Prevention is truly the best medicine when it comes to seasonal allergies

Published on Fri Mar 28, 2014 - 2 min read

Published by: Bryan Bradford

By Bryan Bradford, Chief Nutrition Officer of Sunflower Shoppe Natural Foods

March 28, 2014

If you are one of the millions of people who suffer every year from seasonal allergies — symptoms such as itchy, watery eyes, runny nose or post nasal drip — you should know that there are several simple things you can do to help mitigate the inflammation response that causes these symptoms.

Here are some of my favorite tips for reducing the symptoms of allergies:

1. Keep your immune system healthy and strong. When your immune system is weak, it is more likely that you will not be able to fight off potential invaders, such as airborne irritants (i.e. pollen). Be sure to take a quality probiotic supplement so that your digestive system is able to absorb nutrients and keep inflammation at bay. 

2. Shower at night and avoid hair gel. Pollens like to collect on our clothes and hair. Taking a shower at night helps wash away those pollens to reduce our nighttime exposure.

3. Supplement with Quercetin, Vitamin C, Bromelain and/or Stinging Nettles. These go-to supplements help reduce the body’s overreaction to the histamines to various pollens. It is important to note that these supplements will work best as prevention, and it could take several days to a few weeks for them to relieve symptoms once they have begun.

4. Homeopathic remedies are also a good choice for prevention. Some formulas are designed with multiple combinations of medicines to address many different specific allergens. (We have a great Homeopathy seminar on April 26 at our Colleyville – inquire about it today.)

5. A saline nasal wash daily will help rinse allergens from the nasal cavity. If you don’t already use a neti pot, give it a try!

6. Sometimes certain foods can cause a cross reaction of the proteins in the foods with the pollen in the plant. For example, if you have a tree allergy, apples, pears, carrots, celery, peaches, cherries, as well as almonds and hazelnuts can cause cross reactions. It’s best to avoid these foods during tree allergy season. For more information on allergy suppport, or other health and wellness topics, come see us at Sunflower Shoppe where great health is just a way of life!

The content and opinions expressed in this “Shoppe Talk” blog are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any illness or to provide medical advice. We are not medical doctors and we do not prescribe medication. If you have any questions about the relationship between nutrition and supplements, we recommend that you seek the advice of a qualified and licensed health practitioner. Our opinions are based on the literature and data from a variety of medical doctors, chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, biochemists and other professional researchers. You are encouraged to make your health care decisions based on your own research and the advice of a qualified health care professional.