One way to ease allergy symptoms is by building your constitution. Let's pretend your body is a table. Each leg of your table represents a different aspect of your lifestyle: one is diet, another is exercise, the third is stress and the fourth sleep. The more you take care of each of these legs, the stronger your table is. If, however, you eat poorly or don't exercise, then your table's legs become shaky.
The top of your table is your genetic makeup. What you put on top of the table are your allergies. If you have many allergies (most allergic people are allergic to more than one thing), your table has to hold a heavier load. If your lifestyle or legs are weak, then your table may collapse when many allergies are piled on top. So there are two ways to ease allergy symptoms: by shoring up your lifestyle and by diminishing your exposure to allergens.
People who have hay fever are more likely to have eczema too. Both of these conditions are also linked to food allergies. An Italian study suggested that individuals with eczema tend to have hyper-responsive bronchi, a symptom of asthma (1). At Johns Hopkins University, researchers concluded that people with food sensitivities release more histamine than non-allergic individuals (2). Histamine, a necessary substance when the body is injured, causes allergic symptoms when the body overreacts to an allergen.
If pollens and other airborne allergens bother you, chances are you may also be sensitive to some foods. Identifying these foods and avoiding them may help with hay fever and other allergic symptoms. As often is the case, taking of your health will undoubtedly ease allergies too.
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A Recipe for Allergies
Many of the foods we regularly eat are medicines-in-waiting. Onions, garlic and chili peppers are all foods that therapeutically soothe hay fever symptoms. Try cooking the following spicy sauce and see if it clears up your stuffy head and nose.
5 medium onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tsp dried chili peppers (more if you can stand it)
2 15 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 15 oz can of tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped up
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried allspice
dash of vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
Gently saute diced garlic in olive oil in a large pot over low to medium heat for one minute. Add onions. Saute onions until they're translucent, stirring frequently. Add rest of ingredients. Stir thoroughly. Cover with lid. Turn heat down to low and let sauce simmer all day. (Use a slow cooker if you have one).
When sauce is done, serve over your favorite pasta with a fresh green salad and garlic bread covered with plenty of fresh garlic.
Have a cup of green tea after dinner, a wonderful anti-asthmatic beverage.
References
- Corbo GM et al. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness in atopic dermatitis. Allergy 1989;44:595-598.
- Sampson HA, Broadbent KR, Bernhisel-Broadbent J. Spontaneous release of histamine from basophils and histamine-releasing factor in patients with atopic dermatitis and food hypersensitivity. The New England Journal of Medicine 1989;321:228-232.