by Marcey Klein BS, CNC
This is time of year when many of us are dealing with the pollen from all the plants starting to bloom. I look at allergies as the body’s way of telling us that it is out of balance in some way. We come in contact with foreign substances every day, but allergies arise when our bodies set out to conquer and destroy these benign substances by producing antibodies, and then in turn causing our cells to release histamine and other chemicals producing an allergic reaction.
There are several systems in our bodies that when weakened, will predispose us to have allergies. These are our digestive system, immune system, adrenals, and cell membranes.
Weakened adrenals due to fatigue, stress, depletion of key nutrients, and genetic predisposition will decrease our cortisol production. Cortisol stops or diminishes allergic reactions. The adrenals can be nutritionally depleted and toxic. Certain key nutrients help us to support and nourish the adrenals, so if we are low in vit A, C, E, and the B vitamins, specifically pantothenic acid, then the adrenals won’t be running optimally. Skin breakouts, hay fever, and a multitude of other allergic reactions have a root cause in weakened adrenals.
Excessive worry, stress due to a fast paced lifestyle, negative emotions, fear, and using stimulants including coffee excessively all contribute to the breakdown of our adrenals. Using herbs along with those key nutrients mentioned and a high quality multivitamin can nourish the adrenals. These herbs include, licorice, schisandra, holy basil, rhodiola, American ginseng, milky oats, and nettles. There are fantastic formulas already out there that will do the trick.
Excessive cell permeability can allow foreign proteins and other substances to enter our bodies from our intestines, nasal passages, and elsewhere. If our cells are too permeable, chemicals and other foreign substances and proteins can enter in and cause severe allergies.
Inflammation can also cause our cells to become too permeable. There are many nutrients involved in strengthening our cell membranes to prevent this over permeability, and to lower our inflammation. Fatty acids play an important role here, specifically omega 3 fatty acids from cold water fish, 2 grams per day is a potent dose. That’s 3 sardines a day, or 3 oz salmon, or several capsules of high quality fish oil. Minerals are also important, specifically zinc, calcium, magnesium, and trace minerals which you can get from dark leafy greens. Let’s not forget those helpful bioflavonoids as well, there’s quercitin, rutin, hespirdin, along with vitamin C.
There are several formulas specific for allergies that contain all of these, and I would also recommend taking a gram of vitamin C with extra bioflavonoids every day along with your dark berries, tangerines, apples, and onions, which are full of quercitin and other nourishing plant molecules. These also can strengthen our immune system along with vit D. Most people are too low in vitamin D, one can safely take up to 5,000 grams of this per day.
Last but not least are allergies caused by food itself. Some foods we do not have the ability to digest, leading to permeable gut syndrome, and other foods simply aren’t recognized by the body.
Refined sugar is a common allergen which lowers our calcium and increases our insulin, placing extra strain on our adrenals, and other reactions in the body which can result in behavior change, skin rashes, and candida overgrowth. Other common foods people can be allergic to are milk and wheat. Many people do not have enough enzymes in their bodies to break down the lactose, casein, and gluten. This eventually weakens the cell lining, or villi, in the intestines and affects the bloodstream, causing a host of allergic reactions and inflammation. If left unchecked it can cause autoimmune diseases where the body starts to attack itself.
Food colorings, additives, preservatives, and toxic chemicals found in many prepared foods and junk foods can also cause allergic reactions in the body.
Overall, most people today will benefit from better quality, mostly organic foods, which will lessen the toxic load put on our bodies, nourish us better, and help us to bring down that inflammation so familiar with allergies. It is also good to include local honey if we have seasonal allergies to get us used to the pollen around us, and to include a high quality fish oil, a multivitamin, and a digestive aid like probiotics if we are experiencing any toxicity in our gut. Let’s get our bodies well-nourished and running as smoothly as possible, so that everything gets put back in balance with allergies and eventually with all aspects of health.