This time of year, are you itching, sneezing, and sniffling? If that's the case, you've got a classic case of seasonal allergies on your hands! At the very least, seasonal allergies are inconvenient, and at the very worst, they may be debilitating. Allergies are the worst thing that may happen to a tasty Spring grill-out. You're frying the chicken one minute and sneezing on it the next. Yuck! But don't be concerned. It's nothing that a couple of natural mend won't fix!
WHAT ARE SEASONAL ALLERGIES AND HOW DO I PREVENT THEM?
Seasonal allergies are an immunological reaction to pollen in the air that is local and seasonal. These triggers will cause IgE antibodies to be produced, which will stimulate immunological molecules to release histamine, causing inflammation and the classic allergic symptoms. They're most common in the spring when flowers blossom, but they may happen at any time.
An allergic reaction happens when histamine builds up in the body (without being adequately broken down): sneezing, congestion, headaches, itchy eyes, edema, and so on. These symptoms may make you feel exhausted and have a negative impact on your quality of life. This is why it's critical to assist the body in ably managing histamine levels!
THE MOST COMMON REASONS FOR SEASONAL ALLERGIES
Diet and lifestyle choices are among the many prevalent variables and causes of persistent seasonal allergies. Allergies may be caused by a variety of things, including mold, dust, animal fur, odors, and pollen. Poor gut health, on the other hand, is the primary cause of seasonal allergies. When the gut barrier is compromised, histamines are likely to be over-reacted, main in allergies to everything under the sun, both environmental and non-environmental. This helps to explain why people with autoimmunity frequently suffer from allergies. Because the gut contains 80% of our health system, it's no surprise that a weakened gut causes strong immunological reactions in the body (AKA allergies). As a result, allergy patients must focus on maintaining a healthy gut bacteria and lining!
Aside from your gut health, there are a slew of other factors that may exacerbate your allergies, including:
- Permeability of the intestine
- Medicines
- Foods high in histamine (tomatoes, alcohol, coffee, chocolate, citrus)
- Foods that cause inflammation (those that are processed, boxed, packaged)
- Poor hygiene Emotional stress
- Sleep deprivation
- Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, of course, is essential for controlling histamine release and delivering allergy relief.
WHY ARE ALLERGIES GETTING WORSE OVER TIME?
If you have allergies, you may be wondering why they've become more severe over time. Seasonal allergies were not a big deal a few decades ago. Here are five reasons why allergy symptoms are on the rise each year.
- Food consumption is on the rise.
- Pollen count increases as a result of air pollution, and the health system suffers as a result of the loss may helpful gut bacteria.
- More perfume, candles, and artificial smells are being used as air fresheners.
- Toxic cleaning products are being used more frequently.
TREATMENT OPTIONS: CONVENTIONAL VS. NATURAL
Antihistamines, corticosteroids, inhalers, and other common allergy treatments include over-the-counter antihistamines, corticosteroids, and inhalers. In the end, these treatments alleviate symptoms but do not address the underlying source of allergies. They act by temporarily blocking the generation of histamine. Not only that, but they may also cause irritation along the tissues and cause further damage to the gut lining over time.
Alternatively, treating seasonal allergies naturally gets to the root of the problem. Home remedies and other natural therapy options (mentioned below) relieve symptoms while also treating the allergies' fundamental cause. To put it another way, these therapies lessen the quantity of histamine produced naturally while also reducing liver congestion.
SEASONAL ALLERGIES: 9 NATURAL WAYS TO IMPROVE THEM
Natural allergy relief is functional, cost-effective, and often tasty. Try these at-home mends to see if they work for you:
1. Get Your Diet in Order
Because packaged, processed, and refined meals are pro-inflammatory, they may cause an increase in histamine reaction. Furthermore, allergy sufferers are more likely to have dietary deficits. As a result, switching to a whole-food, high-quality, nutrient-dense diet may be life-changing. It has a direct effect on our health system! The purpose of your diet is to stay away from additives, added sugars, and anything else that is known to cause inflammation in your body. As always, it's better to eat high-quality, organic foods as much as possible to avoid GMOs and pesticides, which might aggravate allergies.
Increase your intake of grass-fed and finished meat, wild-caught fish, whole pasture-raised eggs, healthy fats and oils, organic nuts and seeds (excluding peanuts and pistachios, which might aggravate allergies), and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
2. Increase the intake of anti-histamine foods
Anti-histamine foods may help alleviate seasonal allergies, just as high-histamine foods may aggravate them. These foods naturally include potent antioxidants called quercetin and anthocyanins, which may help to reduce inflammation and boost the health system.
Berries, apples, citrus fruits, cherries, grapes, broccoli, red onion, red cabbage, turmeric, parsley, thyme, chamomile, fennel, arugula, and ginger are all good sources of antioxidants.
Additional Recommendation: Speak with your doctor about natural antihistamine pills containing quercetin, stinging nettle, vitamin C, and other antioxidants.
3. Stay away from Trigger Foods
Knowing your food sensitivities provides you an advantage when it comes to allergies because some foods might aggravate symptoms. When your allergies flare up, avoid any known food sensitivities. During a flare, it's also a good idea to limit or remove all frequent inflammatory trigger foods, such as gluten, dairy, corn, and soy, all of which have a similar molecular protein structure. If you don't know what your sensitivities are, you may use an elimination diet with the guidance of a practitioner. However, this may take a long time and cause further frustration for some people.
To begin, eliminate gluten, dairy, soy, and corn from your diet. I also recommend a 7-day cleanse to detoxify the liver while decreasing numerous frequent allergy trigger foods. If you've never done a gut or autoimmune reset before, check out my 7-Day Gut & Autoimmune Reset & Reboot and get started right away.
4. Eat a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods.
Anti-inflammatory foods diminish overall inflammation in the body, which lowers histamine levels. Because of their high antioxidant content, colorful fruits and vegetables are the anti-inflammatory foods available.
Consume more of the following foods: herbs and spices, quality mold-free teas, superfood powders, blueberries, kale, beets, avocado, wild-caught salmon and sardines, coconut oil, chia seeds, and ginger.
Walking, essential oils like eucalyptus and frankincense, stress management, and anti-inflammatory medicines recommended by your practitioner are some more strategies to lessen inflammation caused by allergies.
5. Encourage your gut.
As you probably already know, having a healthy gut and a diversified microbiome is essential for avoiding allergies. Because the microbiome has a direct impact on the sinuses, having a "leaky gut" is one of the key drivers of health-mediated diseases, including allergies. Most people who have taken antibiotics at some point in their lives will develop more severe seasonal allergies.
As you probably already know, having a healthy gut and a diversified microbiome is essential for avoiding allergies. Because the microbiome has a direct impact on the sinuses, having a "leaky gut" is one of the key drivers of health-mediated diseases, including allergies. Most people who have taken antibiotics at some point in their lives will develop more severe seasonal allergies.
Eat plenty of gut-healthy foods including probiotics, prebiotics, L-glutamine, enzymes, and antioxidants to improve your gut protocol. Consult a practitioner who may assist you in healing your gut the right manner, removing any recognised triggers and root causes of a weakened gut. A gut aiding treatment should preferably be tailored to the individual.
Consume more of the following foods: coconut kefir, bone broth, apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut, green bananas (unripe bananas), cooked veggies, and garlic. Also, talk to your doctor about taking a spore-based probiotic supplement. This is my personal favorite!
6. Stress Reduction
Due to the fact that perceived stress predicts allergy flare-ups, regulating emotional stress is an important aspect in reducing overall inflammation. When your stress levels rise, your allergies are likely to rise as well. To provide symptom alleviation, use stress management practices that work for you. It's also crucial to get enough sleep to minimize stress levels in the body and avoid an allergy flare-up.
Yoga, deep breathing, prayer and medicine, journaling, walking, being outside barefoot, and sticking to a regular bedtime are all good options.
7. Pour in the Manuka Honey
Manuka honey is high in antioxidants and contains methylglyoxal, which is an active molecule. This active ingredient makes it particularly useful in the battle against allergies. During allergy season, take a teaspoon every morning. The trick is to look for living enzymes with a K factor of at least 16 in your manuka honey. Additionally, taking a few tablespoons of local honey each day (depending on where you live) before allergy season begins will assist your health system recognize the allergen, allowing you to tolerate the pollen in your area when things ramp up.
8. Stay hydrated
Maintaining enough hydration aids in the removal of allergens from your system. It also provides daily cleansing, which is critical for preventing histamine buildup. Throughout the day, drink at least half your body weight in ounces.
Filtered water, natural sparkling water, and modest amounts of coconut water should all be consumed in greater quantities.
Watermelon, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, and honeydew are all good sources of hydration.
9. Incorporate Air Purification
Any allergy sufferer should clean up their environment to remove irritants. Make an effort to utilize natural cleaning supplies and cosmetics, as well as detergents that are fragrance-free. Cleaning, cleaning, and dusting your home on a regular basis are very crucial.
In addition, employing a HEPA filter to purify the air in your house is one of the things you may do for allergy relief! Allergens are tracked into your home and held there all day. That is, you are exposed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Air Doctor is my go-to air filtration system. In addition to cleansing your air, showering after being outside may be beneficial, especially because pollen may gather on your clothes, body, and even hair.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
It's important to remember that allergens exist in a variety of forms, including seasonal (pollen), food (gluten and dairy), and environmental (pollen) (mold). If you've ever suffered from seasonal allergies, you know how inconvenient they may be. The good news is that we may naturally improve and even eliminate symptoms. Allergies are almost often the outcome of a deeper dysfunction or imbalance in the body. You may kiss your allergies goodbye for good once you mend the source of the problem.
If these natural methods don't work, a customised dietary plan and evaluation through extensive integrative functional medicine lab work may be the next thing.
Consider working with me to heal your gut and increase your health if you need more help detecting and managing your seasonal allergies.
The blog post "9 Natural Ways to Tame Seasonal Allergies with Integrative Functional Medicine" was published first on Nikki Yelton
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