Allergies are caused by the immune system reacting to a foreign substance known as an allergen. An allergy can be a response to something you eat, inhale into your lungs, inject into your body, or touch, and the reaction can cause coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose, and a scratchy throat. In more severe cases, it can also cause rashes, hives, low blood pressure, breathing trouble, asthma attacks, and even death.
So, What Really Causes Allergies?
Short Answer –
What you eat, the state of the health of your gut and general health and wellness.
Long Answer –
Humans maintain health and vitality through a phenomenal orchestration of cells, tissues, organs, systems, fluids, gases, chemistry, and energy which runs on a set of instructions or innate intelligence within every cell. The sum of these activities and chemical reactions and the inherent programs they run on is called metabolism. When we’re functioning properly, metabolic processes work in harmony to maintain homeostasis and balance. While there is some flexibility in the operating ranges of the processes, a loss of homeostasis in one area or system may cascade into other areas, and eventually produce the symptoms one is experiencing — often far removed from the critical system that is actually failing!
Hidden stressors or malfunction in an area, left unchecked or not corrected in the body, will cascade downstream into other areas. As one dysfunction builds upon another, depending on individual weak links in metabolism, all manner of disease and symptoms may occur. Observing that the exact same symptom or cluster of symptoms could be found in many people, even though the originating malfunction or imbalance had occurred in entirely different systems, my mentor Reed Davies, coined the phrase The Metabolic Chaos™ Cascade to explain the phenomenon.
In summary, allergies can be caused by something far removed from what you may think!
What are Common Symptoms?
There is a long list of allergy symptoms, but here is a list of some of the more common reactions:
- Runny/stuffy nose
- Sneezing
- Wheezing/shortness of breath – Asthma
- Brain fog
- Eczema
- Cough
- Rash/hives
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Ear aches
- Stomach cramps
- Nausea/vomiting
- Watery/itchy eyes
- Itchy throat
Many people wind up treating routine allergy symptoms with over-the-counter medications, or prescriptions, but the problem with that is that you end up treating just the symptoms and not the cause.
What is a A Natural Approach to Allergy Relief?
Limit Exposure
Well this is an obvious one but you can limit exposure to the possible allergens but this is not really getting to the root cause!
If your allergy nemesis is exposure to pollen and the like in the spring time, is to wash the inside of your nose. I know, it doesn’t sound very pleasant but we do it all the time in our family and it is strangely satisfying!
The way it works is you fill the pot with sterile saline and flush out all the nasties and allergens from the nostrils and sinuses. This is the neti pot we have in our house>>.
Always use sterilized water, such as boiled or distilled water during nasal cleansing. You can also purchase some specific nasal cleaning salts, such as these>>.
If you suspect you may have an allergy, specifically to food, one of the best ways to pinpoint the cause of your allergy is by doing an elimination diet. This is done by eliminating the foods that are commonly associated with allergies for three weeks. After the three weeks, you slowly introduce each item back into your diet one at a time, giving a few days for each food you reintroduce. If your allergy abates and then comes back when you eat a certain food, isolate just that food and repeat the diet a second time.
Here is a list of foods most commonly associated with allergies:
- Gluten
- Dairy
- Soy
- Refined/added sugar
- Peanuts
- Corn
- Alcohol
- Eggs, in some cases
- Packaged, processed or fast foods
For more detailed information on embarking on an elimination diet, check out my blog here>>
Fix the Gut
Health begins in the gut! If you really want to get to the root of what is causing your allergies, it is best to get your gut tested. The test that I use in my practice, the GI-MAP by Diagnostic Solutions Lab. It is the gold standard in the industry and looks at many different factors contributing to the health of the gut. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in this type of testing.
If it is found that the gut is under-functioning there are so many things that can be done to build it back up again. My favourite products to fix the gut are from Microbiome labs – https://microbiomelabs.com/
Their total gut restoration supplements work perfectly to firstly recondition the gut with there MegaSpore Biotic. Then reinforce the beneficial bacteria with MegaPreBiotic and finally rebuild the integrity of the lining of the gut with MegaMucosa. Take a look at it here>>.
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in these supplements further.
If you have seasonal allergies, you would most likely know that antihistamines help the symptoms. Well, you need to have some Nettle leaf in your tool box as it is one of nature’s antihistamines.
There have been studies (like this one>>) showing that it contributes to reducing or stopping allergic rhinitis.
It comes in different forms like Tea (This is a great brand>>) or capsules (like these>>).
Vitamin C is probably the most well-known and easy to find natural antihistamine. It is available in many fruits, veggies and supplements. Experts suggestion that taking at least 2000mg (for adults) per day gives the best results. There are many supplement out there but this is a relatively cheap and safe brand>>
or if you find that you have a sensitive stomach, it is best to take a buffered vitamin c. We use and love this brand>>.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Bringing anti-inflammatory foods into anyone’s diet is beneficial in so many ways, let alone just for natural relief of allergies. Here are some of my top picks:
- Blueberries;
- Celery;
- Fatty fish – salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, etc;
- Nuts and seeds – chia seeds, walnuts, almonds, flax seeds, etc;
- Green leafy vegetables – kale, bok choy, chard, etc;
- Pineapple and Oranges;
- Tumeric and Ginger.
In some instances, a more immediate need for relief exists, and for that, there are many essential oils that are great for soothing symptoms.
Here are a few of them:
Peppermint Oil – Has anti-inflammatory properties and can help to quickly clear blocked sinuses and ease nasal congestion caused by allergies.
Lavender Oil – Works as a natural antihistamine and will help to reduce inflammatory allergic reactions in your body.
Chamomile Oil – Is a soothing herb that is known for its relaxing properties. If you have itchy, red skin rashes or hives caused by allergies, use chamomile oil for fast relief.
Tea Tree Oil – Can help to remedy allergic skin reactions by reducing inflammation and preventing infections. The antibacterial properties of tea tree oil can also be useful in destroying mold, fungi, and bacteria particles in the air, thus reducing symptoms of allergies at home.
Lemon Oil – Is used to treat respiratory problems associated with allergic reactions. Lemon is a natural antioxidant agent that can help cleanse toxins and reduce the body’s response to allergens.
Oils can be used with a diffuser, by being diluted with water and used as a room spray, or mixed with a carrier oil such as coconut oil, and then massaged into the skin.
Sources:
http://www.naturallivingideas.com/essential-oils-for-allergies/
https://draxe.com/8-natural-allergy-relief-remedies/
https://functionaldiagnosticnutrition.com/blog/
NB: And as always, I am not a medical doctor and the above post is based on my experience. No information on this site should be relied upon to make a medical diagnosis, treat, prevent or cure any disease or medical condition.
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And as always, I am not a medical doctor and the above post is based on my experience. No information on this site should be relied upon to make a medical diagnosis, treat, prevent or cure any disease or medical condition.
