Fighting Seasonal Allergies As A Naturopath
Once Spring finally arrives, so do rising pollen counts. While there are many who suffer from this tsunami of pollen, you are not doomed. You might be miserable from seasonal allergies, but there is hope.
Conventional medicine treats seasonal allergies with injections and pills, which unfortunately, create side effects and fail to address the root problem. If you don’t address the root cause, then the allergies will never go away.
We’ve seen many patients come see us complaining about gut issues. Surprisingly for them, once we fix their diets and heal their guts, their seasonal allergies also disappear. Did you know 60 percent of your immune system is in your gut? When your immune system is irritated, it reacts to everything – kind of like when you don’t get enough sleep everything makes you more irritable.
Leaky gut is the leading cause of seasonal and food allergies. After all, an unhealthy, inflamed gut can’t fight off potential allergens. To eliminate seasonal allergies, we recommend following these four incredibly helpful strategies as a naturopath in Springfield Missouri.
Detox
Replace the bad with the good. An elimination diet is the first step for a healthy gut. The foundation of Functional Medicine is taking out the bad and putting in the good. Eliminate common toxic triggers like wheat, corn, dairy, soy and alcohol. Eat whole foods, high-fiber diet that is rich in anti-inflammatory plant chemicals called phytonutrients.
Avoid anything that contains sugar or trans fats. Focus on eating healthy fats from extra virgin olive oil, nuts, avocados and omega-3 fats like those found in small fish such as sardines, herring, sable and wild-caught salmon.
To kickstart the detox process, we offer natural supplements such as Orthomolecular’s Core Restore, a 7-day detox kit, in our office for patient convenience.
Use Powerful Gut Healing Nutrients
Probiotics provide good bacteria to improve digestion and reduce inflammation. Other gut-healing nutrients include glutamine, zinc, curcumin and fish oil.
Manage Stress
A mind-body disconnect can mean being stressed out, wired and tired, and can really damage your gut and worsen seasonal allergies. Practice relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation every day.
Get Enough Sleep
Optimal sleep is crucial for gut health and overall health. Research shows inadequate sleep shortens your lifespan and increases inflammation, which can lead to chronic disease. Insufficient sleep can also increase your risk for diabetes through insulin resistance, paving the way for diabesity. Aim for at least eight hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep every night.
If you try all these things and still suffer, we need to dig a little deeper for other causes such as food additives, pesticides, chemicals and pollution in your environment. You should also check for mold in your home or work.
Ultimately, lifestyle choices and how we care for our bodies and souls is typically not given enough thought. These basics form the root cause of our happiness and health.
While these principles are disarmingly simple, even the brightest people fail to make the connection between how we treat our bodies and how we feel. Most of us never learned how to adequately care for and feed our bodies and souls. A few simple acts implemented into your daily life could change everything, including seasonal allergies.
