Achoo!!! Sniffle, sniffle….
Oh no!! Is this the start of one last winter cold or is it the beginning of a new seasonal “allergy”?
As the winter of 2014 winds down most of us are ready for some warmer temperatures. But with those warm temperatures comes the dreaded “p” word. “Pollen!”
Spring and summer tend to be the times when you hear words like “hay fever”, “allergies,” and “allergic rhinitis.” Did you know that more Americans than ever say they are suffering from allergies? It is among the country's most common, yet often overlooked, “diseases.” In fact,nearly 40 million Americans have indoor/outdoor allergies as their primary allergy. For adults, hay fever is the 5th leading chronic disease and a major cause of work absenteeism resulting in nearly 4 million missed or lost workdays each year, which creates a total cost of more than $700 million in lost productivity.
In addition to the missed work, it is just downright no fun to be sneezing, blowing and having itchy, watery eyes just when the weather warms up and you definitely want to be outside!
Sadly, those who have seasonal allergies tend to be more predisposed to asthma and sinusitis. In fact, one in four people with allergic rhinitis also have asthma.
So what causes seasonal allergies (allergic rhinitis)?
Any substance can cause an allergic response if a person is exposed in the right way. Typically, seasonal allergies are a result of a person with a compromised immune system coming in contact with proteins from plants. Many trees, grasses, and weeds produce extremely small, light, dry protein particles called pollen. This pollen is spread by the wind and then inhaled.Even though pollen is usually invisible in the air, pollen is a potent stimulator of an allergy response. Pollen lodges in the nasal lining tissues (mucus membranes) and other parts of the respiratory tract where it initiates the allergic response.
Your runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneeze attacks are an effort by your immune system to cleanse these irritants from your body. Make no mistake, though, the problem is not the pollen count or the amount of ragweed in the air. The chaos is actually internal. It’s in the way your body overreacts to these so-called “allergens” which are, in reality, a natural part of our environment. Why is it that more people today have allergies to things that are really a part ofnature? If the trees, grass, plants and weeds were the actual cause of seasonal allergies, then everyone would suffer from them, and that’s just not the case!
What we are seeing is that people are growing more toxic. Those toxins have weakened their immune systems, which in turn trigger reactions from some of the most unlikely sources. Below are some of the best ways to keep you from suffering from seasonal allergies:
- Remove any inflammatory foods from your diet. Assuming you hardly eat anything from a package, jar, can, or box, you may still be eating grains. Removing these from your diet may not be easy, but if it means waking up in the morning without allergies and being able to get outside and enjoy fresh air, how much better will you be without them?
- Removing sugars will also assist you in fighting those allergens.
- Certain supplements can help re-build your immune system so it isn’t so sensitive to those allergens. These include:
- Barleymax (use aggressively before and during allergy season)
- Pharmax fish oil (two to three grams will aid as anti-inflammatory)
- Biocurcumin (one capsule with each serving of fish oil)
- Magnesium citrate/malate (twice daily between meals)
- Vitamin D3/K2 (especially beneficial with asthma)
- Continue to monitor your exposure to other environmental toxins. The fewer toxins you are consistently exposed to, the stronger your immune system can become.
- Don’t forget, dairy is an inflammatory food and is mucus forming and should be completely avoided.
