Natural Ways to Avoid Allergy from Pollen
Written by Jessie
on July 2nd, 2009
Come out in spring without a runny nose. Here is a 3-step program that will prepare your body to minimize the undesirable effects of the pollen season. It will also show you how to remove the allergic reactions with natural food instead of drugs.
What is hay fever?
Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen. Usually, the problem is from hardly visible pollens of wind-pollinated trees, grasses and weeds.
Hay fever can cause headache, runny nose, itchy eyes, throat and nose, coughing, sneezing and even fever. The easiest way to avoid a reaction is to stay inside and keep the windows closed. This sounds easy but can be very depressing and unhealthy in other ways.
Histamine
Histamine is an important protein involved in many allergic reactions. It is formed in the body from the essential amino acid histidine. Some people produce more histamine than others and typically, those who suffer from hay fever produce a lot.
Antihistamine drugs are often used to lower the histamine release and thereby reduce the allergic reaction.
The 3 step process will help you survive the hay fever season are:
Step 1 Cleanse your body
A body cleanse is a very good way to start a new season to help your body get rid of toxins. There are so many ways to clean your body. Some people choose to do a full body cleanse of a weeks fast 1-3 times a year. Another method is to have a weekly fast-day or a monthly fast-weekend. If you don’t want to fast there are many cleanses that can be bought at the health food stores. If you are new to body cleanses, a very easy way to clean out toxins is to use a raw food diet. Start by eating raw food during one raw weekend.
The bottom line is, doing a body cleanse is good, but there is no exactly right way. Choose what feels good for you, your body and your lifestyle.
Step 2 Support your liver
The liver is our most important detoxifying organ. It removes circulating histamine. Boost you liver function by eating food that supports the liver even before the pollen season starts. Vitamin-B such as biotin and inositol support the liver function. Vitamin B can be found in:
- Buckwheat
- Brown rice
- Lenses
- Sunflower seeds
- Oats
- Chicken
- Eggs
Another important way to support your liver is to minimize other substances which cause a burden on it such as fatty food and alcohol.
Step 3 Lower histamine releases naturally
Once the pollen season has started, eat natural foods that naturally lower histamine release instead of taking antihistamine drugs.
Natural antihistamines are:
- Vitamin C which can be found in citrus fruits, kiwi, black currant berries, rose hips, cauliflower and broccoli.
- Ginger
- Quercetin is a natural antihistamine that also helps reduce inflammation. It can be found in kelp, spirulina and red onion. Quercetin seems to work even better when used in conjunction with bromelain, a digestive enzyme found in pineapples.