I've just seen the first yellow flowers of this year's oilseed rape
(OSR).  Soon the fields will be bright yellow and, with recent changes
in farming practice, this will continue until July.  The bees love it
and it certainly produces a large honey crop for me.  However, many
people loathe this time of year because they suffer from hay fever due
to OSR pollen.
 
Last year several of my customers told me that OSR honey was an antidote
to hay fever.  I was sceptical but didn't want to dissuade them too much
from this idea because they were buying extra jars of my honey!
Certainly, they are convinced that it works.  I assume that the basis of
this idea, which seems to be quite widespread around here, is that the
honey contains OSR pollen which somehow or other desensitizes the hay
fever sufferer.  I would have thought that there was no chance of this
working with honey ingested orally.  (I assume my customers are not
taking it intravenously!)
 
Does anyone have a clue as to the origins of this idea and, indeed,
whether there is any any truth in it?
 
--
Malcolm Roe                            Phone  :  +44 442 230000 ext 5104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd              Fax    :  +44 442 232301
Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK    E-mail :  [log in to unmask]
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