Allergic to pollen? Here's what to avoid

Pollen allergic people should avoid food supplements based on bee products, namely royal jelly and propolis, the health security agency (ANSES) recommended on Wednesday.

Food safety reported three cases of severe allergic reactions, including severe breathing difficulties

A 29-year-old woman had to go to the emergency room. Another 49-year-old solved the crisis with the help of her doctor and antihistamines. And a last 65 years also took an antihistamine.

"It is advised to people allergic to pollens but also to people predisposed to allergies or asthma to avoid consuming these products," wrote ANSES in a statement

The case of honey, another product of the hive, is less clear.

"In one of the dietary supplements in question there is honey, but we dismissed it as allergenic agent In this case, it was rather the propolis, "explained AFP the director of risk badessment nutrition ANSES, Irène Margaritis.

The agency does not advise against the pollen allergic honey

Royal jelly is a substance with which bees feed the larvae and queen of a colony. Propolis is a resinous substance derived from trees and transformed by bees to build the cells in their hives. Manufacturers of food supplements praise their benefits against aging, stress, viruses or digestive disorders.

But ANSES especially calls for vigilance.

"Consuming food supplements is not trivial. He says it again: it is a concentration of substances, it is a health professional who, if there is any interest, must evaluate the interest of taking it, "said Margaritis (19659004). In the case of royal jelly and / or propolis supplements, the incidents reached "the highest level of severity in our scale [hors décès] .This level represents a danger to health, with in some cases a threat to the prognosis vital, "she added.