I realized yesterday that June is less than 3 months away.
That means that spring allergies will be here before we blink.
Those over-the-counter medications have a number of side effects which include headaches, drowsiness, foggy brain, stomach upset, and…
Not helping relieve the allergies.
There are herbs that are safe to take and are actually effective:
- Quercetin with bromelain – quercetin is a natural anti-histamine found in onions, apples, buckwheat (which is NOT a gluten), berries, and citrus fruit. When combined with bromelain, bromelain increases the effectiveness of quercetin but also works as an anti-inflammatory and calms the immune system. It is recommended to take 1000 mg away from food twice a day starting at least a month prior to seasonal allergies and continuing until the end of your season.
- If quercetin with bromelain is not enough, add in stinging nettle leaf tea. (Make sure it is leaf and not root!) Stinging nettle leaf makes the histamine receptors less sensitive so combining these two things can really help those who have worse allergies.
- Butterburr is another great choice to help with allergies. This has actually been studied and shown to be more effective than Zyrtec. The phytochemicals relax swollen membranes and are anti-spasmodic. Short-term use of 3-4 months has been studied and is safe. Longer-term use has not been studied. Add these to the above for really bad allergies. Use 100 mg in the morning and evening taken with food.
Also, people with allergies to grass should also avoid gluten and corn. Both of these are in the grass family.
Finally, dairy causes an increase in mucus that can contribute to the discomfort of allergies. Avoid ALL dairy as well – animal milk, cheese, yogurt.
And… don’t forget about the magical properties of salt therapy! After receiving salt therapy, I no longer take any allergy meds and that was before I knew about these herbs.
Let me know if you have any questions.
