Tis the season for allergies

Published on Sat Dec 12, 2020 - 3 min read

Published by:

Sunflower Shoppe

Treating allergies during a pandemic is nothing to sneeze at.

If you’ve turned on a T.V. lately, you will get the impression that nobody gets sick from anything other than covid-19 these days. While the covid-19 pandemic is still sweeping across the nation, something else is taking people’s breath away – allergy season. Treating allergies is a top priority for chronic allergy sufferers, especially in Texas, where we have a seemingly perpetual allergy season. However, during the coronavirus pandemic, it is even more important to treat allergies, and it could be one of the key ways to slow the pandemic.

When a foreign substance enters the body, i.e., ragweed pollen, the immune system marks it for elimination by producing the chemical histamine. This causes watery eyes, sneezing, runny noses, and sinus inflammation, which is how our body eliminates foreign substances¹ – unfortunately, it’s also how we most easily spread or get infected by coronavirus². While histamine is a handy tool to remove harmful toxins, an allergic reaction to common pollen and dust is an indication the immune system is out of balance³. Fortunately, research shows us many natural remedies that can improve our immune response to allergens and reduce allergy symptoms⁴.

Here are some of our most useful remedies:

Diet & Lifestyle:

Reducing environmental allergen exposure is the first step in fighting allergies⁵. It’s good practice to shower and wash clothes after being outdoors for an extended time. Don’t forget that shoes and pets are hidden sources of pollen contamination. Also, consider dust-proofing your bedroom by installing a HEPA air purifier, regularly dusting, and changing air conditioning filters. Be sure to check for hidden mold in bathrooms and living areas as well^6,7.
Wash your nose: Nasal sprays and Neti Pots are a great way to wash away allergens from the nasal cavity altogether. Several clinical studies using Neti Pots were shown to reduce nasal congestion, sinus infections, and improve the overall quality of life greater than prescription medications⁸!
Diet is one of the most overlooked areas for allergy relief. A lot of healthy foods like tomatoes, spinach, citrus fruits, and others cause histamine production⁹. Processed foods such as wheat¹⁰, sugar¹¹, and dairy¹² can be inflammatory and keep our immune system on high alert. Reducing dietary histamine load and eliminating inflammatory foods can dramatically reduce seasonal allergies¹³.
Stress reduction is a crucial step in treating allergies¹⁴. During times of stress, our bodies produce cortisol. This stress hormone makes our immune system hypersensitive to allergens¹⁵. If the stress is chronic it can further dysregulate our immune system leading to chemical hypersensitivity syndrome¹⁶. One of the key ways to reduce stress is to activate the body’s relaxation response, a proven physiological mechanism that lowers blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, adrenaline levels, and cortisol levels¹⁷. There are many ways to induce the relaxation response, such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, deep breathing, or exercise¹⁸.

Supplements:

Nettles are the number one anti-allergy herb. Nettle leaf has been used for hundreds of years to treat everything from high blood pressure, inflammation, and diabetes to seasonal allergies. Recent research shows that nettles contain a histamine-like compound that binds to our body’s histamine receptors and prevents natural histamine from interacting with them, avoiding inflammatory reactions much like modern medications but without the side effects¹⁹.
Butterbur is a less well-known anti-allergy herb but one of the most powerful. In one study of 580 patients, 90% experienced significant allergy relief in just one week²⁰. In other studies, directly comparing butterbur to Allegra and Zyrtec butterbur was equally effective without side effects^21,22. Butterbur blocks leukotrienes, inflammatory compounds produced along with histamine by overactive immune cells^23,24.
Quercetin, Bromelain, and Vitamin C are a classic trio when it comes to seasonal allergy relief. Quercetin is an antioxidant that stabilizes the immune system and downregulates the production of actual histamine receptors²⁵. Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory enzyme that not only helps quercetin absorption but reduces swelling in the sinuses and lungs²⁶. Vitamin C helps with the detoxification of histamine. In one study, vitamin c alone dropped histamine levels by 40%²⁷!
Adaptogens are a particular class of herbs that help rebalance our immune system and reduce stress. Reishi mushroom is an adaptogen that has strong allergy reducing²⁸ ability as well as stress-reducing properties²⁹. Astragalus is perhaps the most powerful adaptogen of all, showing antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antitumor, and yes, anti-allergy activity^30,31,32.

Lemon balm is another excellent herb for allergies as it helps decrease stress³³, increase focus³⁴, improve mood³⁵, and is a potent antiviral^36,37.

Using our guide, we hope you can finally breathe a sigh of relief, ditch the pharmaceuticals and their side effects for a better and more natural approach this allergy season.

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Published By:

Sunflower Shoppe

We are passionate about our family legacy and equally passionate about helping you lead a healthier life. As leaders and innovators in vitamins and naturals foods, we ensure that the products on are shelves are of the utmost quality. We use the strictest standards to select only the highest-quality products. In every aisle of both stores (and on-line), you will find the only the best.

Tis the season for allergies

Treating allergies during a pandemic is nothing to sneeze at.

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