DIET AND HAY FEVER

Many people don’t make the link between diet and hay fever, but hay fever can be better managed with diet.

How does this work? By reducing foods that are proinflammatory and exacerbatory to hay fever we reduce the likelihood of inflammation occurring. Inflammation is a primary instigator of hay fever so reducing those foods reduces one pathway that causes hay fever.

Liver and Hay fever

The liver clears a substance called histamine from the blood, you may recognise the name histamine from antihistamines which reduce hay fever. the substance histamine is used by the body to cause inflammation while inflammation is necessary in many functions of the body it can become rampant. The liver can be impacted by foods and beverages because the liver also metabolises the nutrients from our food when we have a high sugar and alcohol intake it can cause the liver an excess of work so it does not complete its function of clearing histamine, which causes more histamine and more hay fever.

Cleansing the liver with low carb foods (no grain, sugars, starches or alcohol) for a few weeks can really help reduce the load on the liver and increase its clearance of histamine and hormones that can contribute to an inflammatory state.

Antioxidants and hay fever

Increasing you antioxidant intake can really help to reduce inflammation which reduces hay fever.

These are just some idea’s to help you this spring. If you need help to get your hay fever under control you should contact your local nutritionist or naturopath.

Kerry Dean, BHS(nat), ANTA

Naturopath 0412241198