JUNE 1, 2011 A SPOONFUL FULL OF HONEY...HELPS THE MEDICINE AWAY

"To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance." -Buddha

A purely unselfish life is NOT an impossibility. It is obtainable. It does take a lot of concentration, prayer, and meditation. I have to admit I have been selfish at times in my life. Back when I was an addict who became self-absorbed in a dark world. I was definitely selfish. I also became selfish at the beginning of my sobriety in order to maintain my sobriety. I had to put everything second to my sobriety. To this day, I still put sobriety first in my life. Without my sobriety I would have nothing.

June is the sixth moth of the year. It is my birth month. It is my re birth month with sobriety. It was the month my mother died, the month my parents were married and Gay Pride Month.

Today, I look at June with a new vigor. It is the start of summer . It is the time that flowers bloom, bees buzz and the sun shines. I am blessed for every new day of my life.

The buzz (no pun intended) is the use of local honey to diminish allergic symptoms. In my clinical experience, the consumption of local honey does alleviate allergic symptoms. I always tell my patients to use local honey from their region where they live. The New York Times said just the opposite recently.

The NY Times article published on May 9 this year referenced a 10 year old study comparing a group of people consuming local unfiltered honey, to other groups consuming commercial honey and corn syrup (the placebo). This 10 year old study showed no difference in the three.

Shame on the NY Times for publishing data from a 10 year old study.

A study published in January 2011 had different results. Although there were only 44 patients. This study compared those using birch pollen honey to those consuming regular commercial honey. The study concluded that during the birch pollen season those consuming the birch pollen honey had:

1. 60% reduction in symptoms

2. Twice as many asymptomatic days (less time off from work)

3. 70% fewer days with symptoms

4. 50% reduction in antihistamine use

Take away information: Consume 1 teaspoon of local honey per day

Until tomorrow...