Are You Ready for a Sniffle Free Spring? Here Are Some Natural Allergy Relief Tips!

Apr 8, 2024

Are your seasonal allergies stopping you from doing the things you love? Whether that is playing with your kids outside or adventuring to a new hiking trail, we all want to be as sniffle-free as possible.

Seasonal allergies affect 24 million Americans each year. But do you know why? A mucus membrane lines our nasal and bronchial passageways. The mucus membrane contains immune cells called mast cells. Let’s say pollen encounters these mast cells. Our body sees it as an invader and releases histamine from the mast cells to fight it. Histamine produces excess mucus and itchiness, which are common seasonal allergy symptoms.

So, what are some natural ways to support your immune system during this seasonal change? Here are our 7 top tips!

1: Eat anti-inflammatory foods

Allergies are flaring up the immune system and have our bodies working overtime to fight off these foreign invaders. One way to lighten the load on our immune system is by eating anti-inflammatory foods. When eating anti-inflammatory foods, we decrease overall inflammation in the body. Foods that contain grains and sugars and that are ultra-processed are known to increase inflammation in our bodies. Foods like leafy greens, garlic, ginger, and turmeric are natural foods that support our immune system.

2: Neti Pot

The Neti Pot has been around for a long time and works well in getting rid of allergens in the nasal passageway. If you make your own solution, dissolve pink Himalayan salt into distilled water. Do not use tap water as it contains chlorine and fluoride that irritate our sinuses. Doing this at times when you know you have been exposed to allergens will help minimize symptoms and can help clear out your nasal passageways.

3: Improve gut health

80% of our immune system is stored in the gut. If our gut isn’t healthy, our immune system doesn’t work properly. This is why we need to support our gut health. One way to support our immune system is by promoting good bacteria (and the right amount!) in our gut. This way we can fight infections, viruses, and even allergies. Ways we can rebuild our natural defense system include both probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotic foods like fermented vegetables are great in repairing damaged intestinal lining. Prebiotic foods like garlic and onions help feed the probiotics.

4: Local Honey (remember not for kiddos under 1 year old!)

If you are someone who struggles with seasonal allergies, you could also try consuming one tablespoon of local honey every day. By consuming small doses of honey, our body can become accustomed to it. When Spring rolls around, you will have less of an immune reaction to pollen, and therefore allergy symptoms will be more manageable.

5: Consider Taking Quercetin

Quercetin is a potent antioxidant that decreases the release of histamine as well as keeps mast cells at bay and under control. We can consume quercetin through citrus foods, broccoli, and onions. People who struggle with seasonal allergies can also consider taking a quercetin supplement to increase their consumption of this antioxidant.

Before springtime rolls around, you are going to want to start incorporating quercetin foods into your diet to help with the transition in seasons. Natural D-Hist is a supplement made by OrthoMolecular that has quercetin in it. This is a great natural alternative to an allergy medication, as it contains vitamins that help calm down the inflammatory response brought on by seasonal allergies. (Hint! Come by our clinic and grab some!)

6: Essential Oils

Another natural way to support your body is through essential oils. Specifically, eucalyptus oil is a natural remedy to help reduce inflammation caused by allergies. There are multiple ways to use this essential oil, all of which we recommend you consult with your doctor prior to using (because this is not medical advice 🙂, just recommendations).

-Add a few drops into your diffuser with water to diffuse in your home

-Mix it in with your Neti pot solution (if tolerated, please consult your physician before changing any medication/supplement regimen)

-Add to laundry detergent (be sure to dilute to your preference, as tolerated)

Another essential oil that helps with allergies is frankincense. Frankincense oil is shown to help stimulate the body’s immune system. To use this oil, you can either dilute it and apply it topically (be sure to follow guidelines for dilution and make sure your body tolerates it before using it regularly) or you can also put it in a diffuser with water and other oils to diffuse in your home.

7: Cleaning up your Home

Our final tip for a sniffle-free spring is spring cleaning! Some of us love it; some of us hate it, but it’s a great way to help prevent and address seasonal allergies. What we’ve often seen is that most people think that seasonal change is the only thing affecting their allergies, but in fact, research shows that the accumulation of things like dust, mold, pet dander, etc., over winter is actually contributing to your build-up of allergies.

So, what to do? Even if it’s not on your favorite list of things to do, we’d recommend diving in and doing that spring cleaning…but we’d also recommend using cleaner products that won’t affect and aggravate your allergies. Check out our website for more clean swaps!

Ready for a sniffle-free spring?

With all of the sniffles going around, you or someone you know is likely affected by seasonal allergies each year. Instead of having your allergies control you, take your life back by implementing our top tips this season. Try incorporating an anti-inflammatory diet to help with inflammation or even start by deep cleaning your home to rid of the accumulated dust, mold, and pet dander from previous seasons.

If you’re still struggling with those allergies, though, and can’t seem to get them under control no matter what you try, then it might be time to reach out to our team to see if there’s anything underlying them / causing them. If that sounds like you, click the button below to contact us.