I don’t know about you, but I’m SO OVER this cold and clammy weather – Bring On Spring! Sunny, cool days… budding trees and flowers. Just thinking about it makes me happy! There was a time, though, when the thought of spring made me cringe. Can you guess why? Two words: allergy season.
I would get sick with allergies every spring and fall like clockwork. It would start off simple enough… itchy eyes and sneezing. Then, faster than you can say the word “Benedryl”, my itchy-sneeziness would turn into a full-blown sinus infection and I would be out of commission for weeks. I’m so thankful that those days are far behind behind me now. Interestingly, I’ve seen through allergy testing that I’m still allergic to the same weeds and molds that would make me sick in the past. The difference today is the health of my immune system. Do I have your attention? What I’m about to say could literally change the life of a chronic seasonal allergy sufferer. Two words: elimination diet.
In my opinion, this is THE KEY to unlocking your health potential – including better immune function and controlling allergy symptoms without the use of heavy medication. The ED takes all heavily processed, refined and fake foods out of your diet, along with a handful of natural foods that are more likely to engage your immune system – namely gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, beef, pork, shellfish, and corn. Taking these foods out of your diet takes a burden off of your immune system, freeing it to normalize and stop overreacting to stimuli like pollen and dust. Hello? Who wants a teenage girl for an immune system?? Not me!
Now, did my personal change happen overnight? No. When I first started this “therapeutic lifestyle change“, I still needed a little acute allergy help. In my determination to not go back to Flonase or Claritin, I decided to try a few natural remedies to go along with my new natural diet/lifestyle and a few of them became my “go to” when I needed to recommend something to a client or patient. One of my favorites is a combination of quercetin (a natural anti-histamine) and bromelain (a natural anti-inflammatory) taken on an empty stomach. It works like a charm, but only if you take it on an empty stomach, which can be hard to remember. Sinuplex, a homeopathic remedy, is a little easier to take since the tablets dissolve in your mouth, but not as effective at symptom relief. High doses of vitamin C work well too, as well as high doses of fish oil, due to their natural anti-inflammatory or anti-histamine properties.
So, if you’re a seasonal allergy sufferer like I was, there is hope for you yet! Eating mostly foods from the elimination diet is absolutely the secret to success in treating chronic allergies and eliminating the insufferable symptoms associated with them. How great will it be to actually look forward to spring this year instead of dreading it?
