For many people, it seems like each year their allergies get a bit worse, even experts agree. While we may like the change of the seasons, they can be hard to enjoy when your too busy sneezing and coughing. However, many think they can only control their symptoms through medication. While nothing can take the place of traditional allergy treatments, especially when a patient has severe allergies, there is a way to help keep your body healthy and help control your allergies simultaneously. Did you know that there is food for allergies that you can ingest that will help? Turns out eating the right amount of antioxidant-rich, anti-inflammatory foods can help temper your body’s reaction to allergens and keep allergies at bay.
Have you ever thought about using food for allergies? You are what you eat after all, and there are certain foods that you can eat that can help you control your allergy symptoms. Check out some of the best foods you can eat to help curb your allergies.
Quercetin
Quercetin is a powerful flavonoid antioxidant that has anticancer properties, is able to boost immunity, fight free radical damage, help with inflammation, and is also considered to be an anti-allergic agent. Quercetin can help stabilize the release of histamines in the body, decreasing allergic symptoms such as itchy, watery eyes, swollen lips/tongue, coughing, runny nose, and hives. If you are looking for foods that are rich in quercetin, make sure you eat plenty of cocoa, olive oil, apples, dark berries, cherries, green tea, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, spinach, buckwheat, peppers, and cruciferous vegetables.
Bromelain
Bromelain, especially when combined with quercetin, can be handy for natural allergy relief. In fact, when paired together, bromelain increases the absorption of quercetin. A mixture of enzymes, bromelain is helpful with thinning out mucus as well as reducing irritation and inflammation in the nasal passages, making it easier to breathe. If you want to make improvements with your respiratory congestion, make sure you add some bromelain to your diet. Hopefully, you enjoy pineapple, because bromelain in an enzyme that is found in pineapple juice and the stem of the pineapple.
Vitamin C
Ingesting enough vitamin C can help fight the discomfort that goes along with an allergic response, and can even help reduce inflammation, which is vital when you are in need of relief. In fact, vitamin C is an antioxidant that can prevent inflammatory cells from releasing histamine, and can even help reduce and counteract the inflammatory response. All of this results in you getting some much-needed relief from your allergy symptoms. So be sure to add foods such as watermelon, kale, strawberries, peppers, oranges, and apples into your daily diet.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
If you want to turn the dial down on your allergic response, you need to keep inflammation at bay. One way to do this is to increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Not only are omega-3’s associated with having a better memory, stronger heart, and an elevated mood, but it can also help relieve your allergy symptoms. In fact, in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a study discovered that having a high content of omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is associated with a lower risk of hay fever. If you are looking to add more omega-3s to your diet, be sure to eat salmon, herring, oysters, mackerel, sardines, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.