Are you an outdoor enthusiast? If you love being in the great outdoors and sharing in the excitement of everything budding and blooming in the spring and summer seasons, but you suffer in an allergen haze as pollens and grasses are in full-effect, you may need benefit from herbs and other supplements!
The Online Drugstore, is a health shop online with a beautiful array of supportive herbs to help you through the thick of allergy season so you can enjoy everything nature has to offer in this wonderful time of year! Join us and get to know the best herbs and supplements for allergy support!
Helpful Supplements For The Allergy Season
If you’re suffering from chronic itchy and watery eyes, sneezing, and a tickle in your throat, it can make life tough and exhausting. Sometimes, your body just needs a little extra herbal support to get through the season.
- Local bee pollen - The key to bee pollen is picking a local one. It is always wise to start off slow and before the season is in full swing. Bee pollen is advantageous in combating allergies because the bees are pollinating plants and flowers and move to and from each one, collecting the pollen of the area. When you introduce these pollens in small quantities, it builds your resistance and immunity to local pollens and makes the season much more enjoyable. You can opt for local bee pollen, or local honey as well.
- Stinging nettle - This is a staple in herbalists pantries! Stinging nettle supports seasonal effects by the numerous compounds found in them that help to relieve inflammation and the histamine response. Consume stinging nettle consistently during the season through a variety of teas, tinctures, and capsules.
- Quercetin - This is a lovely bioflavonoid found in broccoli and cauliflower (cruciferous veggies), green tea, and citrus fruits, and it helps balance histamines and bring the body back to homeostasis. It is recommended by health professionals to take it for long-term support and well before the allergy season arrives.
- Reishi and/or astragalus - Reishi is a fungi that helps to modulate the immune system. This is helpful during allergy season because it’s adaptogenic in nature in addition to being anti-inflammatory. For an added benefit, reishi is wonderful for stress relief and helps calm and soothe the body! If you’re not a mushroom lover (you should be; their health benefits far exceed their taste), try astragalus. Astragalus contains complex starches, called polysaccharides, that are beneficial for immune signaling and send your immune cells back to basic boot camp so they can perform better! This plant has been shown to decrease the severity of allergies. An added benefit when taking astragalus is its longevity and anti-aging properties. As we age, the telomeres in our DNA shorten, and research is finding that astragalus helps preserve their length!
- Goldenrod - This herb has wonderful antihistamine properties in addition to it being great for inflammation balance, and it is a delightful antioxidant. Goldenrod is specifically helpful for respiratory issues, and can help thin mucus in the sinuses.
If you’d rather eat beneficial foods that combat allergies…
Some people don’t mind taking herbs in tinctures, teas, and capsules, but some would rather eat supportive foods! There are many foods that you can eat on a regular basis and find allergy support with, but the most important thing to note is beginning with good nutrition. This means eating an alkaline, anti-inflammatory diet that ditches sugar and dairy (not forever, as it causes your body to increase its mucus when consumed) and focuses on green, leafy vegetables, healthy fats, protein, and a little carbohydrates. Eat these for allergy support:
- Lemons - Lemon is alkalizing and immune-supportive. You can drink lemon water or make an amazing salad dressing with it.
- Garlic - Who isn’t a garlic lover? Garlic wards off allergies and has every kind of “anti” property, including, antibiotic, antifungal, antioxidant, etc. If you can tolerate raw garlic, chop it up and wait 15 minutes to consume it. This way, the allicin (therapeutic compound) can ruminate and become more potent. Otherwise, roasted garlic is amazing!
- Bone broth - Bone broth has so many enticing components and is rich in amino acids and minerals that support your immune system and help fight the inflammation effects that allergies can cause.
- Fermented foods and beverages - Consuming fermented foods and beverages, such as kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha, has been linked to actually preventing allergies from even surfacing. Fermented foods and beverages are helpful because they contain probiotics, or the good bacteria that supports our overall health and well-being. Support your immune health and prevent allergies with these little critters.
Allergy season can put a damper on your activities and can leach the energy right from you. You can supplement with things, such as:
- Local bee pollen
- Stinging nettle
- Quercetin
- Reishi
- Astragalus
- Goldenrod
If you prefer eating foods that help, try:
- Lemons
- Garlic
- Bone broth
- Fermented foods and beverages
