HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — As plants and flowers begin to blossom, your coughs and sniffles might be coming out as well. Richmond consistently ranks in the top 10 worst cities to live in for allergies. This has many reaching for those over the counter allergy medicines and antihistamines, but Tonya Haley has a different — sweeter — idea.
“The more you eat honey or straight bee pollen, it helps alleviate the symptoms of your allergies,” Haley said.
Earlier this season, experts told 8News that our community is in for a fiercer allergy season than normal. This prompts people to seek out any help they can get. Some even get a bit creative. Haley owns Haley’s Honey Meadery in Hopewell.
Mead is a type of wine made with fermented honey. In ancient times, it was used for medicinal purposes.
“A lot of people ask if mead will help with allergies,” Haley said. “We use our local honey, so when we ferment the honey, the yeast eats all of the sugars, but there’s still some pollen in there and it definitely would help you with your allergies.”
Just as wines use grapes, mead is made by fermenting honey with water. The jury is still out on the actual impact drinking mead, specifically, can have, but the National Institute of Health confirmed that consuming honey products, which have natural anti-microbial properties,
does strengthen the human body’s ability to fight off sore throats, coughs, and asthmatic symptoms.
Haley noted her meads still retain bee pollen.
“You might get a little buzz while you’re kind of working on your allergies,” she said.
Haley favors a natural tool as the first line of defense and she’s not alone. Each spring, she sees an increase in central Virginians coming to her shop for allergy relief.
“You know where it’s coming from,” Haley said. “And it’s been here on this earth a long time.”
The Richmond community always loves to shop local, so if you’re interested in trying to treat your allergies with honey — and maybe testing out mead along the way — visit her shop online.
