Nearly 35 million Americans experience seasonal hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis or an allergy to pollen.
But along with taking an antihistamine pill every day and constraining your time outside, what else can be done to protect yourself from a seasonal allergy?
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According to some experts, due to:
A rise in histamine levels in the blood, which drives the allergic reaction. There’s no cure for hay fever and though it may sound trivial, symptoms can significantly affect your quality of life.
But by:
Making some small lifestyle changes can often help to reduce these symptoms and these can include wearing wraparound sunglasses to prevent pollen getting into your eyes, avoiding grassy areas, taking a shower and washing your hair when you get home to get rid of pollen, and using medication, nasal and eye drops.
Dietician Lola Biggs, from Together Health, points out that if you can make some tweaks to what you eat and drink can make the symptoms worse, or helping to ease them.
According to the dietician:
Histamine is a naturally occurring chemical compound that assists some crucial roles in the body.
Namely kick-starting an immune response, which can lead to the treacherous symptoms experienced with the arrival of seasonal allergies.
Lola says, some foods containing histamine and it is naturally created and released during the body’s first response to a suspected allergen like pollen.
Dairy products like cheese and milk can stimulate the production of histamine and mucus in the nose.
Strong, aged cheeses, such as cheddar, are higher in histamine, while mozzarella, ricotta, cottage cheese and cream cheese have less. By opting for soft unaged, you lower your overall histamine load.
And, instead of traditional cow’s milk, try soya, almond or even coconut, which contains medium-chain triglycerides and can have an anti-inflammatory effect. Also watch out for grains rich in wheat, such as bread, pastries and pasta as these can also stimulate an immune response, leading to increased histamine levels.
People suffering from Pollen Allergy should reduce or cut down the consumption of sugar and processed foods as they cause the body to produce more histamine. You might also want to avoid booze.
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