Ways Diet May Affect Allergies

If you look up “nuisance” in the dictionary you should find allergies listed as the definition. Nothing can impede upon your day quite like the coughing, sneezing, and itching eyes that accompany an allergy attack. Recent studies have shown that diet may play a role in lessening your symptoms as there is a link between gut health and allergy symptoms.

Foods in Your Diet that May Affect Allergies

Dairy

If you’re suffering from allergies, you may want to cut or at least reduce dairy in your diet. Dairy is commonly attributed to creating more mucus in the body. Dairy triggers your body to make histamines, an inflammatory response to certain foods. This inflammation causes phlegm to build up throughout the body, most notably in the nasal passages. So, when pollens are causing your allergies to flare, the continual consumption of dairy only adds to the mucus pouring forth from thy nose.

Eyes on Gluten

Inflammation is also caused by gluten. Well, gluten doesn’t cause inflammation – genetically modified wheat with gluten in it causes inflammation, “i.e” most supermarket items with flour. In 1870 grain milling was industrialized giving birth to a milling processed that destroyed the vitamins and minerals in ground flour. That combined with Norman Borlaug’s revolution of the farming industry in the 1950’s producing genetically modified wheat that produced high yield crops in conjunction with chemical fertilizers and pesticides gave us the strange, gut damaging wheat we have today. These modifications drastically reduced the quality of our wheat and with it, the ability for the human digestive system to properly process the ingredient. Instead, stick with stone ground wholemeal flour which has the entire wheat kernel ground into it. Or try fermented grains like sourdough bread; the fermentation process breaks down the gluten strands making the product easier to digest.

Add a probiotic

The respiratory tract and digestive tract: both are immune barriers in the body, meaning they protect the body from outside invaders. Interestingly, when the digestive tract suffers other parts of the body can flare up as well. For some, that means the respiratory system “freaks out”, manifesting as your general allergy symptoms: coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, etc. Adding a probiotic to your daily diet regime promotes a healthy digestive tract because the healthy bacteria helps break down the sugars and proteins we eat into a more digestible form. Be sure to look for a comprehensive probiotic that has both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains.

Easy Eaters

Now that you’ve combated the inflammation and established a healthy gut, You may want to add these foods to your diet as it may be successful in combating those allergies.

• Cherries:  cherries are extremely. Acerola cherries have 65X the amount of vitamin C than oranges. Vitamin C can cut down on those inflammatory histamines caused by dairy products.
• Pineapple: has an enzyme called bromelain, which can reduce irritation in allergic diseases such as asthma.Fish: fish such as salmon, herring, and cod are high in Omega 3 fatty acids. These omegas are excellent inflammation fighters and, as an added bonus, help promote brain health.
• Honey:
• Flax seeds: flax seeds contain selenium, a mineral that can help reduce an allergic response. Flax seed meal is an excellent addition to your diet as it is easily digestible.

You don’t have to let allergies stand in your way anymore. These suggestions are simple, albeit not always easy to assimilate into your diet. However, with a little effort, you can minimize phlegm and inflammation, and promote a healthy digestive system. If you need additional insight on allergies and health, we’d be glad to guide you in the right direction. Visit us here.