No. 90

Allergy Relief

If you are having overwhelming Spring or Fall allergies, try these–

1. Tea- drink 3 cups daily of this mix; butterbur + Resp. Bronchial- Prepare as a tea concentrate. Recipe found under Post No. 2, Wellness Tab, on the website- www.travelingleaf.com

2. B5- 500 mg per day

3. Vitamin C– use the powder and take 3grams daily. To reduce stomach distress or diarrhea from taking extra C, use 1 teaspoon C powder (3 grams) + 1/2 teaspoon of aluminum free baking soda. Add to a glass along with just a little water. When it stops fizzing, fill the glass with water, stir and drink .

4. D3–  everything biochemically work better

5. Local Pollen- starting with a few grains, dissolve pollen in your mouth once daily. If you experience more allergy symptoms, reduce your dose and try again. Work up to 1 teaspoon of pollen granules per day. Take this amount during allergy seasons and reduce to 1/2 in the off-seasons. Increase by just a few grains every 5th day. Anytime allergy symptoms result, reduce back down to a level that doesn’t. If you are allergic to pollen, of course do not take pollen.

6. Zinc- best through foods- 30 mg daily (just google foods high in zinc)

7. Vitamin E– 400 IU non-GMO

8. Vitamin A- best through foods (yellow and orange foods especially)

9. Use a neti pot

10. Herbs– in addition to the tea recommendation above- these are all good choices to add into the mix; ginkgo, alfalfa, red clover blossoms, nettles, eyebright, dong quai, milk thistle seed and leaf, burdock root, dandelion root, turmeric, and yarrow.

Yarrow- congestion and phlegm
Red Clover- allergy resistance
Dong Quai- antihistamine, anti-inflammatory
Turmeric- anti-inflammatory, brain communication
Milk Thistle- liver, reduces allergies
Ginkgo- anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, brain communication
Red Clover Blossoms- allergy resistance
Eyebright- congestion, phlegm, watery itchy eyes, sneezing, mucous reducing
Nettles- antihistamine, anti-inflammatory

11. Homeopathy- always another good addition

Homeopathy standard dosing– for acute symptom relief, start with 3 pellets of a 30C dose every 4 hours until symptoms are managed. Follow directions on using the product and do not handle the medicine but let the dispenser hold the pellets. If no improvement is noticed within 3 doses, change remedies. When relief results, stop the remedy. Here are your basic choices-

Allium cepa – watery eyes and nose congestion and discharge, hoarseness, cool air or open rooms helps you feel better- this may be your remedy.

Euphrasia – again, watery eyes and nose congestion and discharge, sneezing, dry cough, diarrhea, open air makes you feel worse- this may be your remedy

Natrum muriaticum – loss of sense of smell or taste, watery discharges, headaches, feel better outside- this may be your remedy.

Nux vomica – dry nose at night, but runny all throughout the day, excessive sneezing, watery nasal discharge with a feeling of a plugged-blocked nose. When sleeping, one nostril is open and one is closed, feel worse when going outside- this may be your remedy.

Wyethia – itchy nose and throat tickle. Throat may be or feels like it is swollen or like something is in your throat or nasal passages. Throat feels like it is burning and dry, dry cough. Outside windy air makes you feel worse– this may be your remedy.

INCREASE THESE IN YOUR DIET–
Dark green, leafy vegetables
Dark yellow and orange vegetables
Nettles, beets & beet tops, cabbage, carrots, yams, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, cayenne, horseradish, bamboo shoots
Flaxseed Oil – 1 tablespoon daily
Spicy Foods will help ease nasal congestion- EXCEPT when pollen counts are high
Foods with acidophilus probacteria
Oily Fish- like salmon, sardines, mackerel, anchovies

Here are the TOP 10 FOODS to help reduce allergy symptoms-
1. Green Tea
2. Follow a Mediterranean Diet- beans, rice, vegetables, oily fish, whole grains, and lower red meat, olive oil, grapeseed oil
3. Spicy Foods- when pollen count is LOW
4. Some raw foods may bother you more than cooked foods. During allergy season, you may benefit from sticking to more cooked vegetables and fruits over raw. When eating raw foods, choose organic- foods with pesticides also cause an increase in allergy symptoms.
5. Yogurt which is high in probiotics- use the recipe on the website for making your own yogurt in your oven- this yogurt is the highest in probiotics and no store bought yogurt can come close to its strength- see Post No 3 under the Wellness Tab
6. Reduce sodium-rich foods during allergy season
7. Wasabi and horseradish- both help to reduce nasal congestion and phlegm
8. Oily Fish
9. Eat more fruits and vegetables resulting in a lower calorie diet throughout the allergy season.
10. Reduce eating any junk foods- whether french fries, burgers, or deep fried foods, junk food seems to increase the incidence of allergies. This is likely due to poor quality ingredients and bad fats found in all junk food- ingredients like canola oil, soy or corn oil, artificial flavors, colors, and all the words we cannot even pronounce on the label. If the food’s ingredient list consists of a paragraph- you likely should just skip it altogether and for good.

AVOID THESE
Alcohol, caffeine, and dairy products
Bananas and citrus fruit
Chamomile Tea- this is a member of the ragweed family
Chocolate
Food colorings (tartrazine)
Peanuts
Red meat
Sugar
Wheat
And of course- known allergies

NEED TESTING ?
This is the best choice in my opinion
www.foodallergy.com
Alletess Labs
Blood Testing- is better than the prick test and provides a full range of hundreds of foods- both allergies and intolerances. Just be sure to stop any antihistimine meds for a full 14 days before submitting the blood test or it will be a mis-read. This is also the least expensive panel I am aware of. Nothing local can come close to this lab.