Gesundheit! All-Natural Spring Allergy Remedies in Your Kitchen
Spring allergies got you down? You’re not alone. But over-the-counter allergy remedies can leave you drowsy, not to mention over-medicated. Never fear: there is another — all-natural — solution to your allergy woes. And the best part? Most of the remedies are probably already in your home!
Diet Changes
There are several ways that you can modify your diet to help alleviate your seasonal allergy woes. One of them is to integrate more probiotics into your diet. According to certain studies, consuming probiotics ups the beneficial microflora in your system, making you stronger to help fight allergies on your own. Make sure that you’re eating enough yogurt, which is rich in probiotics (consider making your own!). You can also get probiotics into your diet by consuming other foods, like miso soup, kimchi, and even dark chocolate.
Another great way to prevent seasonal allergies is by consuming local honey. Local honey is made with the same pollen as is found in the air; consuming local honey, then, works by the same principle as vaccination against disease. By introducing some of the foreign substance into your body, your system can more effectively build up immunity against it.
Adding peppermint tea to your diet may also assuage your affliction. It’s not a cure by any means, but the heat from the tea as well as the menthol from the peppermint can help provide some relief to allergy symptoms. It’s also a great vessel for stirring that local honey into, for a double treatment!
Quercetin is a natural substance found in some plants that can provide allergy relief according to some studies, though these theories have yet to be proven. Still, it couldn’t hurt to integrate quercetin into your diet, as it also boasts added antioxidant and antihistemine properties. Find it in high amounts in red onions, kale and watercress.
Environmental Changes
There are a few other changes that you can make to your lifestyle to make your spring allergies more bearable:
Saline nasal rinses can help flush irritants out of your system. Use a neti pot and and all-natural or homemade saline nose wash once a day as needed to clear out your sinuses and provide relief.
This can also be done by using steam. Either create a makeshift steam room in your shower or, to save water, boil a kettle and pour the water into a bowl. Add a menthol product, if desired, and then place your face over the bowl, covering your head with a towel to lock the steam in. Breathe the steam for several minutes, to help relieve symptoms.
You can also use a BPA-free humidifier at night, to help keep your breathing regular as you sleep.
Never fear… summer will be here soon, and with it, spring allergies will hopefully have disappeared. Until then, try some of these tips to make the affliction more bearable!
Image: Kaybee07
