Allergies affect more than half a billion people worldwide. Billions of dollars are spent each year on antihistamines, decongestants, and corticosteroids in the hopes of relieving the sneezing, congestion, watery eyes, and other symptoms so many people suffer with.
The strange thing about most allergy symptoms is they are aggressive responses to harmless substances. Some of those substances include pollen, dust, and animal dander, to say nothing of the food allergies that exist. When a susceptible person encounters these substances, the immune system overreacts, and in extreme cases, death can occur secondary to an “anaphylactic” allergic reaction.
If you’ve suffered with allergies and have taken allergy medicines, you know that they often come with side effects ranging from heart palpitations to increased blood pressure, to extreme sleepiness. In fact, some over-the-counter sleep aides actually contain allergy medicines because of how sleep-inducing they are!
Fortunately, several safe, natural solutions exist that have helped people in the know for centuries. Here are a few of examples:
Fish oil has been shown help reduce some of the inflammatory factors associated with allergic reactions.
Quercetin is a flavonoid found in apples, onions, and green tea, and has been shown to help block the release of histamine.
Nettles have had surprisingly positive effects on inflammation and histamine release associated with allergies.
Both resveratrol and grape seed extract are excellent anti-inflammatory nutrients that have been used for decades during allergy season to keep swelling at bay. Grape seed may also have antihistamine properties.
MSM was originally made available to the public in the 1990s, and was touted as an allergy-relieving supplement. As people began taking it, they also noticed the positive effect it had on joint pain associated with arthritis symptoms, and the allergy-relieving effects were largely forgotten in favor of pain-relieving symptoms. But this natural sulfur-containing compound is part of almost all natural practitioners’ allergy relief strategies because of its anti-inflammatory effects.
Isn’t it time to say goodbye to both the allergies AND the side effects from allergy medications? Allergy relief isn’t far away when the diet is right, and the right supplements are part of the plan.