Seasonal Allergy Series: Part 2 of 3

        (Seasonal allergies series: Part 1 of 3,   Part 3 of 3)

You can clean your home every day and try a bunch of allergy remedies, but if you have a highly inflammatory and allergenic diet, they won’t be as effective at reducing your seasonal allergy symptoms as they could be.

Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Your body needs nutrient dense foods to maintain balance in all of its systems. This includes the delicate balance of your immune system. It needs to be able to recognize and fight off nasty microbes while adjusting to common allergies in your environment.  Remember, consistency with your diet is the key. Here are some of the best anti-inflammatory foods to add to your diet and some foods to avoid to help reduce your risk of allergies and many other health problems.

DO:

  1. Avoid foods you know you’re sensitive to. — This seems too simple, but it’s important. If there are any foods you’ve found in the past that cause you symptoms, avoid these foods during allergy season. It doesn’t matter if your symptom is gut, skin, nasal, or respiratory related. If your body is already irritated from a known food allergen, it won’t take a lot of additional input (pollen, dust, etc) before you begin to experience stronger allergy symptoms.
  2. Drink lots of water — It’s important to keep well hydrated when suffering from allergies. Adequate water intake helps keep your immune system functioning properly, helps remove toxins, and aids in thinning secretions. No one wants thick snot clogging up their nasal passages and causing a sinus infection. Water is so important to your heath that I wrote a whole blog post about it.  Aim for at least ½ your body weight in ounces of water per day.
  3. Reduce your refined sugar intake — For sugar addicts like me, this can be one of the hardest things to do. But, it’s totally worth it. Refined sugar can trigger a blood sugar spike which in turn will activate histamine release. For a natural sugar fix, snack on fresh fruit instead.
  4. Green leafy vegetables — Leafy greens (including spinach, kale, collard greens, romaine, arugula and watercress) are a great source of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes that aid detoxification and help reduce inflammation.
  5. Onions — Onions have high amounts of quercetin (a natural antihistamine), are antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. They’re most effective when consumed raw, but you can get some benefits from cooked onions too.
  6. Garlic — Garlic is a natural antibiotic that helps ward off infections, viruses and even allergies. Eating or juicing two raw cloves of this powerful antioxidant may literally keep the doctor away! Some people choose to take garlic supplements because they don’t want to smell like garlic, but the supplements do not work as well as the real herb does, so don’t be deceived by this. Raw garlic eaten every day will fight off all types of allergies because it boosts your immune system immensely.
  7. Oily Fish — Salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids which reduce inflammation and help modulate your overactive immune system. Eat 3-4 servings of fish per week.
  8. Healthy Oils — Use heart healthy and anti-inflammatory olive oil, avocado oil, flax seed oil or coconut oil instead of inflammatory corn and canola oils.
  9. Lemons — Studies have shown that an alkaline diet can lead to better health balance and immune function. Lemons and limes are excellent immune boosting little fruits and are used for various afflictions, including allergies. Both of these little fruits are loaded with vitamin C and immune-boosting antioxidants. Drinking lemon water throughout the day detoxifies the body and rids it of impurities.  You can also mix the juice of one or two lemons or limes with olive oil to make a wonderful tasting dressing for salads and veggie sandwiches.
  10. Probiotic-rich foods — Probiotic-rich foods support immune health and can help to repair a damaged intestinal lining. Examples include kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, plain natural coconut yogurt, raw cheese, miso and kombucha. If these foods aren’t your favorites, you can take a high quality probiotic instead. Don’t be fooled by the yogurts in the regular dairy section of your grocery store.  Not only are they made with dairy, most of these contain low amounts of probiotics and extremely high amounts of sugar.
  11. Bone broth — Bone broth, made from beef and chicken stock, is rich in many minerals and amino acids that support the healing of leaky gut, thereby helping to strengthen the immune system.
  12. Gluten-free flours/grains — Instead of using wheat flour when you cook or bake, try coconut flour, spelt flour, oat flour and rice flour, which are all gluten-free. Many people are sensitive to gluten and removing gluten from their diet can help decrease allergy symptoms from other allergens.
  13. Breast milk — No, it’s not for you, it’s for your baby.  Studies show that exclusive breastfeeding can help prevent the early development of asthma and eczema (atopic dermatitis). If you are able to breastfeed your baby, know that you are helping reduce its chance of allergies in the future.

DON’T:

  1. Dairy — Reduce your dairy intake. Dairy is known for being inflammatory and thickening secretions. This is the last thing you want when you are already stuffed up. Coconut milk is a great alternative for cow’s milk. Coconut milk is free of dairy, lactose, soy, nuts and grains. Be sure to look at the ingredients because many flavored coconut milk products contain a lot of added sugars.
  2. Tomatoes — Tomatoes are high in histamines and have a cross reactivity for some people who have grass pollen allergies.  You might want to avoid tomatoes during peak grass pollen season.
  3. Alcohol — Studies have found that alcohol can cause or worsen the common symptoms of asthma and hay-fever, like sneezing, itching, headaches and coughing.  All types of alcohol can cause these symptoms, however wine and beer cause reactions the most often. Red wine contains sulfites and beer contains histamines, compounds known to provoke asthma and other allergy-like symptoms.
  4. Bananas — If you have fall-time allergy symptoms from rag weed, you should avoid bananas during this time. Studies have shown that bananas tend to worsen rag weed allergy.
  5. Almonds — Almonds are known to worsen allergy symptoms in people with tree pollen allergies. Consider avoiding almonds and almond products during allergy season.
  6. Coffee — I know coffee is its own religion here in the Pacific NW, but I’ve got to tell you that coffee can increase allergy symptoms in some people. If you notice your symptoms are worse after drinking coffee, try a cup of green tea instead.

Your gut health can have a major impact on your immune system and your ability to absorb nutrients. If you feel like you have an issue with your gut, talk to your doctor about tests and treatments that they recommend.

Be sure to read Part 1 of my 3-part Allergy Series which lists ways to reduce allergens in your home to reduce your allergy symptoms.  Also, look for Part 3 which will discuss natural seasonal allergy remedies.

And remember,  Do More Than Exist . . . EXCEL!!

Dr. Zamora sees patients at her East Vancouver location 9am-5pm on Mon-Fri.