The spring season seems to have finally arrived! Pollen counts are on the rise and more and more people are not being able to enjoy the outdoors without taking some type of medication. Nobody wants to be stuck feeling miserable during the wonderful spring and summer weather. Times like this you may not feel as healthy as you would like. Seasonal Allergies and food surprisingly have a strong relationship. “Feeling stuffed up from allergy symptoms? Try changing your diet to include foods that might help.” ("Foods”). If seasonal allergies are caused by pollen and other environmental factors then it only seems right that something natural would be the solution.
One study in particular shows that the staple food items in the Mediterranean diet such as nuts, grapes, oranges, apples, and fresh tomatoes, could help with allergy relief. (“Foods”). Another study also confirms this; “a diet high in antioxidants and omega-3s can ease seasonal allergy suffering. A 2007 study found that children from the Greek island of Crete who ate a Mediterranean diet — high in fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, olive oil, and nuts — were less likely to develop allergy and asthma symptoms. Allergies cause inflammation of the tissues lining the nose and throat. Finding foods that decrease inflammation will lead to relief.” (Sifferlin).
Some
other food options are great for allergy relief are black tea, onions,
broccoli, parsley, apples, citrus fruits, and leafy greens. These foods are not
guaranteed to solve all allergic reactions but are said to help. Probiotics and
nuts are also supposed to be great for reducing those puffy red eyes, congested
noses, and scratchy throats associated with pollen and other seasonal
allergens.
One
thing I just learned that I found extremely interesting is that honey is one of
the best relievers of pollen related allergies. By eating honey that is local
to your area you are creating immunity. Local honey means that the honey came from
“nectar sources that are closest to where you live.” (“What Is Local”). Just
like when you get vaccinated for the influenza virus and they give you a small
strand of the flu to help you develop and immunity the same thing goes for
honey. Since honey is made from pollen you will get a slight immunity.
Works Cited
"AccessAtlanta." Food and More with John Kessler
RSS. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
"Foods That Fight Allergies." EverydayHealth.com. Web.
12 Apr. 2014.
Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Nuts 5 Foods to Help Fight
Spring Allergies TIME.". Time, Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
"What Is Local Honey? – An Unexpected Find."
Honeyfanatic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
I was reading this post and hoping you would mention the local honey option to help relieve allergies. I have a neice that has sever allergies not only to food but to many outdoors allergens and they are trying her out on some treatments where they inject small amounts of many things and try to build her immune system up against them. I can say for sure that my cat had allergies that were pretty bad he was even allergic to cats and people so it made treatment difficult. The plan was the same though, low doses of what he was allergic to and it slowly reaised his immunity to a manageable level where he only needed shots every few weeks instead of daily.
ReplyDeleteMs. Bowman,
ReplyDeleteThat was very interesting. I really enjoyed your research on the study about Mediterranean diet. It does make sense that the intake of you local honey would create type of immunity to some allergies. It will come in handy! I might take this into consideration.