15 Proven Tips to Conquer Allergies Naturally
By Inci Jones
Are you struggling with a drippy nose, sniffles, sneezes, and itchy eyes?
Tired of the OTC antihistamines loop that either amps you up or makes you sleepy?
Same…we all know that allergies can sap your energy and just make you want to just go back to bed and sleep. But after a few years of trial and error I’m sharing what has worked for us. We try to use natural remedies as much as possible to help us all breathe a little easier, and feel better without resorting to taking OTC antihistamines—when possible.
So…What’s Your Trigger?
Sometimes knowing just what gets your allergies going is the key to preventing them. Is it pollen, dust, or your friend’s cat? Frequently this is all we need to know and do to prevent most allergy reactions.
Avoiding allergen triggers is one of the first lines of defense for managing seasonal allergies. If you have a pollen allergy, stay indoors as much as possible and when pollen counts are high, wear a mask when you go outside.
Keep your windows closed and use air conditioning — if possible. We all know what you’re thinking, it’s finally spring after a long winter and you want to enjoy the fresh air in your home. It may feel wonderful at first, but when the pollen blows into your home, you might trigger an allergy response that you can’t escape from, so do yourself a favor and keep windows closed during high pollen times.
Is Your Living Area Clean?
Ok, this gets down to the basics…your environment. Is it relatively clean? This could be the main source of your allergies. If there are dust bunnies along your baseboards and dust on your surfaces, you are breathing that dust, dander and allergens everyday. This could be the main source causing your allergies. Sure, we’re all busy with work, family, friends, kids, and activities and don’t have time to clean. But just taking 15-minutes everyday to do a little clean up can be very impactful for your overall well-being. It cuts down on all the things that promote allergies in your living area. Plus, when you are all done, there is a satisfaction of seeing all the good things you’ve done for your environment and for you and your family a win-win!
Vacuum your environment frequently during allergy season. Try to use a HEPA filter vacuum to filter out the dust and pollen. If you don’t have one of these a simple Swiffer Vac really can help to get rid of pollen that accumulates on the floor.
Dust all flat surfaces. You don’t have to use anything fancy, a simple damp towel can really help to reduce the dust.
Wash your bedding at least once a week. You’d be surprised at how much dust, dander and pollen is on your sheets. And make your bed, it closes off your sleeping area to the pollens of the day.
If your kids have stuffed animals, run them through the dryer at low or no heat at the end of the day to get the pollen, dander and allergens out between washings.
Take your shoes off at the door. It’s a minor inconvenience, but it really does make a difference with allergies if you are not tracking the pollen into your beautifully clean home.
Consider Getting a HEPA Air Purifier
One thing is for certain, even if you clean and do ALL of the things to keep pollen out, some are bound to get into your home. Plus, if you have pets (pet hair), dust, mold or mildew, they are all most likely present in your home as well. Using a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier helps reduce allergens inside your home. The HEPA air purifier makes all the difference for us when allergies are very high outdoors.
Don't Eat Trashy
If you’re eating a good amount of sugary foods, caffeine and products that are packaged and have ingredients that you can’t pronounce, it probably isn’t helping you in the allergy department. Next time, think about fueling your body when you eat, instead of the quick sugar and caffeine fix. Picture this — a plate filled to the max with veggies, fruit, nuts and a little rotisserie chicken or even some canned tuna or sardines. And, the best part is that you didn’t even have to cook a thing. Drizzle with olive oil and some balsamic vinegar, sea salt and pepper to taste. Your body will thank you, and your allergies just may subside. P.S. - you can pack this in a container to take with you when you go to work and shake up a freshly tossed salad when you’re ready to eat.
Natural Herbs to the Rescue
Nature has so many natural remedies that are easy to incorporate into your day. Herbs like butterbur, stinging nettle and quercetin are all great allergy fighters and can make a big difference getting through allergy season.1
Butterbur: A natural antihistamine, and one study showed that it was just as effective in preventing allergy symptoms as cetirizine (brand name Zyrtec) without causing drowsiness.
Stinging nettle: A well-studied remedy for allergies and inflammation in general. Stinging nettle not only has potent anti-inflammatory capabilities, it’s also chock full of vitamins and minerals
Quercetin: Have you heard of it? It is a chemical that is naturally occuring in onions, garlic, and apples. It reduces histamine in the body and is an effective choice for allergy sufferers. An easy way to get more quercetin in your diet is by increasing your intake of foods that contain it, or you can also take a supplement that is available in most health food stores.
Irrigate Yourself: Have you tried nasal irrigation? A neti pot or saline spray can make a big difference in clearing nasal passages, without OTC antihistamine sprays. It takes a little getting used to at first though, but trust me—it's really a game-changer. You’ll help to flush those allergens out of your nasal passages and it also helps to shrink irritated membranes for easier breathing. But don’t over-do, 1-3 times a day is all it takes.2
Give Yourself an Adult Time Out: Take time for yourself. I know you hear this alot. But it’s true. Did you know…Stress and allergies seem to have a connection? If you’ve been over-stressed, and overworked, it can actually trigger allergies. So schedule time to meditate, YouTube has tons of meditation videos to listen to in the comfort of your environment. Another thing to try is an easy yoga session or…here is something super easy that most anyone can do…a nap. Just take a basic nap like you did when you were a kid. A little time to relax completely each day for 15-30 minutes may be all that you need to get past the allergies. Your body will thank you for it no matter what, and your allergies may just fade away.
Sweet Like Honey: This is one of my favorite ways to help allergies and it’s pretty effortless to include into your diet. It’s not only tasty, but provides so many good for your things like enzymes, including allergy relief. Important tip… get local honey, it contains all of the allergy fighting goodness and is an immune boosters that will help you with your allergies. Eating raw local honey may help to build up a tolerance to those pesky allergens in the tastiest way possible.3 If you do have allergies to bees or honey, you should not try this one.
Eat Your Garlic: Garlic is one of the best natural allergy remedies that you can easily get from the grocery store. It is so effective in reducing inflammation in the body. Garlic contains antioxidants like quercetin, which we mentioned a little earlier. Quercetin is very noteworthy because it has the capacity to inhibit the release of histamines. Garlic also contains a compound diallyl disulfide, that fights the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and is a well-known immune booster.
Just eating two cloves of garlic is a great way to keep allergies—and even some viruses in check. You can eat them raw or include them when you juice.
In our home we microwave a few cloves of garlic for 20 seconds then cool for a couple of minutes, serve on a (healthy) cracker—enjoy. Really quite tasty as a healthy snack.
If you’re not into eating garlic then you can consider the supplement form. This version is great for those that want to avoid garlic breath and just want to take a supplement.
TBH though, in our experience with garlic supplements, although handy, doesn’t pack the same punch as the real thing for allergy relief.4
Have You Tried Essential Oils?: Just a little essential oil like peppermint, eucalyptus,or lavender can help you to breathe easier. I personally love eucalyptus oil, it feels very spa-like and smells so good! It not only helps to clear our airways, but it also helps to calm our senses. The best way to use essential oils is a diffuser. It delivers essential oils without being inconvenient and overwhelming. It is very helpful with congestion and relaxation.
Hydration is Everything: In just about every book that I’ve written, I stress the importance of keeping hydrated and drinking pure clean water. The reason you are dealing with allergy symptoms is your body has a histamine reaction. This is a body reaction to guard itself from pollutants, and this includes allergens. By drinking water and hydrating yourself, it may help prevent excessive histamine production and help to alleviate allergy symptoms. When you are properly hydrated, it allows your body to have a better reaction to allergens, and makes the response less pronounced.
There are so many people who think that drinking water is really hard, because they really don’t like the taste. A great way to enjoy your water is by making spa water. I’m pretty sure once you try it, you’ll be hooked.
It’s super simple to make: In a large water bottle (or pitcher for home use) use fresh mint leaves - 4 or 5 to start with, then add a slice or two of lemon, and some slices of cucumber. Let it sit for an hour or so to infuse (the longer it “brews” the stronger the taste). You can add a dash or honey or stevia to sweeten slightly. Then enjoy!
Here’s another spa water suggestion, try slices of watermelon or strawberries. You get the idea. Make drinking water a special event.
Another version of this is using herbal tea bags if you don’t have any fruit handy. The water does not have to be hot to “brew”. Let this sit for an hour or so to passively “brew”.
One of my faves is peach tea with a slice or two of peaches.
You get the idea…Be creative and come up with your own combos. Whether it's water, spa water, herbal tea, staying hydrated is the most important way to keep those allergies at bay. I guarantee it will make drinking water at the level.
Bone Broth: It doesn’t really matter if it’s homemade or from the grocery store shelf, bone broth can really help you with allergies. Really when you stop and think about it, people have been making bone broth since the beginning of humankind. Drinking liquid infused with bones and meat scraps has been around since prehistoric times.5
Some studies suggest that bone broth can help reduce inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is important to keep at bay to maintain good health overall.
The amino acids in bone broth may work to counteract inflammation-causing compounds in your body. Bone broth is rich in proteins and minerals and helps strengthen your immune system.
Eat Fermented Foods: Fermented foods contain naturally occurring probiotics which are helpful in maintaining good gut health that help you fight allergies. Probiotics help to boost your immunity and reduce inflammation in the body. It’s naturally available in yogurt, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh, kimchi, sourdough bread and some cheeses. Not too hard to get at least one of these foods into your diet frequently.
Probiotics have been shown to help reduce allergy symptoms, as well as symptoms of asthma. Some strains of bacteria, like Bifidobacterium longum, for example, have been shown to regulate T-cells in the body, which can help to produce a stronger immune response to common allergens.6
Additional Supplements That May Help
There are a few supplements that you may want to include in your allergy fighting regime.
Vitamin C helps to protect your cells from damage, support your body’s ability to fight infections, and reduce the severity of allergic reactions.
Vitamin D: Studies have shown that Vitamin D really can help to decrease the severity of allergy symptoms. You may be avoiding going outdoors because of allergies so you can’t soak in the sunshine to get your Vitamin D. But there are alternative ways to get vitamin D.7
Natural sources of Vitamin D: Egg yolk, cod liver oil, liver, fatty fishes (such as salmon, tuna, mackerel), milk, cheese, yogurt and some types of mushrooms.
Just A Note: While not getting enough vitamin D is not good, neither is getting too much. More does not mean that it’s better for you—high levels can cause toxicity in the body.
Curcumin or Better Known as Turmeric: Turmeric is a common spice used in foods from South and East Asian countries. Studies have shown that taking curcumin may lower your histamine release and reduce nasal symptoms such as congestion, sneezing, and runny nose.8
A pilot study conducted in 2016 with 241 patients found that those who took a turmeric supplement over the course of two months saw a reduction in symptoms from allergic rhinitis. They had less nasal congestion and less nasal airway resistance. This study seems to indicate that it can be helpful, but may not be effective for everyone.9
Give these great natural tips a try and see what works for you. They’re all easy to do and the best part — they’re all natural. It may help to kick your allergies to the curb and get you back to enjoying life to the fullest. Here's to breathing easier and feeling like our energetic selves again!
Other books by Inci Jones on women's health that you may be interested in reading available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/incijones