Manage your hay-fever with this easy solution

Manage your hay-fever with this easy solution

It’s that time of the year again. Aaaaccchhhooo! It’s the sneezing epidemic, the dreadful allergy that is hay-fever. The winter just gone wasn’t particularly harsh but the spring didn’t really materialize and suddenly summer surprises us with consistent sunshine and humid air.  For most of us, the sun is a pleasant mood-booster but it’s also a miserable spell for pollen-allergic hay-fever sufferers. With that, some of us are paying the price – increased pollen counts normally mean hay fever sufferers are struggling more than normal. Many of us know what it’s like, suffering from an early age. The symptoms can be so bad that sometimes, people are given strong injections of antihistamines so that they can simply carry on with their lives.   At Willow, our philosophy is that medication should be a last resort; but so many people don’t know there are alternatives to pharmaceuticals when it comes to dealing with allergies.

With a natural remedy in mind, how can we stop symptoms such as:

• Sneezing
• Blocked and runny nose
• Itchy eyes
• Cough and occasional wheeze
• Itch along roof of mouth and back of throat
• Intense lethargy

There seems to be some confusion on how to best tackle these aggravating and frustrating symptoms. Considering 20% of the world’s population suffer with hay-fever, we have decided to let you know how to get your pollen allergy under control for good. Antihistamines often cause drowsiness and are not good for the immune response in the body – so they should be avoided when possible. Looking at nutritional options before resorting to medication should always be recommended. While there’s currently no cure known for allergies, there are treatments that can help reduce the effect of conditions like hay fever such as what foods you eat and what blends you drink.

Here is some advice from leading experts on how to combat allergies with changes to your diet:

Naturopath Roger Newman Turner of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine says: ‘In nearly 40 years of practice I have found that diet plays a very important role in the management of hay-fever. Most of my hay-fever patients have been able to reduce the severity of their symptoms and, in some cases, eradicate the condition.’ Nutritional health expert Linda Lazarides agrees, commenting about people getting rid of their hay-fever using nutrition alone. Both experts agree the nutritional approach involves cutting down on foods which encourage mucus production, while boosting foods that have natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties. A predominantly raw-food diet (fruit and vegetables) helps to reduce the inflammatory tendency and patients also do well on cleansing diets or even short fasts. Linda adds: ‘You need to reduce the tendency for the body to form histamine by boosting your diet with foods rich in calcium, magnesium, methionine and flavonoids. Have loads of nuts, sunflower seeds, onions, cabbage, blackberries and apples, including their peel. Kerrin Booth, naturopath, herbalist and nutritionist; also advises hay-fever sufferers to look at food intolerances: ‘People often assume that because their symptoms are aggravated by airborne allergens, food is not a problem for them,’ she says. ‘But often they also have food sensitivities which are aggravating their symptoms.’ Suffering on the warmest and most social time of the year can be frustrating, stopping some people stepping foot outside, cooped up in the safety of their house. But with these simple changes to your diet, you can enjoy summer without worrying about the irritating allergy that is hay-fever! Ask your chiropractor for further deails.