Spring in Melbourne! It’s such a beautiful and welcome time after a long, cold winter.
But, it can also be bittersweet for many Melbournians, as we have the highest rates of allergy in the country.
Allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, is a miserable part of life for many of us each spring. If you’re thinking- what would I do without my Zyrtec, Claratyne or Telfast, my cortisone nasal sprays and eye drops?- then this post is for you.
There is so much you can do to get rid of your allergies and start enjoying springtime again. At one point in your life you didn’t have hay fever, which means that you don’t have to have it for good. Healing can happen, but the key is you HAVE to start early- yes, in the last month of winter!
The guts of it
Believe it or not, allergies are all about gut health. Allergies are an abnormal response by the immune system to things that are harmless like pollens, animal dander, dust and certain foods. The immune system should not respond to these, however it can easily become imbalanced and go a bit haywire when your digestive system is not healthy.
70-90% of your immune system lies along your digestive tract, which is why immunity and gut health are so intertwined. Conditions like ‘leaky gut’ and ‘dysbiosis’ (an imbalance in your gut bacteria) contribute to inflammation which sounds the alarm for your immune system to go on the offensive and over-react.
The way to regulate and reduce allergies is to support the body’s tolerance to its environment. Your immune system should defend you against a viral or bacterial invader, but it should not be reacting to a little bit of pollen from a grass or tree in your backyard.
How do you build tolerance to your environment and balance your immune system?
Addressing gut health is the key to addressing allergies. The aim here is to reduce ‘leaky gut’ and inflammation, and promote balance and diversity in your gut microflora (your gut bugs).
Here are some indicators that your gut health needs a bit of work:
Allergic symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, runny nose, itchy throat
Seasonal hay fever
Eczema and hives
Asthma
Constipation and/or Diarrhoea or IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Excessive bloating
Abdominal cramping
Excessive wind
Acne
Headaches
Fatigue or sluggishness after eating
Frequent anti-biotic use
Long term oral contraceptive pill use
Stress and Anxiety
Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
FODMAP intolerance
SIBO
Histamine intolerance
Autoimmune conditions (coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease, Hashimoto’s, Graves, Multiple Sclerosis)
The basics for addressing allergies
Every person is different, so it depends on your symptoms and your health history. This is why it’s important to work with a practitioner who can identify your key triggers and tailor treatment to suit your needs.
To start with, here is what I focus on with my patients:
Remove any dietary irritants:
Foods that aren’t working for your body create inflammation in your gut, which sends your immune system into a tailspin. If you have a lot of food intolerances it doesn’t mean that you have to avoid all of these foods forever. This is a sure sign that your gut is inflamed, and it needs a bit of rest. Removing certain foods gives your gut a break and the chance to heal. Gluten and dairy are often quite difficult to digest for many people, so avoiding these for a time can make a huge difference.
Address Histamine:
Often people with allergies will also have histamine intolerance. Histamine is secreted by our immune cells and is the molecule responsible for classic hay fever symptoms- runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat. We need histamine (it’s a good thing), but it becomes a problem when our body can’t break it down and we get overloaded. Specific enzymes in our guts, particularly the DAO enzyme, are responsible for breaking down histamine. Any type of gut inflammation with reduce the amount of DAO available and lower our threshold of tolerance to histamine. Histamine is also present in a wide variety of foods, and a low histamine diet is one that I often prescribe alongside a good gut-healing plan.
Support the gut bugs:
Often there will be an imbalance in the strains of bacteria and fungi in the gut, which causes inflammation and those irritating gut symptoms. Sometimes there are parasites involved (this is fairly common) and I will often utilise testing to determine what little critters are present in the guts of my patients. If parasites are present they can be treated with herbal medicine and probiotics. Probiotics are a necessary and important part of correcting gut health, but specific strains are indicated for specific conditions so it is important to choose the right ones for your needs.
Support digestion:
Long term gut health is only achievable when digestion is working like it should. Healing the gut means correcting the digestive environment and making it favourable to a good balance of gut bacteria. Things like pH, production of enzymes, stomach acid, bile and hormones are all important for a happy gut environment. Stress (of any type) and nutrient deficiencies will often impair these processes, and need to be addressed in order to correct digestion.
Allow enough time!
Healing the gut takes time. This is why you need to start in winter if you want to avoid your allergies in spring. Generally you need to allow 6-12 weeks for thorough gut healing to occur, although this depends on your own particular health history.
It doesn’t have to be hard or challenging, and the benefit of better health is the best reward. If you’re feeling overwhelmed about where to start, what to eat and what supplements to take I suggest working with a qualified naturopath who can take the guess work out of it for you and create a treatment plan specific for you.