Ideal Bite

Local honey really works. I had horrible spring pine tree allergies. I started using a bit of local honey from my local farmer's market in my coffee every morning and a couple years later no allergies!!

Wow! I can't believe you guys didn't mention irrigating your sinuses (using a neti pot). I've been using one since I saw it on Oprah and it really helps. http://www.oprah.com/health/oz/oz_20070426_350_106.jhtml

While, I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, if you have chronic allergies, many of these natural remedies do little to nothing. I have mold and dust allergies, and for years tried just about everything, natural and not. As the reader above mentioned, a neti pot can be helpful, although I don't get full relief from it. Currently, I'm experimenting with acupuncture for allegies/headaches.

The local honey thing is definately something that works! When we moved to Germany we encountered many new plants and new sniffles and I instantly started buying honey from our "honey man" (you have to love it when a little old man comes to your door every couple of months to sell you honey) and within no time we were all doing MUCH better. And now, five years later none of us ever has allergies to anything that blooms here in our village or surrounding areas.

SURVEY - QUESTION #23 F.Y.I. "Sunday" is a day of the week. "Sundae" is an ice-cream dessert. You blew it guys..... from a journalism grad, K

For those of you that love the idea of using local honey to help combat seasonal allergies, the National Honey Board provides an awesome resource at www.honeylocator.com. You can check out honey producers in your area, or search by honey varietal.

I am on my 3rd year of flaxseed oil to combat my seasonal allergies, and was a little disappointed that wasn't on your list. It has been wonderful, as well as having many other positive health benefits besides relieving allergies. My favorite is Spectrum Essentials - Organic Ultra-Enriched Flax Oil, with lignans 15% flaxseed added (purple label). I never would have guessed such a healthful alternative to allergy pills (which give me hives!).

I've been using a natural allergy supplement called Aller Rescue from Peak Nutrients. It's 100% vegetarian and has quercetin, stinging nettle, citrus bioflavonoids, vit C, etc. It's worked extremely well for me. I got it at www.peaknutrients.com. I have never tried the honey thing but I will definitely look into it. Thanks for all the great tips!

The answer is acupuncture + herbs. My acupuncturist has gotten so many people off claritin, permanently. That means cured, and not a lifetime dependency on the treatments, since it changes the imbalances in your body.

Regarding the March 5th tip about organic meat... Um, I'm sorry, but I'm awfully sick of hearing and reading about how to make the world greener by eating organic and "ethically raised" meat. It's nonsense on so many levels, and it seems that promoting and buying this type of meat is only a PC way of appeasing meat-eaters' consciences. If you want to see some green progress and really feel like a decent human being when you sit down to a meal, GIVE UP YOUR ANIMAL PRODUCT-CONSUMING WAYS! Environmentally speaking, supporting the animal product industry is worse than driving the biggest Hummer on the market. As I'm sure so many of you know, the greenhouse gas contribution from the methane that animals produce is WAY higher than that contribution of automobile emissions. So, congratulations if you drive a Hybrid. But if you're driving it to your local farmers market to pick up some organic steaks, I'd suggest you take a long and hard look at your REAL carbon footprint. Walk the truly green walk. And as far as ethics go, let's say the year is 1939. Someone tells you, "Hey, you know all those people the Nazis have taken from their homes and families? Well yes, they are being held against their will. BUT! They really lead a fantastic lives. They get to walk around outside a few times a day and they eat organic food and they're truly pampered--before they're sent off to the gas chambers. So put your mind at ease! There's really no need to go to war against those Nazis!" Make sense? I say to you meat-eating "environmentalists" the same thing I say to meat-eating "pro-lifers": get used to being a hypocrite. Because that's what you'll be until you stop feasting on the corpses, milk, and eggs of defenseless animals. And to Ideal Bite: tips like those are so lame. I expected more from you guys.