Question: I love to spend time outdoors, but in Spring I’m always congested and suffer from sinus headaches. I figured I have seasonal allergies. How do I get rid of these?
No matter which kind of allergy you have, whether to food, pollen, dust, mould, animals, etc, the allergy mechanism is the same. In general, you’d feel tired, hazy, sometimes dizzy and drained of energy; although the symptoms can be as different as the people who have the allergies.
Virtually any substance on earth can be a potential allergen.
In the case of food allergies, people often gain weight because of a buildup of toxins. When you are allergic to a certain food, you tend to have a craving for that food; it becomes a vicious cycle – you keep eating the same food, so that you get tired, lethargic, and heavier.
Exposure to allergies, to dust, pollen, animal hair, and dander, usually causes more “external symptoms” like sneezing, stuffy nose, and buildup of mucus in the respiratory passages and eventually in other systems like the digestive tract.
Environmental allergies often give acutely drastic symptoms; for example, those who are allergic to hydrocarbons (petroleum products, perfumes, etc) can go into convulsions and then shock. The more subtle environmental allergy will manifest as tiredness, a hazy mind, headaches, nausea, or digestive difficulties.
Getting rid of, or reversing one’s allergies, is a complex process, and it needs close monitoring and implementation over a long-term, and a rotation-elimination program to find permanent relief.
Below will see how you can guard yourself against the allergic reaction:
1. By eliminating the food allergens that could only aggravate your symptoms
- Stop drinking milk and stop eating milk products;
- Minimize consumption of wheat products even if you’re not “allergic.”
Note: these foods can make you more prone to chronic inflammation and allergies.
2. By cleaning up your diet
- Drink plenty of filtered water (10-12 glasses during the day), and avoid “fruit” beverages and sweetened “sports” drinks
- Have about three to four fruits every day, with an accent on pineapple (a source of Bromelain)
- Have a large green salad every day and three portions of vegetables
- Eat un-fried and un-breaded (read labels carefully) oily fish rich in Omega-3 fats
- Use flaxseed oil on your salads and ground flaxseeds in soups
- Eat smaller portions of all foods, and chew thoroughly
- Make the last meal of the day a complex carbohydrate meal, and allow two to three hours between the end of the meal and your bedtime (to ensure restful, healing, deep sleep)
3. By following a four-day rotation diet
4. By supporting and working towards improving your immune system (with both foods and nutritional supplements)
- Consume foods that will provide you with Quercetin, such as onions and garlic, apples, and berries; although, you’ll need more of both Bromelain and Quercetin in supplement form
- MSM alleviates allergic responses to pollen allergens and provides relief for headaches
- Take B vitamin complex, with additional vitamin B6 for an optimally functioning immune system
- Take (higher doses of) vitamin C (buffered ascorbic acid)
- Take Vitamin A, vitamin D, and zinc – allergy-busting, maintaining the health of the mucous membranes; (do not exceed recommendations)
- Additional nutrients for your digestive tract health: Digestive Enzymes, Probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria will help reduce allergic potential
Concentrate on good nutrition for your health. Every allergic reaction can cause the airways to become irritated or to constrict, resulting in difficulty breathing, stuffy and/or runny nose, headache, migraine, etc.
Work out a new pattern for how you approach eating: do not consume the same foods every day. Ideally, you’ll feel encouraged to a balanced, varied, unprocessed, and nutrient-dense diet. This will help modulate your immune system to prevent allergies and maintain a healthy digestive system.
Need more help? If you need more help, don’t hesitate to email us.
If you provide a phone number, we will call you regarding your complimentary phone consultation.
Flora Zorn, R.H.N.
Registered Holistic Nutritionist
Advanced Diagnostics & Testing
Counseling & Psychotherapy