You know you should eat nutritious food every day to stay healthy, but did you realize how important it is to eat properly when it’s allergy season? We’d like to offer you some ways to improve your diet that will increase your immunity and reduce hay fever and other symptoms of springtime allergies.
Reduce omega-6, increase omega-3 fatty acids.
We tend to eat far too many omega-6 fatty acids, and several studies have shown that eating this way makes allergy symptoms worse. Omega-6 fatty acids are typically found in processed foods and vegetable oils.
An easy fix is to eat mostly omega-3 fatty acids from foods such as fish, Brussels sprouts, flaxseeds, walnuts broccoli, and strawberries. You do need the Omega-6 fats, but get them from natural sources, such as nuts and seeds.
Eat healthy, her
bal, hot, and honey to kill allergies.
Eat the rainbow—try to include foods of all colors in your diet. Eating fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors ensures you receive the full range of antioxidants, vitamins, and flavonoids, which will help reduce hay fever and other springtime allergies.
Some herbal supplements are helpful, including nettles, quercetin, goldenseal, and vitamin C. Quercetin and vitamin C should be taken year-round for optimal benefit. While we’re talking about vitamins, come see us for a consultation, and we’ll help you to design a nutritional supplement plan that works best for you.
Hot stuff works too! Try some habanero peppers, Chinese mustard, horseradish, and cayenne pepper. All of them have health benefits besides helping with your allergies.
If you can find local honey, it will have small amounts of the local pollen. If you eat a teaspoon a day, your immune system will desensitize to the pollen, reducing your allergy symptoms.
Avoid foods that at you are sensitive to, and especially stop eating those that make you feel worse the next day.
Are you sure it’s a pollen issue and not a food issue? One of the best ways to know your food sensitivities is with a blood test. Any allergist can run one for you to see exactly what you’re allergic to.
Pay attention to the fit of your clothes, your moods, and your brain. Some foods may make you feel like you’re having a seasonal allergy attack, but it may be food sensitivity.
Can the processed foods.
Processed foods contain extra helpings of the foods we know to be wary of, such as sugar, trans fats, additives, and preservatives. (They also contain an enormous amount of sodium.) Low-fat foods are notorious for being loaded with sugar. Don’t eat them.
Also avoid the following because they produce mucus, stress the body, or are a significant allergen themselves:
- Yeast, alcohol, dairy, and sugar
- Red meat
- Simple carbohydrates
- Caffeine
- Salt
If you need help planning your foods, let us know. We’d like to see you for a consultation if you have springtime allergies.
