A guide to managing Hayfever naturally
If the thought of lying on the grass on a sunny day brings tears to your eyes and an itch to your throat, you’re not alone.
The latest stats show over 1 in 7 Australians suffer from Hayfever – an allergic condition caused by airborne pollen combined with an over-reactive immune system.
Similar to sinus, asthma and eczema, Hayfever tends to run in families and is usually triggered by your external environment, but can also be set off by diet and stress.
To avoid having to pack your purse with anti-histamines this spring, here are our best tips for managing your hayfever naturally:
• The first step in dealing with allergies naturally is to have a gut health assessment. An estimated 80 per cent of your immune system is located in your gut, so good gut health is essential to also supporting your immune system. By getting tested, you can find out if conditions like leaky gut or chronic candida are the underlying cause of your overactive immune system.
• It may come as a surprise, but food can be a trigger for hayfever. Get yourself tested for a food intolerance to determine what foods you need to avoid. Also see your doctor for a food and environmental allergy test – this can include testing for reactions to pollen, animal fur, dust mites, etc.
• As simple as it sounds, it’s important to avoid contact with your triggers as much as possible while you are trying to rebalance your immune system. After years of living with hayfever, it’s easy to just give up trying to avoid your triggers and put up with the symptoms, but this leads to increased inflammation in your body, and can have long-term consequences. Ask our Naturopaths about our specialised desensitization program for specific allergies.
• Increase your intake of Omega 3 fats – these act as potent anti-inflammatories and can be found in high-strength fish oil.
• Eat fermented vegetables and take a probiotic containing the lactobacillus rhamnosus strain (LGG) – these work to reduce the severity of your hayfever symptoms.
• Avoid dairy products – over my years as a Naturopath, I have found that removing dairy from the diets of patients with hayfever who produce excess mucous can make a big difference with their symptoms.
• Up your Vitamin C – it acts as a natural anti-histamine and can help reduce the severity of symptoms.
• Goldenseal – this is one of my favourite herbs for helping people with seasonal hayfever. It has both anti-bacterial and immune balancing properties.
These are just a few of the many ways that we can help you to manage your hayfever naturally. Remember, the key is to find your individual triggers and underlying causes to achieve the best results.
Do you want to get your breathing back under control?
Click here to download our free guide on the triggers of asthma as well as the super foods, exercise and lifestyle to enjoy to help keep it under control.
