Studies have shown that someone with allergies is 40% more likely to have asthma.
A link has also been shown between allergies and sleep apnea and sleep apnea has been connected to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Allergies are the result of the immune system reacting to something that should be tolerated by the body. Typically, those substances may be food, pollen, insect venom, plants, medications, or chemicals.
An allergic response is caused by the release of chemicals including histamines from cells that are part of the immune system, typically mast cells and basophils. An initial allergic reaction may be barely noticeable since the first exposure “educates” the immune system to the perceived threat. However, future exposures trigger a faster and more aggressive reaction.
Symptoms of an allergy include any or all of these:
- Runny nose
- Itchy, watery eyes
- Cough
- Sneezing
- Postnasal drip
- Congestion
- Sore or itchy throat
- Ear pain
- Foggy brain
How is it that people can go for years and never react to anything and then find themselves experiencing allergies?
There are several things that can occur that result in the immune system responding inappropriately. These range from things like a low number of immune cells due to insufficient zinc. With an imbalance of one type of cell over another, the immune system responds differently from how it has in the past.
Other things that might cause allergic responses are a change in the bacteria that live in the gut. There are trillions of organisms that live in our gut and those organisms create vitamins, help digest our food, and keep our immune system in balance. If this community is exposed to a situation where they might become out of balance such as from crap food, toxins, or stress, then this throws off the immune system as well.
Additionally, leaky gut, exposure to toxins such as mold, food sensitivities, and exhaust, fear, and insomnia can also create imbalances in the immune system which can lead to allergies.
It is not difficult to keep the immune system from tipping in one direction or another.
Proper hydration is key. Many people do not consume enough, if any, pure, clean water in a day. They may drink cup after cup of coffee, tea, soda, and fruit juice not realizing how dehydrating coffee and tea are or how much sugar they are consuming in their soda or fruit juice. When they do come to realize this, they switch to sodas that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners which result in a toxic burden to the body that affects the bacteria that live in the gut and cause an immune imbalance.
Taking the time to sit and relax when consuming a meal and really chewing the food until it is liquid can also help to reduce allergies. When we chew our food until it is liquid, everything else that occurs during digestion improves. This means that we get more nutrient value from our food resulting in giving the body raw materials to create the cells that support our immune system so that it stays in balance and doesn’t over react to innocuous substances.
There are plenty of other ways to keep our immune system strong, healthy, and in balance.
While addressing the things that can keep allergies at bay, a salt room can help to relieve the symptoms without medication.
By relaxing in a salt room for 45 minutes, it creates a state of calmness in your body which allows everything else to calm down, including your immune system. While you breathe in the pure, pharmaceutical salt, your mucus secretions are thinned, and your sinus cavities shrink allowing you to breathe easier.
For chronic allergy sufferers, salt sessions should be done on consecutive days until relief has been found. Everyone is different. Some may find relief after 1 session and others it may take 3 or 4 days. Once relief has been found, it is suggested that you maintain your allergy relief with weekly or sessions every other week.
Just Breathe offers packages and memberships to help relieve allergies and keep them at bay. Please, call 508-366-8292 if you have questions or to book your appointments.
