Allergies bothering you?

Are your allergies bothering you?

If so here is some info to help with that nagging feeling this time of year.

Many states have had a moderate winter this year, which means spring’s pollen is appearing early and in full force.

Over-the-counter antihistamines can provide temporary relief, but there are unwanted side effects of sleepiness, blood pressure changes and drug interactions. Of course as soon as you stop taking them the symptoms return.  There are effective non-pharmaceutical options that can help with allergy symptoms, and while they take a little longer to kick in, they have the benefit of working to be a more permanent solution for seasonal allergy symptoms.

The natural products that produce greatest results are quercetin and grape seed extract along with Vitamin C and Probiotics. 

Quercetin is found in many plants and foods.  It is very well known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but it has very potent natural antihistamine properties as well.

Grape Seed Extract works similarly to quercetin because it is a potent antioxidant of another type.  And it inhibits the chemicals in the body that cause swelling of the nasal tissue. 

Vitamin C is reported to also regulate histamine, with low levels being associated with higher levels of histamine. One study found that vitamin C helped reduced lung issues to histamine in allergy sufferers.

The best bet for a long-term solution for seasonal allergies, is probiotics because our healthy bacteria keep your gut healthy, which in turn keeps your immune system healthy. Probiotics reduce allergies because they help train the immune system, even to things like pollen, dust and other environmental allergens. Research shows that newly born infants with low levels of healthy bacteria are more apt to develop environmental allergies and eczema, while infants with healthy gut flora are less prone to seasonal, food and skin allergies, like eczema. There is not a clear study on which probiotics reduce allergies the most so take a supplement with multiple strands.

Another thing to consider is that if you have environmental allergies you should be tested for food allergies as well. If someone has environmental allergies, the chances are fairly high they will also have some type of allergy or sensitivity to food proteins, like wheat casein or milk proteins. It will be tough to fully overcome environmental allergies if there are issues in the gut from food allergies as well.

Good luck this spring!