Seasonal Allergy Relief
Spring has finally sprung and that means allergy season is also upon us. If you suffer from seasonal allergies like I do, you may not want to rely on anti-histamines to keep your symptoms at bay.
Antihistamines can be a life saver when nothing else will work, but drugs like Benadryl also increase risk for dementia since they block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which is crucial for memory and learning. In one 7-year study with 3000 participants, diphenhydramine increased risk of dementia by a whopping 54%.
Below are lots of ways you can mitigate allergy symptoms in natural ways. Give them a try and let me know what you find most helpful.
Food & Drink:
Drink an extra 2-3 cups (16-24 oz) of purified water each day. Water will help flush out excess histamine from your body and keep your mucous membranes hydrated.
Avoid mucous-producing foods. The biggest offenders here are wheat, milk products (including yogurt), deep fried foods, soy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol.
Eat more high vitamin C foods like brightly colored veggies, sweet potatoes and berries for an anti-histamine boost.
Add 1-2 tsp of raw, local honey to your tea or add local bee pollen to your smoothies if available.
Lifestyle:
Consider buying an air filter for your home, at least for your bedroom. You can pick up an inexpensive one on Amazon, or spring for the big guns with something like an Air Doctor or EnviroKlenz.
Open those windows and ventilate your house. Indoor air quality is often terrible, especially if you use toxic fragrances and cleaning products. Ventilate first, filter second.
Keep your house as clean as possible and vacuum often. Consider instituting a no-shoes rule to help reduce pollen and pollutants being tracked in on your feet.
Wash bedding in hot water weekly.
Use a Neti Pot with salt diluted in warm water. You can also add 1/2 teaspoon of xylitol which helps clean and tonify irritated tissues, but don't do this more than 1x/week since xylitol can kill beneficial bacteria.
Use a nasal spray such as ION* Intelligence of Nature Sinus Spray (available in my dispensary), BioAllers Sinus & Allergy Nasal Spray or BEE and YOU Natural Propolis Nasal Spray (these are not affiliate links).
Supplements:
Good old Vitamin C is a powerful antihistamine. I recommend using buffered C and taking 500mg 2-3x daily with meals.
Designs for Health HistaEze (available in my dispensary) is my go-to as it contains several antihistamine bioflavanoids including nettles, quercetin, vitamin c (500 mg) and tinospora cordifolia. Yuo can usually find a nettles & quercetin combo at your local health food store.
Of all the above I've personally found that drinking LOTS of water, keeping a small air filter next to my bed, using a nasal spray, and eating lots of high Vitamin c foods have been the most effective. We're all different though, so I encourage you to experiment with these until you find the combo that's most helpful for you.
