HOW TO NATURALLY FIGHT ALLERGY SEASON

Are you a person who suffers from runny noses, clogged sinuses or itchy eyes whenever the snow melts and the flowers bloom? You are probably one of those people who “love” winter just because you dread allergy season.  Well spring doesn’t have to always be related with allergies, and here are some tips to help you welcome the greenery without the suffering.

Herbs

Herbs are an easy drug free way to help with some symptoms you may be experiencing.  You can enjoy herbs in tinctures or in teas, if you love teas then enjoy some of these loose leaf herbs, not much of a tea person then purchase a tincture to take daily.   Some of these herbs that will help are nettle, yarrow, horehound, mullein leaf, or wild cherry bark.

Probiotics

Probiotics is a supplement that should be taken year around on a daily basis.  They are used to build up the good bacteria in your intestines that help out your immune system.  Taking a daily probiotic will help your immune system fight any allergy symptoms.

Quercetin

This is a bioflavonoid that can be taken to help with allergy symptoms; it works by stabilizing the membranes of the cells that release histamine.  I introduced this supplement to my mom a couple years ago because she suffers from seasonal allergies and now she swears by it.  She usually starts to take the Quercetin when allergy season starts and ups the dose if she has any symptoms.  This should not be taken if you are any of the following medications: cyclosporine, estradiol, or felodipine.

Things to Avoid

There are some food choices to avoid when you are experiencing seasonal allergies.  If there are foods you are already allergic to or have sensitivities to, try to avoid eating those as they will make your seasonal allergies worse.  Things like dairy, processed flours and sugars should try to minimized or avoided due to the fact that they will create more inflammation in the body that will worsen symptoms.  If you have a ragweed allergy avoid bananas, chamomile tea, and sunflowers.  If you have a tree pollen allergies avoid cherries, apples, carrots and almonds.

A general way to try to avoid severe allergy symptoms is the detox before allergy season starts.  Allergies are usually caused by an already overloaded immune system, so if you can try to detox your body and build your immune system then your allergies may not be so bad.  A simple detox would be to try sticking to whole foods and avoiding any processed foods.  Adding more vegetables into your diet is always a good idea and foods high in zinc or a zinc supplement will help build up your immune system before all the pollen comes.  Hope these simple tricks help, happy sneezing!