits comes down to basic biology: Wrong Locations: Mast cells and IgE antibodies are not traditionally found in your hair follicles or saliva. Unreliable Results: Because these testing methods are looking in the wrong place, they are highly unstandardized and unvalidated. You are highly likely to get a flood of false positives or false negatives that are impossible to interpret accurately. What the Experts Say: Major medical organizations strongly advise against these methods. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) explicitly recommends against using hair analysis for food allergy evaluations due to a lack of diagnostic value. Furthermore, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) have issued strong practice guidelines stating that hair analysis should not be used to evaluate food allergies. The Big Misconception: IgE vs. IgG Many mail-in companies charge anywhere from $150 to upwards of $600 for "sensitivity" panels. When patients produce these multi-page reports, the testing is almost always checking for IgG (Immunoglobulin G) antibodies, not IgE. There is a massive difference between the two: