With spring comes allergies. Here are some natural ways to ease your allergic reactions.
1. Avoid Mucous Producing Foods: Ideally starting a couple months before your allergy season, eliminate mucus producing foods from your diet. These foods include wheat, gluten, and dairy containing foods such as milk, cheese, bread, pastries, cereals, etc. This will help lessen the burden on your body as well as decrease the amount of mucous your body produces. Our health coach Shayna has had clients who used to go through a box of tissues a day due to their allergies. By cutting dairy, they have gone down to just a few tissues a day!
2. Bromelain & Quercitin: Bromelain is a compound found in pineapples, especially the crunchy center, and quercitin is a compound found in various fruits, vegetables, and also turmeric. These antioxidant compounds combat congestion in the nasal cavities and chest by stabilizing immune cells and reducing inflammation. You can get both of these in capsule form.
3. Increase Your Fiber: The average American eats only 15 grams of fiber per day where our predecessors were getting upwards of 120 grams of fiber per day. Fiber assists in regular bowel movements and also binds to toxins for excretion. Increasing your daily intake of vegetables, seeds, and whole grains improves detoxification, lowering the burden on the body so that it can better handle the allergens that it is exposed to.
4. Hydrate: When drinking plenty of caffeine-free fluids, your body is better able to flush toxins from your system. The general rule is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. Herbal teas can count towards your daily water goal. For every cup of caffeinated beverage you consume, it's best to add an extra cup of water to compensate for dehydration.
5. Sweat: Our skin is our largest organ and sweat is a great way to excrete toxins. Aside from exercise, dry saunas are another wonderful detoxification option if you have the access.
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