How to Eat to Beat Seasonal Allergies

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 18th 2011 @ 5:00PM

allergies Photo: Getty Images

We're just as sick of spring allergies as the next guy. And we know how much your Claritin, your funky nasal spray, and the supreme gift to all allergy sufferers, antihistamine eye drops, mean to you. But also eliminating a few foods from your diet may make your allergy symptoms a lot less annoying.

Medical News Today offers solutions from Dr. Fred Pescatore, author of The Allergy and Asthma Cure, who says that the key to getting through allergy season is to reduce the inflammation in our bodies. That means, if you have a yeast or mold allergy, cut the aged cheeses and stick to low-yeast foods. Fight congestion during grass season by cutting back on dairy products and grains.

"Refined sugars, flours, and processed food all trigger inflammation, so steer clear of them," Dr. Pescatore says.

There is actually a reaction some allergy sufferers experience when eating certain foods during peak seasons; it's called food-pollen allergy syndrome, and may consist of a tingling in the mouth, and an itchy, swelling tongue and throat. Your immune system mistakes a plant protein in the fruit, vegetable, nut or seed for pollen, and this irritant triggers what allergy specialists call a cross-reaction."It's a form of contact hives in your mouth, Dr. Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn, a pediatric allergist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, explained in an ABC news report.

So in tree allergy season (April to June), Dr. Pescatore notes, avoid celery, carrots, apples, potatoes, peaches, nuts, and flowering herbs belonging to the Apiaceae family, i.e. anise, caraway, coriander, cumin, fennel, parsley and parsnip.

Watch this webcast to find out more on how to cope with spring allergies.

Filed Under: Health & Medical
Tags: nutrition, seasonal allergies, spring allergies

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-24-2011 @6:07PM Cathy said... Or possibly just not eating at all, just to be safe. http://newsy1.wordpress.com
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5-26-2011 @1:51AM Pamela Krieger said... I would recommend a more natural solution to this problem and would give him biotin supplements.
http://purebiotixcleanse.com/
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