027 463 9229
Juelle Hunt
Naturopath & Medical Herbalist
Vibrational Energy Therapist
BNatMed, MNZAMH
(09) 2357658 or 027 463 9229

09.09.17 (#12)

"A-TISSUE! A-TISSUE!" WE ALL FALL DOWN

Ok not all of us but for many people Springtime
can be a pain in the schnoz.

Sneezing, wheezing, drippy noses, itchy watery puffy eyes,
oh a feel for ya!

So before you head off to the pharmacy to stock up on medications like antihistamines and steroids to deal with these pesky symptoms these are only going to suppress the symptoms of the allergies and you might even get some unpleasant side effects for your trouble.  Self diagnosing and using over the counter medications are not the answer because, DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO OR DO YOU JUST THINK YOU DO? Self diagnosing or treating yourself may not be optimal or effective in the long-run, someone who thinks they have a persistent cold may in fact have an allergic reaction to dust mites, if you suffer from asthma you may have a food allergen/intolerance driving this.

Good ole New Zealand  has its own allergenic patterns which are challenging, a climate in which dust mites and mould spores can thrive, we love to be in and around nature and we have many pollen producing species of grasses, trees and weeds and windy weather patterns which are not helpful.  Oh and what about our fur babies, super cute super furry, yes! animal dander. Yow we are doomed.

WHAT CAUSES THESE SPRINGTIME ALLERGIES & WHY ME

Basically our immune system can be sensitized and over-react to what it thinks is an allergen such as pollen, dust and goes into protection mode producing an antibody called immunoglobulin E, or IgE which is stored in mast cells, a type of white blood cell which then in response releases histamine.  Result send in the army and get that allergen out sneeze a lot, copious amounts of mucus yuk!   
One way the immune system can be compromised is through the gut.

Your Gut & Allergies, OK I hear you say, as you are sneezing into your tissue, what has my dripping nose got to do with my gut.  Our digestive system and gut are interactive and play a huge role in balancing our immune system. In fact 70% or our immune system is located in our gut.  The microbes in our gut are super important and if we change those beautiful bugs in our gut we change the function of our immune systems making us more susceptible to allergies.  So our gut flora can be affected by so many things, STRESS, inflammation, injury to the intestinal wall from drugs like antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, antacids or proton pump inhibitors (Losec) and our diet including high intake of sugar and alcohol.  Infants and young children can be particularly prone as they have immature immune systems and can have a compromised intestinal lining,  formula feeding in the first few months of life, being born by caesarean can see babies miss out on mum’s good bugs.  Genetics do play a role in making us more predisposed to allergies and we are much more likely to get allergies if our parents did, a babies allergies can start in utero and can be influenced by what mum eats, also interesting is that if we supplement with specific strains of probiotics whist pregnant this is beneficial in altering the allergenic response.

GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY
We are just too PC and paranoid about BUGS, exposure to bugs is good, growing up with pets, on a farm, being born by vaginal delivery, being breast fed influences your gut’s flora and helps to protect us.  Put away the antibacterial handwash, get your hands in the dirt, lack of exposure to microbes in early life may in some people increase allergies in later life.

ENUFF SAID WHAT TO DO NOW

DONT STAB AROUND IN THE DARK – get a hair tissue analysis test this is going to give you the information you need.  You may think that pollen is the culprit and actually mould might be.  Symptoms may be seasonal but also chronic and happening all year round so you may have multiple allergens affecting you.

BOOK AN ALLERGY TEST

IMPROVE YOUR GUT HEALTH & IMMUNITY – once you identify your allergens/intolerances you can work on improving your gut health, this is achieved with a combination of good nutrition, herbs and supplements. This gives long-term results but takes commitment,  I can guide you through the, heal & seal protocol and elimination diet.

HOW TO DEAL WITH ACUTE SYMPTOMS
Got snot, keep away from mucus forming foods like dairy, (other milk sources), nuts (including peanut butter) sugar, banana and wheat (until your allergy test results come back).

In the meantime ...

Go Natural, think natural anti-inflammatories, vitamin C with bioflavonoids assists with reducing inflammation and breaks down histamine, good quality in therapeutic doses can really help and I say supplement at 2 grams Vitamin C a day with bioflavonoids and boost with Vitamin C rich foods like broccoli, kiwifruit, guava, and berries (avoid strawberries and tomato which are high in histamine), split the dose morning and evening.  High dose vitamin C can give you the runs, so you need a highly absorbable gut friendly one, I can help you with that.

Quercetin a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory, way better than the over the counter drugs and can be just as effective, a powerful antioxidant that inhibits the release of histamine.  If you are prone to hayfever don’t wait, the trick is to start treating profillactically before pollen is a problem. Hayfever season officially starts in New Zealand around September but this year due to an early spring, pollen is already becoming and issue for some.

Foods high in Zinc & Vitamin A  indulge yourself including oysters, beef, lamb, spinach pumpkin, sunflower seeds, chicken and beans, boost Vitamin A with carrots, kumera, dark leafy vegetables, apricots and squash which can help ameliorate the symptoms and improve and support the immune system. 

Reduce exposure to aeroallergens, not always easy right, so keeping windows closed in the morning and evening, staying inside at these times especially if windy to reduce pollens coming into the house, keep windows closed in the car when travelling around.  Change clothes after being outside.

Eat local & Raw Honey, if you can source this which is difficult if you live in the city and a nice to have, but the old theory eating local just makes sense here, honey has beneficial bacteria and traces of the local pollens and this is will help to educate your immune system to tolerate the local pollen.

Drink and enjoy lots of pure water it thins the mucous down, that’s gotta be good!

For symptom relief try clearing your nasal passage using a neti pot (nasal rinse). If any allergens are stuck in the nose this can clear them out and give some temporary relief.  This can be a weird feeling but can really help, I have a great recipe for a neti pot if you are interested in giving it a try.

Neti Pot Recipe

Last but not least, herbs beautiful herbs – to name a few, Albizia stabilizes those mast cells, Ribwort if you live in the country it is probably growing like a weed next door, fantastic for reducing mucus and allergic irritation and hayfever, Eyebright astringent and anti-inflammatory which decreases the hypersensitive response of the mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, throat, and ears, horseradish to thin mucus, Tumeric to reduce allergic response.

Topical Stuff, herbal based nasal spray providing mucus membrane support with anti-inflammatory and demulcent properties soothing and reducing acute inflammation, I make up these little beauties.

Homotoxicology love this approach  - Homotoxicology is a form of modern homeopathy in a very low dose, nasal spray Luffa comp-Heel was compared with orthodox nasal sprays to treat hayfever in clinical trial and were found to be more effective and significantly reduced symptoms, best part is no nasty side effects.

For support and much more, if you constantly suffer from hayfever your gonna have to think seriously about treating this long-term problem with a long-term solution, I can help.  If you need acute support can do this to quality and therapeutic dosage important factors in successful treatment.

If you are a sufferer don’t wait the sooner you start taking natural prophylactics the more chance you have got to stave off the hayfever beast.

Book an appointment or call into the herbal dispensary