10 foods that fight spring allergies

10 foods that fight spring allergies

Work vitamin C-rich foods (like citrus and broccoli) into your diet and turn to stinging nettle as a potent natural form of allergy relief.

Thanks to climate change, every allergy season is the worst allergy season ever. Warmer temperatures have led to earlier springs and longer allergy seasons, while higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have led to more potent and allergenic pollen.

The good news is that natural allergy relief is within an arm's reach of your refrigerator: Foods rich in vitamin C and folic acid help reduce the inflammation associated with allergic reactions, and studies are finding that some herbs are just as effective as expensive drugs.

Grab your grocery cart and stock your produce bin with these 10 natural allergy remedies:

1. Broccoli

This precious piece of produce serves two purposes in annihilating your allergy symptoms. It's high in allergy-relieving vitamin C and it's a member of the crucifer family, plants that have been shown to clear out blocked-up sinuses. Researchers have found about 500 milligrams (mg) of Vitamin C a day can ease allergy symptoms, and just one cup of raw broccoli packs about 80 mg.

2. Citrus fruits

To hit that 500-milligram vitamin C level from whole food sources, you can also turn to oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. A large orange contains nearly 100 mg of C, while half of a large grapefruit contains about 60 mg.

3. Kale

Don't just admire kale as a garnish. Eat it! This superfood packs a one-two punch against allergies; like broccoli, it's a member of the crucifer family, but it's also rich in the carotenoid department, pigments believed to aid in fighting allergy symptoms.

4. Collard greens

Are you highjacked by hay fever? Put collard greens on the menu for the same reason as kale. Their phytochemical content, mainly, carotenoids, eases allergy issues. To increase the amount of carotenoids your body absorbs, eat the veggie with some sort of fat source. One good for you idea? Lightly cook it in olive oil.

5. Stinging nettle

You can't discuss natural allergy remedies without hailing stinging nettle. It helps stifle inflammation that occurs when you're experiencing allergy symptoms. Stinging nettle contains histamine, the chemical your body produces during an allergic reaction, so it helps you acquire tolerance. Look for 500-mg freeze-dried nettle capsules in your natural health store, and take three times a day. That's the best form for allergy relief; it won't sting because it's freeze-dried. Long-term use of the herb is not recommended, since it can deplete your potassium stores.

6. Elderberries

Immune-strengthening elderberries are often hailed as a natural flu treatment, but the berries serve a purpose in natural allergy relief, too. Try elderberry wine, juice, or jam to tap the fruit's beneficial flavonoids that reduce inflammation.

7. Onions and garlic

Quercetin is another secret weapon that helps fight allergies by acting like an antihistamine. Onions and garlic are packed with quercetin, as are apples. (If you go with eating apples, just make sure they don't stimulate oral allergy syndrome.)

8. Parsley

Parsley is carminative, which means that it increases the amount of oxygen and blood to the digestive tract. Parsley does inhibit the histamines that trigger allergies so may help treat sinus infection and congestion.  

9. Green Tea

Allergy sufferers may want to add green tea to their sniffle-fighting arsenal. New evidence suggests that drinking the popular brew may provide some relief. The compound, methylated epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)is found in green tea that, in laboratory tests, blocks a key cell receptor involved in producing an allergic response. This compound is found in higher concentrations in green tea, the least processed of teas, than in black and oolong varieties.

10. Anti-allergy soup!

There's nothing like a warm bowl of soup when you're feeling sick, and while this usually pertains to chicken soup for the flu, an expert on herbs developed this soup to naturally battle allergies. Drinking a organic bone broth daily will counter must allergies.

Quick bone broth Soup

Add a variety of grass fed animal bones to a pot cover with water and add apple cider vinegar and bring to a boil. Skim off foam and add an onion (with skin) and a clove of garlic. Add half a cup chopped leaves and diced taproots of evening primrose. Bring back up to a boil . After boiling for about 5 minutes, add a cup of nettle leaves and a cup of diced celery stalks,carrots and a few bay leaves. Boil gently for another 3 to 10 minutes. Before eating, remove the onion skins and all the other ingredients. Eat the soup it's while still warm. Season with wine vinegar, black pepper, hot pepper, turmeric.

New information on foods and allergies is available on other websites. I make no claims that this information is the most up to date. Please do further research for yourself.

Does local honey diminish allergies?

Does local honey diminish allergies?

It certainly tastes fabulous, but does local honey have the power to stop itchy eyes and scratchy throats?

Having read a few articles about how local honey helps to fight allergies got me thinking, does it really work? I’ve heard about this natural allergy-fighting remedy before, but I've always wondered, how do you know it works? How much would you need to consume?

I use only local honey. The wildflower honey I get from a North Fork farm produces an amazingly delicious amber honey. I’ve tasted alongside of the grocery store honey that comes in a little bear, and there’s no comparison. I always stock up at the end of farmers market season so I have enough to last me through the winter.

 I get itchy eyes and a bit of a sore throat when the seasons start to change in the spring and fall, but it only lasts a couple of days. I usually wait it out and don’t take any medication.

I wonder if my symptoms would be worse if I didn’t buy local honey. Could the honey mustard recipe that I like so much that I make it weekly in the winter be medicinal?

The theory about local honey and allergies is this: your local bees are more likely to collect pollen from the local flowers in your area. That pollen will end up in small amounts in the honey produced. By ingesting that honey on a regular basis, the person eating the honey will build up immunity to the pollens from the flowers in their local region. It’s sort of like a vaccine taken little by little.

That’s the theory. There doesn’t seem to be any scientific evidence to back that up, however. I can’t find any scientific studies that test the theory. Even without scientific evidence, this seems like one of those ideas worth trying. There are other proven benefits, too. Honey can immediately sooth a sore throat (whether it’s caused by seasonal allergies or not). It’s a natural, temporary energy booster. Honey “contains small amounts of a wide array of vitamins and minerals, including niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.”

In addition to the health benefits, buying local honey helps support local honey producers and purchasing their local products can help keep them local.