Fit for Life: Allergies a Challenge

Fit for Life: Allergies a Challenge

Summer is here and we are all taking advantage of every opportunity to get outside and do things.

Fresh air, warm temperatures, sunlight, vitamin D, elevated moods, along with KILLER POLLEN AND ALLERGIES!!

I have heard it many times this week, and it seems like an unavoidable problem to some people.

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But before you reach for the costly, OTC (over-the-counter) meds, try these simple/natural methods to lessen symptoms.

Eliminate dairy.

Due to the mass production, poor quality of animals it comes from, and heat pasteurization and homogenization, commercial dairy products fall under the category of processed foods.

Because all bacteria (good and bad) are destroyed during the "process", it lacks enzymes needed to help break it down and properly digest it causing a person to become lactose intolerant. It also causes histamine or inflammatory effect on the respiratory system.

Notice when a kid eats ice cream, their noses start running.

That's respiratory inflammation, and not good for sensitive people with allergies.

Wheat products are also better off being avoided, due to inflammation caused in the intentional tract.

This causes the villi in the intestines to lay flat, not absorbing any nutrients, thus leaving foods intact and undigested, causing a condition called leaky gut syndrome.

This also comprises your immune system, making it more difficult to combat allergies and fight off foreign invaders.

The Netti pot will help relieve symptoms by flushing the mucus in your nasal cavity.

It comes with a saline solution, and you need to use distilled or previously boiled water, at room temperature, then you flush one side at a time following the instructions on the box.

 

Feels weird but works great.

Local honey also helps clear some symptoms associated with allergies. It has to be purchased within a 3-mile radius of where you live, because the bees need to extract and make honey from the same flowers and plants that are irritating you for the anecdote to work.

 

Your best bet is a local store or farmers market.

There is a compound found in wasabi known as 6-MSITC, that suppresses chemicals that cause nose closing inflammation, so pile it on and let the drainage begin.

Another compound that can subside symptoms is spirulina.

Take about 2000 mg a day and inflammation and symptoms should subside.

 

In conclusion, you can try the remedies outlined above which will work for some or you can limit your exposure to outdoor activities that trigger allergies and stay primarily in controlled air-conditioned environments.  

Or you can wear a mask when outdoors, which after last year, isn’t an option for too many people.

 

Coach Matt