Quick ? Re: Raw Honey/Banana Allergy

[rawmom]

I have pollen allergies and have heard that raw honey contains pollen since it hasn't been cooked. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with eating raw honey when they have pollen allergies and if so did you have a reaction to it? Also do you feed it to your children?

One more allergy related question-I was told by the ENT that bananas (which I have an allergy to (non life threatening) are in the same family as avacado and kiwi and I should probably avoid them as well. I can have bananas every 4th day but am hoping the more raw I am that this situation will disappear. Has anyone else heard the banana/avacado/kiwi family thing?

Thanks for your time.

Hope you are all staying warm today it is currently -11 where I live in the white mid-west!!

Rawmom

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Hi Raw Mom,

I don't have an answer for you about the allergies of one food group and others.

I just know that Dr. Tim Trader couldn't even eat on bite of watermelon without his throat closing up, but after being raw, he can eat all the watermelon he wants:

http://www.vegetarianusa.com/rawenergy/

Dr. Doug Graham had the same thing happen with oranges:

http://foodnsport.com/monoMan/EvolutionMM.html

So I would think in time you should overcome this allergies. I guess the only way you'll know is to occasionally try one of the foods and see how you react.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[sweetgoddess]

I too am allergic to pollen...and I eat raw honey almost daily with no problems! Just wanted to share that of course everyone is different.
Do you know there is a difference between raw wild local honey and otherwise? With wild local honey the bees are using local flowers, native to the area. I dont know if that would make any difference to you--just a thought for you to mull over. You can also use agave nectar instead of honey!
Good luck!

[askcassyfirst]

Sweet made a good suggestion of finding substitutions such as Agave, or if you are ok with it being processed maple syrup. If you can find it, you could buy sugar cane and juice it. That stuff is lovely. I used to buy it a lot, and it is totally fresh. There are some people here in FL that grow cane.

One thing I have read about eating bee pollen is that it can actually help people with allergies. It gives you a small amount of pollen, enough to sort of Inoculate you, like you would get from a homeopathic remedy. I am sure there are lots of articles about that online, so you might try googling bee pollen helping allergies or such.

I have a wheat sensitivity, but I find that if I sprout it, I don't have the kind of reactions I do when I eat it plain. Also, I notice that my sensitivities have improved having gone raw. Many food allergies and sensitivities begin when undigested food particles escape thru a compromised mucosal lining in the bowel causing an immune response. THis response, often mistaken for "allergy" will then occur any time the body sences that the implicated food enters the digestive system. (starting at the mouth.) The raw diet, especially foods like cabbage can help heal the minute holes in the bowel, the fiber will feed the good flora whose byproducts feed our cells. THe will strengthen our system and constitution & can sometimes lessen sensitivities.

I hope that gives you a starting place to research. GOod luck on the journey!

Cassy.:)

[rawmom]

Thanks to all 3 of you ladies for your helpful info. Helen: It does lend some encouragement to me that these two men have overcome their allergy with raw. I did buy some local raw honey, but will research more regarding what you said Sweetgoddess regarding that. Cassy-I will do a search on the bee pollen and allergy as you suggested. I know in the last 9 months since I began eating this way, I haven't had many allergy related problems at all. It's been so refreshing.

I absolutely adore banana/oj smoothies and would live off of them! I hope that as my body becomes less toxic and more healthful it won't react badly to a banana every day!!

I appreciate the three of you taking time to help me!

Rawmom

[Rosie California]

I have had a cough for years. I have used honey everyday for years. I ran out of honey this week and just realized I am not coughing. I was given some avocados and had one this morning. I noticed I had a slight cough this morning. Your posting about the two being related was very interesting. I feel there really is a connection. I am going to be buying some more honey and see what happens when I start using it again.

[Spectatrix]

One more allergy related question-I was told by the ENT that bananas (which I have an allergy to (non life threatening) are in the same family as avacado and kiwi and I should probably avoid them as well. I can have bananas every 4th day but am hoping the more raw I am that this situation will disappear. Has anyone else heard the banana/avacado/kiwi family thing?
What you're likely referring to here is cross-reactivity. Usually this means that someone allergic to a certain pollen will also be allergic to foods whose proteins are similar to the pollen protein. In this case, you're listing foods associated with latex sensitivity. I think I'm mildly sensitive to latex and have reactions to avocados, bananas, melons, and sometimes celery. There are other foods associated with latex sensitivity, but I don't seem to have a problem with those.

Bananas are also associated with ragweed sensitivity, so it could be an allergy to either ragweed or latex that's also causing your allergy to bananas. See this site for some more lists: http://allergies.about.com/cs/cross/a/aa052801a.htm

I'd recommend that you try some avocado and kiwi and observe to see if you have reactions similar to that when you eat bananas (the reaction for me is just an itching in my throat), rather than cutting them out altogether.