Hay Fever is coming be aware!

The number of people affected by hay fever is on the rise, factors such as pollution, junk food and climate change are often blamed. In this post I’ll give you a brief explanation on what is hay fever and what can you do to ease its nasty symptoms.

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According to the NHS, hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis is a condition affecting up to one-in-five people at some point in their life. Hay fever usually begins in childhood, but can present at any age. Hay fever is caused by a hypersensitive response of the immune system to plants pollen, an airborne allergen; which affects areas exposed to air, such as eyes, nose, upper respiratory tract and skin.

An allergen is a harmless substance, which produces an abnormal excessive immune response, which the immune system mistakenly identifies as an intruder. Consequently the immune system, makes allergic antibody (IgE) ,release histamine and other chemical mediators, which are responsible of the characteristic hay fever symptoms: itchy eyes, throat, nose and ears, sneezing, runny or blocked nose.

There are several things that you can do to minimised hay fever nasty symptoms. A good start is to prepare your body for hay fever season, and don’t wait until your hay fever is completely wild. On the list below you will find some tips and dietary advice that would help you on the task.

Reduce exposure to pollen- Avoid walking or sport activities in grassy areas early in the morning and in the evening as pollen count is higher at these times of the day; shower and change clothes after been outdoors; dry your washing indoors; vacuum and damp dust frequently; closed windows when indoors; wear wrap-around sunglasses to protect your eyes from pollen.

Increase intake of Quercetin, vitamin B6 and vitamin C - Quercetinis a flavonoid that inhibits production and release of histamine. Good sources are onions, nettle, apple, buckwheat, kale, spirulina, kelp.Vitamin B6 assists histamine breakdown and can be found in foods such as bananas, pulses, wheatgerm, seeds and meat.  Vitamin C prevent secretion of histamine.

Essential Fatty Acids – Eat foods rich in omega 3 and 6 essential fats.( oily fish – salmon, sardines, mackerel -; nuts, seeds, and their oils.)  These contain prostaglandins, hormone like chemicals with anti-inflammatory properties.

Immune booster – Garlic, onion, ginger, increase intake of fruit and vegetables in general.

Drink water! - When the body is dehydrated histamine secretion is increased drastically, therefore is important to keep an adequate intake of plain water. Aim to drink 1.5 - 2 litres/day.

Avoid saturated fats - Part of the inflammatory response on hay fever is caused by the release of leukotrines a chemical derived from arachidonic acid, found in saturated fat Cut on foods high in saturated fats, meat, dairy products and processed foods.

Avoid food rich on histamine -  There are many foods that naturally contains histamine, some of them have a particularly high histamine content, eating these type of foods during hay fever season, likely would exacerbate your symptoms. Rich histamine foods includes pickles, cheese, fermented foods, alcohol, vinegars, marmite, tomatoes, spinach, processed meats and fish.

Few herbs to treat hay fever

Antihistamine - Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita), Nettle (Urtica dioica), Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis), Baical skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis), Plantain (Plantago major), Feverfew ( Tanacetum parthenium)

Anti-catarrh - A substance that reduce the formation of phlegm (mucous).

Elder flower (Sambucus nigra), Golden rod (Solidago virgaurea), Ribwort (Plantago lanceolata), Elecampane (Inula helenium)

Anti-inflammatory - A substance that reduce inflammation.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), chamomile (Chamomilla recutita), Golden rod (Solidago virgaurea), Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)

Immune modulator  - A substance that modulates and balanced the action of the immune system.

Poke root (phytolaca decandra), Echinacea(Echinacea angustifolia) ,Ashwaganda (Withanea somnifera)

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