Part of natural allergy relief is avoiding things that exacerbate the problem. This means more than just avoiding the actual allergens themselves. We can limit exposure to things that add burden to the body’s detoxification process or that irritate the nervous and immune systems. We can reduce a lot of suffering by limiting or avoiding these foods this allergy season:
- Alcohol
Alcohol causes an immediate inflammatory response in the system, slowing all metabolic processes and blocking up the vascular system in the head, exacerbating congestion and lymphatic clearing in the head and neck. It also takes extra energy from the liver to be processed. The liver must clean all the blood as its regular job, so when alcohol is added, it’s like trying to wash dishes in dirty water. All the debris that doesn’t get cleaned up that night stays in the system, and for people with allergies, it becomes mucous and congestion. For people without allergies, it remains in some other form, such as cholesterol or excess fat.
In addition, if the sugars from the alcohol are not used, such as by physical exertion, they become the raw material for mucous. The body releases the excess in this way. Alcohol does not necessarily need to be eliminated as some people do process it easier than others. If you drink alcohol before bed, it helps to drink a big glass of water and take 1000gm of good Vitamin C to take some of the burden off the liver when you sleep and reduce the amount of mucous build up.
- Hydrogenated Fats and Greasy Deep-Fried Foods
Firstly, hydrogenated fats are not food. Because of this, they cannot be utilized in the body. What cannot be used must go somewhere, so some people get loose stool to get rid of it, others store it somewhere in the body, and yet others such as people prone to allergies, will produce mucous. This also applies to deep fried foods because the oils that are exposed to such high heat cannot be utilized by the body. Unusable fats slow down the function of the liver and detoxification processes, and for some people, exit the body as mucous.
- Coffee
Oh it’s so sad but it has to be mentioned even if most of us ignore it. Coffee does not have to be eliminated, but it can help to understand what coffee has to do with allergies. Coffee affects two main systems in our bodies that affect how much congestion we may have. The first is the hormonal system. When our very elegantly complex hormonal systems are pushed slightly off balance, an assortment of different things can manifest. The imbalance may show as fatigue, PMS, irritability, night sweats, changes in libido, or for some, allergies. For some more than others, coffee throws off the natural hormonal cycles, leading to allergic symptoms. The second system coffee affects that has to do with allergies is the adrenal and pressure system. By stimulating the adrenal glands in the lower part of the body, the vascular system in the head and face gets dilated, then contracted. This means that the fluids of the body–blood, mucous, lymph get pushed up to the head with dilated passageways, then gets left there once the vessels contract again. This can lead to the sensation of pressure in the face and head, congestion, and chronic or recurrent sinus infections, and chronic neck tension. If coffee is really being used too much to stimulate for energy and sleep is what is needed, this will severely contribute to allergy symptoms. This is another entire topic—allergies due to exhaustion.
- Milk and Most Dairy Products
Dairy is only a problem for some people. If it is a problem, it is important to not eat dairy. The way to find out is to pay attention after eating dairy or drinking milk. If you get allergy symptoms, tired, mental fatigue, bloating, gas, loose stool, or constipation, dairy is not good for you. These symptoms indicate that your body does not assimilate the nutrition well, and instead, the food is a burden on the body. If you are unsure, you can try an elimination diet for 3 weeks and see if you feel better without dairy. Some people prefer to simply get tested for dairy allergy.
- Wheat
Wheat and dairy have become demonized in the health food industry, but I do not believe they are the real problem. In fact, I believe they can be very good nutrition taken properly. We have become overly dependent on wheat, and because of overconsumption and overproduction, may sometimes react to it. This is another one to pay attention to symptoms after eating. Also, it can be effective to simply reduce the amount we eat to 3-5 servings per week, or to take a break for a few weeks. I do not recommend wheat substitutes that have too many ingredients because they are hard to digest properly. In my experience, many of these products are unrealistic and even harder on the digestive system than a fresh baguette would be, and therefore, worse than just eating a simple, quality wheat product. Whole wheat can be harder to digest that white flour. Organic non-GMO wheat or organic wheat from Italy without preservatives is always best.
