For Health Benefits, Honey Should Be Local

I mentioned in a couple of other columns that I was suffering from a sore throat. I'm not saying that for sympathy I'm just using that to explain why I may be especially cranky in my writing. Truth be told, I use my vocal chords a lot and any excuse to not talk is a big plus.  But I'm also truthful when I say that it hurts, especially in the morning. So I've turned to a magical substance for help.

Often, we hear about the benefits of honey on our health. Raw honey, organic honey, this variation that variation of honey, it's hard to decipher all the info about what is essentially one of nature's most perfect creations.  As it turns out, my uncle has an apiary what she in my late aunt started as a hobby.  He told me that if you want the real health benefits that honey can provide, you have to use honey made from the same area in which you live. I don't quite know why, but he's a pharmacist so I trust his opinion.  It probably has something to do with the type of flowers and plants which grow nearby: it's the type of stuff you come into contact with all the time.

So while shopping today I bought some honey made in Williamson County. I'm sure there are some folks to sell local honey but when I'm at the Mega Lo Mart store I couldn't find any Bell County–originated honey. Round Rock is close enough.

The good news for those who want to buy local is, recently Texas relaxed some of its rules on marketing honey. There were stringent rules which apply to anyone selling the stuff. Now if you're a small honey harvester, you can sell your honey directly to the public without having a multi-million dollar processing plant. Truth be told, processing doesn't sound like the best thing to do with honey.  This video from the Dallas Morning News' YouTube account explains.

Another aunt told me how she uses a long Q-tip, much like the kind we used to use to clean real to reel tape heads here in radio, and put a dab of honey into her nostril. This is what we call Louisiana ingenuity. Anyhow, the next morning she would wake up completely clear.

As I'm not in the habit of sticking food up my nose, I decided to make a boiling hot cup of Bigelow "I love lemon" tea with this Texas honey as sweetener. Yes, it's quite tasty. What about the medicinal effects? So far so good as I can breathe again.

If you have any good tips on how to use honey to fight colds and sore throats, please drop me a line.