Is Hay fever season affecting you?

It’s that time of the year again when I get many looking for help with their hay fever!!!

The irritating symptoms as you know only too well if you are a sufferer are sore, puffy, itchy watery eyes, to continual sneezing and a runny or congested nose. Did you know hay fever did not actually exist before the industrial revolution?

Research now indicates that an accumulation of pollutants such as pesticides, paints, body care products, household cleaning agents are the chemicals that actually became the sensitizers! Which means they are really the initial trigger. The membranes within the nose and throat begin by becoming inflamed. Then the next thing that comes along, such as grass pollens, the body treats as a threatening foreign invader which increases any inflammation and induces allergic type symptoms.

It is important to realise it is the chemicals that sensitise the body in the first place. Hay fever can sometimes be confused with a condition called allergic rhinitis, which occurs all year round and is triggered by the above pollutants as well as dust. The other most common trigger is food. When the body produces a reaction the result is inflammation. The bodies’ way of controlling that is through producing histamine. When the body cannot break down the histamine the level remains high in the body producing VERY IRRITATING symptoms continuously.

The good news is I work with many clients in helping them to breakdown the levels of histamine present in the body, in the majority of cases all symptoms vanish. Having a good strong immune system is very important. If it is weak it cannot breakdown the excess histamine. People who eat or drink excess sugary foods are usually those worse affected as the immune system is really affected by sugar, stimulants, alcohol and of course stress!

What many people fail to know is that for many hayfever sufferers, the problem is made worse by the foods they eat which are naturally high in histamine and therefore best avoided in allergy prone sufferers. These include any fermented foods such as wine, strawberries, kiwis, bananas, pears, plums, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, regular black tea, smoked meats and fish including ham, salami, herring, tuna, and hard aged cheeses! By cutting these out of your diet for 4-6 weeks you will be amazed by the difference. Greatly reduce your exposure to any foods with additives and preservatives, and produce sprayed with pesticides/herbicides. Eating organic is best.

Dairy foods are mucus forming and exacerbate the problem. Dairy is best eliminated along with any other food you may be intolerant to such as wheat when symptoms are acute. Quercitin supplement is a natural antihistamine, which helps reduce puffy eyes and irritation in the nose. Different people need different things to help them, but bear in mind there is a natural way to beat it.

Often times there is an underlying gut problem which is then exacerbated during hay fever season and also there is often a misaligned jaw connection too. When the jaw is misaligned natural drainage form the nose, eyes, ears cannot happen as effectively as it should and therefore the sinuses block up and often becomes acute infected to add to the problem. I lived on anti-histamines for years, one would work for a while, then I need another, nothing really made any difference, until I worked on my entire system.

Boosting my immunity, realigning my jaw, restoring my gut health and restoring my nutrient levels all helped me to regain my health. Now I never touch an, anti-histamine nor do I need to avoid naturally high histamine foods, so I for one am very happy about that. There are many other things in the body which need to be checked and supported too but NOW is the time to start eliminating those high histamine foods as pollen season is right upon us. Garlic, onions & nettle tea are all good choices as they stimulate the liver to detoxify your system and reduce inflammation.