Hayfever can make the beauty of spring dissipate in an instant. If you are one of those that are sensitive to moulds, then the rich autumn colours are not much fun either. You’ve tried all the over-the-counter medications, always with a box of tissues and they leave you with a feeling of tiredness and over activity all at the same time. As well as that, your brain feels like it is made of jelly and should essentially belong on another planet.
There are things nutritionally that can be done to ease the discomfort of seasonal allergies. Histamine is produced from an allergic reaction and causes the allergy symptoms such as inflammation. It is therefore a good idea to eat an anti-inflammatory diet which can lessen the severity of the allergy symptoms.
These are the foundations to an anti-inflammatory diet:
- Avoid or limit consumption of highly processed and refined foods
- Increase your intake of wholefoods such as vegetables, fruit and whole grains
- In an allergy sensitive person, a high intake of meat can cause inflammation. It is therefore a better choice to decrease your meat intake (if your meat intake is high) and increase your fish intake. The omega 3 fatty acids in fish can act as an anti-inflammatory
- Limit dairy intake. Be sure to replace the calcium found in dairy with other calcium rich foods
- Avoid trans fats and refined oils, opt for extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil instead
The following isolated nutrients are known to be anti-inflmmatory and can be very useful in lessening the effect of seasonal allergies:
- Quercitin. This is a phyonutrient found in plants and acts as an antioxidant. These powerful nutrients are found in apples, onions, berries, garlic, parsley to name a few
- Vitamin C acts as an anti-inflammatory. Foods that are hight in vitamin C include berries, kiwi fruit, citrus fruits, broccoli and tomatoes
- Cold water fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel are a good source of omega 3 fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory
- Probiotics are important as well as they help to keep the gut bacteria in symbiosis which is very important in building a strong immune system
For further information about how to treat allergies, you can contact your nutritionist or naturopath.
Originally published on Feb 11, 2015
