WAYS TO TAME SPRINGTIME ALLERGIES

Spring is busting out all over, and that means so are the trees, flowers, and allergens. Lovely as it is to have the dark days of winter behind us, for those who suffer with allergies, these beautiful beginning-of-spring days can be an annual challenge. Rather than just suffering and sneezing your way through another spring, add a few (or all) of the following start-today allergy-fighting tips to your day and truly enjoy the season. Here’s our sunup to sundown guide to keeping allergens out of every corner of your life:
 

1) Give Your Gut a Spring Cleaning

A cleanse early in the spring is a great way to help strengthen your immune system for the onslaught to come. A springtime gut cleaning will eliminate the majority of common dietary allergens—like sugar, gluten, and dairy—that can weaken your system. You’ll be better able to take what blows your way. 
 

2) Rise, Shine—and Meditate

Start your day with some deep, calming breaths and a few minutes of meditation to help tame stress levels, which, when they get too high, can aggravate existing allergies by boosting histamine levels in the bloodstream. 
 

3) Give Your Nose a Shower

Few of us would forget our morning shower, but a lot of us wouldn’t think to rinse our noses. Nasal passages are great at catching pollen and allergens, so it’s up to you to clear out the gunk with a sterile (non-shower) rinse. To wash the irritants away, use a traditional neti pot or saline solution spray—and breathe easier almost instantly. 
 

4) Have a Low-allergen Breakfast

Don’t start the day with a load of allergens like wheat, dairy, and sugar. Instead, have a nutrient-dense meal to fortify your system with gut-supportive prebiotic fiber and histamine-inhibiting vitamins A and C.

5) Pop Some Good-for-you Pills

When it comes to fighting off allergies, the more support you’ve got the better, which is why I do recommend supplements for the sneezing season. Among my drug-free favorites are bioflavonoids and vitamin C. 

6) Spring-clean Your Wheels

It’s an easy one to overlook, and most of us do, but if you are an allergy sufferer who spends a lot of time in the car, you’d be wise to put “hange the cabin air filter” on your annual spring-cleaning list. A fresh, clean filter switcheroo will help improve the air quality in your car and keep pollen, dust, and mold spores out. 
 

7) Drive a Clean Machine

Driving to the office or the commuter parking lot? Keep the windows rolled up, particularly in the morning when many plants and grasses release waves of pollen. Also make sure the windows and weather stripping are in good shape to help seal allergens out of the car. If you’re using the AC, hit the recirculate setting to suck less pollen-laced air into your car.

8) Breathe Easier at the Office

The modern-day office is a treasure trove of allergens. There’s pollen blowing in from the great outdoors and being tracked in by your co-workers, office equipment spewing pollutants, and, in pet-friendly workspaces, airborne pet dander. Add to that sub-par filtration systems, and your allergies may flourish virtually year round. To upgrade office air quality quickly and inexpensively, ask the office or building manager to switch to high-efficiency air filters.
 

9) Trade Your Midmorning Coffee for Green Tea

When you hit the office, instead of that second cup of coffee, have a cup of green tea (preferably organic). In addition to delivering a nice dose of antioxidants and a gentler-than-coffee stimulant effect, the unique compounds in green tea may also offer relief for some allergy sufferers, according to a study.

10) Eat Your Antihistamines

At lunchtime and dinner, dig into foods that contain plenty of quercetin, a plant flavonoid that can help curb the release of those pesky histamines that make eyes and noses run. Apples, green peppers, broccoli, raw red onions, and garlic are good sources, and if you need an additional boost, quercetin can also be taken in supplement form. 
 

11) Indulge in a Post-workout Sauna or Steam

If your gym has a sauna, use it! Doing this not only boosts your immune system and benefits your heart but, according to a recent study can also offer allergy sufferers improved lung capacity, reduced congestion, and symptom relief.

12) Get a Chiropractic Adjustment

For many of my patients who wish to avoid drug treatment, I use a chiropractic adjustment, which can be an extremely helpful, healthy, and side-effect-free alternative. Chiropractic’s potential to relieve allergy symptoms was highlighted in a recent study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, where participants receiving chiropractic treatments reported symptom relief comparable to that of traditional drug-based therapies.
 

13) Eat more Anti-inflammatory Foods

Anti-inflammatory foods—which you should be eating year-round, not just when you’re sneezing—will also help tame allergies, so dig in. Among the goodies that should be on your plate: immune-boosting leafy greens like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard; antioxidant-rich blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries; and inflammation-taming omega-3s from fatty fish like wild-caught salmon, mackerel, tuna, and herring.