Healthy Living

Tis the season....the Allergy season!

A lot of people starting to manifest initial signs of hayfever. Running nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, wheezing, rashes, and general irritability! For some, this time of year heralds several months of these symptoms, and some people remain on anti-histamines all year round (although even the manufacturers of these medications say they shouldn’t be taken long term!). Although we never advise that people stop taking their prescribed medications, we can do amazing work to help support their allergy symptoms in the background, meaning they can make decisions about their medications with their health professionals if their allergy symptoms decrease.

So, what do foods have to do with seasonal allergies? Quite a bit as it happens.

Allergies are all about Histamine. This amazing chemical is released by white blood cells into the bloodstream when the immune system is defending against a potential allergen. This release can be triggered by pollens, moulds and certain foods.

Specialised immune cells that are located at barrier sites on the body such as the skin and GI Tract (called Mast Cells) are known for their defense against not only bacteria and toxins, but against allergy triggers also. Mast cell “stabilisation” is the basis for mainstream medications that help reduce the symptoms of allergy. As usual in Naturopathic medicine, we look further for the cause of the reaction, and try to address it at that level.

Research has shown that low grade inflammatory infiltration in both the small and large intestine has been rich with mast cells, indicating that people with irritable bowel syndrome may be more susceptible to allergies.

This may come as no surprise to many of you – that the gut is a key source of inflammation and allergy. Eating a diet low in inflammatory foods and high in mast-cell stabilising, anti-histamine foods is the key for many allergy sufferers.

Our nutrition programmes are holistic in nature and provide support for a wide range of health situations. We’re ready when you are.