Spring has sprung, but unfortunately for some people that also means that allergy season has begun. While it’s not a fix to get rid of your hay fever symptoms entirely, there are some great natural remedies available to help keep those sniffles under control. Have read of this article to learn how to spring clean your body from allergens!
What’s histamine got to do with it…
Histamine is the chemical in the body released during an immune response to an allergen. Histamines are responsible for the symptoms you might feel during an allergic reaction such as sneezing, itchy eyes, rashes and difficulty breathing. The reason you experience these symptoms is because the histamine is trying to expel the allergen out of your body however possible. When you come into contact with an allergen such as dust, pollen or a chemical; histamine is released and the reactions begin (Ambardekar, 2022). Unfortunately having elevated histamine levels constantly can keep you experiencing these symptoms daily, therefore the first thing we need to address is how to reduce your histamine levels to get the symptoms to stop!
How to lower histamine levels
The first step to reducing histamine levels is by reducing exposure to the allergen that started things in the first place. There are many different foods that also increase histamine levels or stop them from clearing, here are some of the foods you may want to consider avoiding:
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Alcohol
- Bananas
- Tomatoes
- Citrus fruits
- Beans
- Dairy foods
- Smoked meats
- Avocado
- Olives
- strawberries
(O’keefe Osborn, 2020)
Some other ways to reduce histamine levels are by targeting reducing inflammation. Drinking water, sticking to an anti-inflammatory diet, regular exercise and adequate sleep are great places to start. Research has found links between taking ginseng and lowering histamine levels. In particular it has shown the ability to stabilise mast cells, which prevents them from releasing an inflammatory response of histamine into the bloodstream (Jang, et al., 2015). Taking a daily ginseng supplement, especially during hayfever season is a great natural medicine to reduce histamine and its allergy symptoms.
Enjoy the season, not allergy symptoms
Remember, just as histamine takes time to build up in our bodies, it also takes time to clear out. Reducing histamine levels definitely isn’t a quick fix however making consistent daily efforts will get you through the hay fever season enjoying spring, not sniffling through it. The great part is, there are so many easy and natural ways to achieve a sniffle free season!
References
Ambardekar, N. (2022). What are histamines? WebMD, accessed on 08/11/22, <https://www.webmd.com/allergies/what-are-histamines>
Jang, Y., Lee, W. J., Hong, G. S., & Shim, W. S. (2015). Red ginseng extract blocks histamine-dependent itch by inhibition of H1R/TRPV1 pathway in sensory neurons. Journal of ginseng research, 39(3), 257–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgr.2015.01.004
O’keefe Osborn, C. (2020). Low-Histamine Diet, Healthline. Accessed on 08/11/22, <https://www.healthline.com/health/low-histamine-diet>
