Stop Allergies & Prevent Their Return with A Simple Natural Allergy Remedy
50 Million Americans are afraid to leave their homes today to face their #1 health nemesis—springtime allergies.
While a number of us delight in the blossoming flowers and warm, gentle breezes of spring, for many others these scenes are a prelude to sneezing, sniffling, red and watery eyes, itchy throat, fatigue, eczema, and sometimes even asthma attacks.
Conventional treatments for the nearly 40% of the population afflicted with spring time allergies include weekly (sometimes even daily) shots, constant doses of anti-histamines that dry out mucous membranes, and often times prescription steroid inhalers.
In fact, more than 13.4 million doctor visits per year are due to allergies!
You can count yourself out of this staggering number, however, if you understand why your body responds the way it does and what is truly going on inside, and take measures that provide support with one of the most effective natural allergy remedies.
The Chain Reaction
Allergens like pollen, mold, and dust are irritating because they trigger the body to release histamine, which enables white blood cells to neutralize the allergens and remove them from the body.
The problem is that the process doesn’t stop there. Histamine increases the permeability of our capillaries—causing the runny nose and watery eyes that we know all too well, and also begins an inflammatory response in our bodies.
Fast oxidizers and individuals with copper imbalance are at the greatest risk for allergies as they tend to have excessive cell permeability.
A hair analysis test will assess your levels of calcium and magnesium in relationship to sodium and potassium to determine if you are a fast or slow oxidizer. Copper and zinc are also measured to conclude proper balance.
To counteract the inflammation, the adrenal glands release extra cortisol. This is okay for a one-time exposure, but when you are repeatedly bombarded by allergens for weeks or even months at a time, cortisol reserves can easily be depleted and adrenal burnout will follow.
If you already have high levels of stress, you might not even have enough cortisol to begin with!
Breaking The Chain
The best way to stop the allergy cycle is to support and naturally restore adrenal health.
By ensuring adequate levels of cortisol, you can guarantee that your body will respond to allergens in the proper way. Surprisingly, respiratory health is very closely tied to adrenal health! Who knew that supporting your adrenals may be one of the most valuable natural allergy remedies.
The Adrenal Remedy for Allergies
- Evaluate your risk for adrenal fatigue—do you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning? Energy highs and lows throughout the day? High stress levels? Chronic pain? A high tendency for catching colds? Difficulty falling asleep or frequent waking in the night? If you’re still not sure, the Adrenal Stress Panel will have the answers.
- Start supporting your adrenals now if you answered yes to any of the previous questions! Using a combination of tissue glandulars (from certified disease free New Zealand cows), amino acids, and supportive vitamins and minerals, the UNI KEY Adrenal Formula is my go-to product for total adrenal health. 1 or 2 caplets at the Circadian rhythm times of 7 a.m., 11 a.m., and 3 p.m. provides all the necessary nutritional components to restore optimal adrenal function.
- Make sure to get zinc and vitamin A in your diet. These nutrients are crucial to adrenal health, so incorporate plenty of eggs, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts and seeds, sweet potatoes, leafy greens, and fish. Eating breakfast before 10 am, reducing caffeine, sugar, processed carbs, and emphasizing protein at every meal and a protein-rich bedtime snack are other keys to help you recoup your energy, vitality, and enhance immune resistance during allergy season.
- Don’t over-exercise. Too much high intensity activity will also ramp up cortisol production and deplete antioxidants stores that protect against stress-related inflammation.
- Eliminate environmental stressors that deplete your cortisol reserves. Spend some time each day in a Wi-Fi free zone and be sure to disable your wireless router before bed. Don’t carry your cell phone on your person—keep it in a purse or briefcase. Reduce your use of electronics (TV, laptop, Kindle, etc.) and dim the lights in the evening to help you wind down for sleep.
- Find a stress relief method that works for you. Take an evening walk with your family, spend some quiet time alone to pamper yourself, read an uplifting book, meditate, or laugh with friends. Reducing stress will go a long way for improving your body’s immune response.
Going Beyond Glands
Along with proper adrenal gland support, several other natural allergy remedies will lessen the instance and severity of symptoms.
To strengthen capillaries and effectively stop the “water works” associated with spring allergies, consider supplementing with quercetin and hesperidin, 500 mg 3 times daily, and 500 mg of rutin once per day. These bioflavonoids partner with antioxidants to strengthen cell membranes. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for this as well!
A study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation linked low levels of vitamin D with allergies. “We found that adding vitamin D not only substantially reduced the production of the protein driving an allergic response, but it also increased production of the proteins that promote tolerance,” says lead researcher Jay Kolls, MD, at Louisiana State University Health Science Center.
So have your vitamin D levels checked with a simple blood test by your health care practitioner, and supplement accordingly.
Barley and other gluten-containing grains (like rye, wheat, spelt, kamut, and teff), beer, cheese, corn, mushrooms, soy sauce and tamari, vinegar (except for apple cider), and wine are dietary sources of molds and yeasts that are best avoided by anyone with allergies.
Drinking alcohol during allergy season can create further swelling of the sinus and nasal membranes. No more nightcaps for a while!
A 2011 Finnish study published in the International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, found that compared to the control group, the subjects using birch pollen honey during the birch pollen season as a natural allergy remedy experienced a 60% reduction in symptoms, two times as many asymptomatic days, 70% fewer days with severe symptoms and a 50% decrease in usage of antihistamines.
Add a spoonful of raw local honey to your morning hot water and lemon both as a preventative now and as a treatment later.
Our hair is a prime hiding place for pollen to collect, so shower and wash your hair before settling in for the evening. Change your clothes after being outside on high pollen count days and stay indoors when it’s windy.
Using a neti pot or nasal spray can also help remove pollen trapped in the mucous lining of your sinuses. Mix ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon baking soda to use in a neti pot or nasal squirt bottle once daily for 3 days at a time. Increasing the frequency will impair your mucous’ ability to do its job, so take it easy on this one!
What are your tried and true natural allergy remedies?
Have you used one of the methods I’ve listed here? I’d love to hear about it! Please leave your comment below!
