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5.16.2013
Alleriges suck. 5 easy ways to put out that fire...
You
know it’s coming... the red itchy eyes. The stuffy nose. The constant
sneezing and wheezing. The headaches... oh the headaches! Seasonal
Allergies.
1 in 4 people suffer from allergies of some kind - seasonal, food, skin,
etc. You are not alone! It doesn’t help that this year is supposed to be
a rough one for those with allergies, at least in Chicago.
I'm
here to tell you there are other things to help you out besides downing
a handful of Claritin and passing out for 4 hours (well, at least you avoided
symptoms during those 4 hours...).
Allergies
are your body's reaction to specific foreign bodies, and can vary for
different people. Having bad allergies is a sign that your immune system has tagged certain things as "bad" and is working overtime to fight them. It's your body's immune response that's to blame for those symptoms we all hate.
The next time you find yourself reaching for the medicine cabinet, why not try these easy remedies first.
Here are my top 5 ways of quelling that allergic fire...
1. Neti that nizzle!
I love me some pot... NETI POT that is.
Nasal
irrigation has been used since ancient times, with the earliest records
found in the Ayurvedic tradition. The old school way of doing it was to
just cup salt water in your hands, sniff it up your nose and blow it right
out. Pleasant visual there.
I find that tools like the neti pot make this experience much more
pleasant, and even fun (if you’re a weirdo like me). There’s something
about seeing gross stuff being flushed out of my nose that sends a
feeling of accomplishment over me...
Neti
at the first sign of congestion. It would also be a good idea to neti
on a regular basis for maintenance. One thing that I found super helpful
- which is also apart of the nasal irrigation tradition but got lost
somewhere along the road - is to oil the inside of your nostrils with
sesame oil after you neti. This re-lubricates the nasal passage so that
the dryness doesn’t provoke an overproduction of mucus.
2. Choose nettles + feverfew for relief (this is a two-for-one!)
Nettles
are another old school remedy - Native Americans used stinging nettle
for thousands of years to treat allergies and other ailments. Stinging
nettle leaf is a major antihistamine that aids in the prevention of hay
fever symptoms... without the side effects of typical allergy
medications. That means no danger of passing out from drowsiness and
missing those lovely spring days! You can get nettles in the dried form
for making tea, liquid tinctures to take as drops, or freeze dried in
capsule form.
Feverfew
is a great anti-inflammatory medicinal herb and works synergistically
with stinging nettle leaf! You can take Stinging Nettle Leaf (must be
freeze dried to retain active compounds) along with Feverfew so they can
tag team your allergy woes.
3. Ditch dairy
...and
gluten! Oh yes I did. You might be saying “Oh brother, here we go again
with the dairy/gluten-free thing.” But here’s the truth: both
dairy and gluten are inflammatory foods. Which means they provoke your
immune system by causing extra inflammation and can make symptoms worse!
Besides feeding the inflammatory fire, many people are actually
sensitive or allergic to these foods and don’t even realize it. This
creates an immune system that’s working overtime and over active. Not to
mention damaging your gut - where 70-80% of your immune system exists!
Word of advice... try eliminating these foods from your diet for a period
of one week and see if you feel a better.
4. Put on that tankini and get some sunny D!
Git
yer butt in some sunshine stat. Asthma sufferers... I’m looking at
you. Of course, everyone needs appropriate amounts of vitamin D and fact
is, most of us are deficient. But if you have asthma, optimizing your
vitamin D levels is paramount according to this study linking asthma with lower vitamin D levels.
Ideally,
you'll want to get your vitamin D from safe sun exposure. You could
also do a safe tanning bed or an oral vitamin D3 supplement. Worried
about vitamin D toxicity? Most Americans are very deficient and
therefore can use higher doses, but always ask your doctor to check your
D levels when doing blood work. And if you’re sourcing your vitamin D
from basking in the sun, your body makes the exact amount you need with
no risk of ODing on D!
5. Drink Green Tea
As
you may know, green tea has some pretty powerful antioxidant phytonutrients. EGCG
(epigallocatechin gallate) is one of them - it actively blocks histamine
and immunoglobulin E (IgE - one of our antibodies) production which
means it reduces allergy symptoms. Thanks again, green tea. Drink it
daily or add matcha powder to smoothies. My favorite kinds are
gunpowder and genmaicha (green tea + roasted brown rice).
Remember that addressing the root of allergy problems and the severity of the symptoms takes more than just a cover up job with meds. It’s important to know that there is a whole lot more we can be doing to make allergy season less doomsday-like and more "bring it on, allergies ain't got nuthin' on me"-like. If you're interested in finding out more about how you can make real changes, holla at me by clicking here to schedule a breakthru session.
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