Spring is in the air: Changing your diet to help lessen your allergies

Thursday, May 19, 2011 by: Kshamica S. Nimalasuriya MD, MPH
Tags: allergies, diet, health news

(NaturalNews) What's a non-allergenic diet? Well, it's a diet that decreases your level of reaction to external allergens. In other words, it's dietary changes you can make to help improve your allergies and to help reduce the itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing and wheezing.

Dairy products and sugar cause the creation of more mucus in the body. Mucus should be thin and runny to help get rid of allergens. When mucus gets thick allergens get stuck in the body instead of being cleared out which causes allergy symptoms to be more pronounced. So limiting both dairy and sugar is one way to help allergies.

Allergy is connected to the immune system and inflammation so it makes sense to strengthen this part of the body.

Quercetin is a bioflavonoid, which may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties helpful for allergies. Foods rich in quercetin include green tea, apples, onions, kale, papaya, kale, broccoli and many berries. Eating these foods may lessen the common allergy symptoms.

Vitamin C is a great immune boosting vitamin and is a great addition to meals during spring. Foods rich in vitamin C include bell peppers, dark leafy greens, broccoli, papaya and oranges. The two herbs with the most vitamin C are thyme and parsley.

Allergic symptoms are caused by histamine being released in our bodies. Avoiding foods high in histamine can help reduce these symptoms. These foods include tofu, beer, sausage, blue cheese, red wine, eggplant and many canned fish.

There are also a number of herbal products that are anti-histamines, which can help reduce allergy symptoms. These include nettle, chamomile, garlic and plantain.

So there are many things to add and subtract from the diet to help with allergies!

Before taking a natural herb for your allergies, consult your doctor. Some herbs can have interactions with other herbs, as well as dangerous side effects when taken with prescription and over the counter medications.

Check out the current pollen count in your area by checking out websites such as this one www.aaaai.org/nab (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology National Allergy Bureau).

About the author:
Kshamica Nimalasuriya MD, MPH is a Preventive Medicine Physician involved with merging Media with Health, Open-Source Education, Herbal Medicine, Fitness, Nutrition, Wellness, and Love. She works on many initiatives bridging the global digital divide of health care education.

She has a line of organic natural skin care: www.NaturalEarthBody.com

You can also find her on twitter: www.twitter.com/drkshamicamd www.NaturalEarthBody.com