By purchasing locally-made honey, you provide incentive for beekeepers and honey producers to continue with their trade (or maybe it's just a hobby), but there's also potentially something in it for you as well. Honey that is made locally near where you live can often boost your immune system against seasonal allergies. Why exactly is that?

The simplest explanation is that honeybees collect pollen from plants and flowers that are found in your region. When you consume honey that is grown in your environment, it contains local elements that will often act as an immune booster. If you are over-exposed to certain pollens, you can develop a serious allergy to them, but oddly enough, the small, manageable doses you'll receive in honey can have the opposite effect and protect you. It is likened to "undergoing a whole series of allergy immunology injections."

If you suffer from allergies, reap the health benefits of local honey by taking a teaspoon or two of it each day in the months leading up to pollen season.

The question as to just how local the honey should be is often asked and the simple answer is that the closer it is grown to where you live, the more likely it will be to contain what you need. For more information about how to find local honey, click here.

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