Seasonal Allergies

As spring begins so do the seasonal allergies. Pollination is so important for plants, however, My 7-year-old daughter has a pollen allergy, with all of the symptoms like a runny nose, watery eyes and a cough. This makes me a busy mom as I start spring cleaning to make sure at home she is not having any of these symptoms. I am not in favor of over the counter medicines, so this made me start to think, and I started doing research on how to build the immune system to help my daughter fight off her allergies.

Seasonal Allergy Relief

I found that histamine is the main cause of these symptoms, the body thinks pollen and dust are bad and start defending the body by releasing histamine into the bloodstream which intern triggers the symptoms such as: watery eyes, runny nose, cough, etc… A quick way is to avoid all the pollen in the air, but avoiding the outdoors in the spring and summer for a kid? There’s no way that’s not possible! Then what’s next? I started looking natural remedies or antihistamine foods. The following are some of the ways that might help reduce the symptoms and frequency of allergy occurrence.

Nose Rinse

A simple nose rinse clears the nasal passage and will get rid of the symptoms of allergies quickly and easily. Rinsing 2-3 times a day has shown a positive result for my daughter, especially on a windy day after coming back from school. She rinses her nose twice before going to bed and it gives her a great relief as she was able to sleep through the night without her allergies getting in the way.

Onions

Onions have unique antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients. Among the flavonoids, onions also provide a particularly large amounts of quercetin. Quercetin is a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory, making it effective for naturally lowering the effects of seasonal and food allergies. Quercetin can help stabilize the release of histamines from certain immune cells, which results in decreased symptoms such as: coughs, watery eyes, runny noses, hives, swollen lips or tongue, and indigestion. In one research study they found that flavonoids in onions do not get affected in frying. However, boiling onion leads to about 30% loss of quercetin glycosides, which transfers to the boiling water. Onions are used to cook various dishes across world and anyone can easily incorporate them into their cooking, I personally use it as much as possible in my cooking!

Recipe that may help reduce the symptoms of allergies:

You will need…

1 red onion
4 cups of water
Organic, raw, honey to taste

Directions

Thinly slice the onion and add it to the water and allow it to infuse for 8-12 hours before drinking, drink one cup 1-2 times daily. It can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Stir some honey into individual glasses when you drink it if you like.

Nettle Leaves

Consuming stinging nettle tea may help prevent seasonal allergies, or improve symptoms such as sneezing and itching caused by allergic rhinitis if you already have this problem. The results of a clinical trial of stinging nettle as a possible aid for allergies was published in the journal Planta Medica. After consuming a dried preparation of stinging nettle for one week, subjects with allergic rhinitis experienced a lessening of symptoms compared to a placebo group. Although this study suggests that nettle tea might be beneficial for allergies, this was a small trial and larger studies are needed to confirm its benefit.

Bromelain

Bromeliad is an enzyme that is found in Pineapple and it has anti-inflammatory properties. Eating the fibre-rich core of a juicy, ripe pineapple is the best way to consume natural sources of bromelain. However, if you are allergic to pineapple as I am this may not be helpful.

Vitamins and Minerals

Taking multiple vitamin-mineral supplements with an extra 3 to 4 grams of vitamin C, Quercetin, and B5 may reduce allergy symptoms. Vitamin C and B5 help to ameliorate the impacts of stress by supporting the weakened adrenals; the adrenal corticosteroids released can then minimize the allergic inflammatory response. Other B vitamins like Folic acid, B6, and B12 all support antibody formation.

Vitamin A and Zinc are helpful in alleviating allergy symptoms. Copper helps in leveling of histamine in the body. Copper in the blood is fixed to the protein ceruloplasmin, and copper is part of the enzyme histaminase, which is involved in the metabolism of histamine. However, with copper supplements caution needs to be taken as there is a very thin line between therapeutic and toxic levels.

Thank you for reading through this blog. A word of caution, as with natural remedies, there are no side effects but may interfere with any medical condition or medicine. Always pay attention to what we eat and how it works with our body.

This blog is for information purpose only, please consult with a proper practitioner before trying any remedies.