Hay fever treatment: 7 steps to beat pollen
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Hay fever treatment: 7 steps to beat pollen
Spring! The sun is shining, warmer weather, we are sitting on the terrace more often and the plants and flowers are blooming beautifully again. How annoying is it when you sniff, sneeze, cough or itch on the terrace. How do you get out of here? In this blog we share how you can treat hay fever without side effects.
Unfortunately, more and more people suffer from this and treat hay fever every season with antihistamines. Antihistamines often have side effects, such as lethargy, stomach and intestinal complaints, fatigue, dizziness and headache. It is therefore better to treat hay fever naturally, without side effects.
Read on for all the tips for a natural hay fever treatment!
Direct to:
- Step 1: reduce/avoid histamine-rich foods
- Step 2: bee pollen
- Step 3: a strong liver
- Step 4: clean air
- Step 5: boost your lymphatic system
- Step 6: pollen calendar
- Step 7: Ask for advice
What is hay fever?
Hay fever is a seasonal allergy that arises from pollen from trees, grasses, flowers and plants and causes many uncomfortable symptoms such as sniffling, itching, sneezing and coughing.
Now on to: hay fever treatment.
Step 1: Reduce/avoid histamine-rich foods
Many healthy products contain histamine. Think of it this way: the more of these products you eat in a day. The more histamine, the more hay fever complaints you get. We’re not saying you should never eat this again, but eating less histamine during hay fever season can help treat hay fever.
Histamine-rich foods: (avoid these)
Old herring, old cheese, canned or fermented products such as sauerkraut, yoghurt and olives and beer. But also pork, soy sauce, peanuts, cinnamon, pickles, tomato, kiwi, strawberry, chocolate, spicy herbs, fast food and sugary products contain a lot of histamine!
We like to think in terms of possibilities: what is possible?
Breakfast with porridge, a smoothie, vegetable omelette, chia pudding and lunch with spelled crackers, lentil paste, coconut yoghurt, salads, soups or delicious curries.
Need inspiration? Check out our recipe: vegan pumpkin soup
Which Foods Lower Histamine?
Organic apples, broccoli, cucumber, watercress, artichoke and blackcurrant. And also drink 2 mugs of (cooled) nettle and rooibos tea daily, which is a natural histamine reducer.
There are also supplements that support the immune system and help lower histamine levels in your body. Read this blog: hay fever treatment with natural supplements.
Step 2:
What? Bee pollen for hay fever treatment? Bee pollen contains quercetin, which may act as a natural antihistamine inhibitor.
It is important to start using bee pollen slowly because of the high amount of pollen in the pollen. With small amounts, your body produces antibodies, which ensures a reduction of complaints (but too much makes it worse).
Dosage and how to use: Start with a few grains a day and build up slowly. Are you used to? Then take one tablespoon of bee pollen per day. Do this over a smoothie, salad, coconut yogurt or on crackers with nut butter. It is important to use organic bee pollen and preferably start before the hay fever season.
Step 3: a strong liver
The liver helps break down histamine, so you want it to work properly for you. The liver can work reduced due to various factors such as stress, medication use, constipation and alcohol and caffeine intake. But stress is also a real culprit.
What can you do?
- Prefer not to drink alcohol. Try a kombucha instead of that wine.
- Ensure sufficient relaxation during the day
- Drink nettle tea
- Moderate sugary diet. This exhausts your liver.
- Eating too little is also a form of stress. So feed your body!
Step 4: clean air
Wist je dat de gemiddelde Nederlander (met een kantoorbaan) tot wel 90% van de tijd binnen zit.
Wist je ook dat de luchtkwaliteit binnen ongeveer 5x slechter is dan buiten.
An air purifier that filters the air for pollen can therefore be useful for your home or office.
Step 5: Boost your lymphatic system
To stimulate the discharge of histamine, it is useful to boost your lymphatic system. These ensure that all waste products are removed from your cells. How are you doing this? Moving, massaging, wearing a bra without underwire and using a Gua Sha stone or Jade roller can help with this. Cold showers and alternating showers stimulate the blood vessels and the pumping effect, which ensures that moisture continues to flow properly.
Step 6: Pollen calendar
In addition, it is of course also nice to check in which period your hay fever complaints occur. This depends on specific pollen.
How do you find out? Check it on Hooikoortsrader.nl.
Conclusion
A natural hay fever treatment is to persevere, read in and see what works for you, but don’t give up! We recommend that you keep these tips and adjustments for 100 days anyway. So that’s about 3 months. Only then can you know if it works for you. Need additional advice or questions? This is possible. Request free advice.. Our orthomolecular nutritionist will contact you.