Warm weather means an increase in allergy symptoms for many people across North America.
This is also true for individuals in many parts of the country who have been dealing with longer ragweed pollen seasons. Research shows that ragweed pollination has been lasting 27 days longer than normal.
This is partly due to winter starting later and ending earlier. One thing you can do to combat this issue is consult with a naturopathic family care doctor.
What you’ll learn are natural allergy treatments and remedies, which can help end your symptoms for good. For instance, you can learn about SLIT, which is a treatment that you can use to slowly get rid of your allergic reactions forever.
It’s also recommended that you change your diet. There are certain foods you want to include and exclude to help improve your allergy symptoms. So once you have had allergy testing performed by a naturopathic family care doctor, you can start working on a plan to tweak your eating habits.
Let’s review some of the dietary dos and don’ts for folks battling allergies.
Dietary Don’ts
Studies show that there are certain proteins found in foods that cause similar symptoms as environmental allergens. For instance, those who are allergic to ragweed sometimes have allergic reactions to foods like tomatoes, bananas, melons, sunflower seeds, chamomile, zucchini and chamomile.
Then those who are allergic to grass may also have reactions from celery, melons, peaches, oranges and tomatoes. One way to find this out is to have allergy testing performed.
Dietary Dos
Aside from avoiding certain types of foods, you should also try implementing more of the “good stuff.” These include foods that are known to help ease allergy symptoms, such as the following:
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids: You can get a lot of this from eating grass fed eggs and meat, and krill oil. Fish is another great source of omega-3s as well.
- Vitamin D: This has shown to reduce asthma symptoms and reactions to mold. You can get plenty of vitamin D from the sun and eating foods like mushrooms.
- Probiotics: Taking this throughout allergy season can help reduce symptoms, since it increases antibodies that help fight against allergy reactions.
- Hot Peppers: This includes hot chili peppers, hot mustards and horseradish, which act as decongestants. It’s a great alternative to nasal spray.
If you’d like to learn more about improving your diet and allergy symptoms, read the Herbal Collective magazine.
