Live Healthy and Dump the Summer Allergy Meds
Sniffling, sneezing and itching…oh my! Summer time is fun, but it comes with its own particular set of health problems.
So, let’s have a look at natural healing for allergies.
I’m sharing some of my Top Health Coach Tips for getting yourself out of trouble especially during summer without spending a fortune at the drug store. And without filling your family with icky chemicals and drugs!
Pollen under the microscope
Seasonal Allergies
If sneezing and itchy eyes have become part of your day-to-day life throughout the spring and summer months you may have allergies.
We can turn to natural healing for allergies.
Instead of soaking up the last of the summer fun many of us are wanting to head back to bed with the covers over our heads.
And the medications from the drugstore are more than likely not following through on their promises. Or worse still…giving us ghastly side-effects.
There are alternatives!
The following suggestions may be added to your healthy lifestyle, and you can see if they have any beneficial effects on your allergy symptoms:
- Stop using window fans to cool rooms. They suck in the pollen, increasing your allergic responses
- When driving, keep your windows closed and use the air conditioner if you need to. This stops allergens being sucked into the car
- Try making a strong tea with stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) and butterbur root (Petasites frigidus) and drinking it daily. Both herbs are reputed to perform as well as antihistamines, but with a bonus: no drowsiness
Urtica dioica
And…psst…A Swiss study, published in British Journal of Medicine, found that Butterbur was as effective as the drug cetirizine, the active ingredient in Zyrtec
Butterbur can be purchased as a dried herb from a local herb shop
Nettles can be easily harvested, dried and used. But if that’s not for you, you can purchase it from health food stores. I particularly enjoy Alvita Brand
Can’t find Butterbur, just drink the nettles!
- Eliminate dairy from your diet to avoid immune-system irritation. I know, that’s a hard one. Especially going without icecream! But there are some almond and rice substitutes for ice-cream that are really yummy. And I absolutely adore coconut icecream…mmm!
My current fave? Coconut Bliss (even the name is yummy!)
- Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, for example wild Alaskan salmon, freshly ground flaxseeds (which you can add to all sorts of meals) or fish oil supplements. But remember, I’m a fan of food not pills!
Buy whole flax seeds and use a small coffee grinder to grind them fresh. The naturally occurring oils go rancid very quickly. Then add to your pancake, cake, muffin mixes. Try it mixed into fruit dishes, even a little in mashed potatoes. It’s very easy to add and you can find recipes on the web.
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WA fresh Rainer Cherries look good, taste good and help lessen allergy symptoms
Eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits such as berries and cherries to help modify the body’s inflammatory response.
- You may also want to try nasal douching with a warm saline solution (purchase a neti pot from your health food store) and drink plenty of water to keep nasal passages hydrated and to flush out your system. Himalayan Institute have a Neti Pot I like.
And did you know that more than 26 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies, so if you are suffering, you are definitely not alone!
Great tips for the allergy sufferers out there! I am blessed that I don’t have allergies. Interestingly, as a child i was wildly allergic to grass being mowed and it just went away at some point! Maybe when I completely transformed my eating habits to healthy ones! <3
Wonderful that you out grew grass allergies Belinda … it’s so debilitating. And I just love, love the smell of newly mowed grass. Happy and healthy eating. xox
I had no idea there were all these alternatives. I usually just get allergy medicines! I’m definitely going to have to try this — especially the coconut bliss 🙂
And another thing to add into your diet, which often seems counter intuitive, is local raw honey. Kind of works like a vaccination, like a homeopathic. You can put it into your diet year round and it builds a resistance for many people. If you are fine with bee products, it would be well worth a whirl! xox
So happy to see that you’re recommending omega-3’s, and I have another excellent source to share with you: Mila! It’s a vegan, gluten-free, whole, raw food source of 8x the omega-3’s of wild salmon. I have a sharing link here because I want everyone to have the chance to try it: http://clickaclass.lifemax.net Feel free to message me with questions!
I’ve also found good results with a Neti pot, as you suggested – not just for allergies but for cold symptoms too!
Mila appears to be a reputable form of Chia seeds. And there are some pretty amazing testimonials. But I’ve been in the health care business long enough that I’ve seen so many of these ‘miracle foods’ come and go. I prefer to see people eat balanced, locally produced and grown food sources. Mila may be worth a try if you have health problems, but as a food source…not what I’d suggest.