Food Allergies May Aggravate Your Seasonal Allergies

Food sensitivities may contribute because of the leaky gut affect. When you eat a food that irritates your GI lining continuously, it can create leakage of the GI tube. The GI tube should be sealed normally. When you eat a food that you are sensitive to, it can create “leakage,” meaning the foods you eat “leak” through micro holes in the GI lining and cause an immune response.

This “leaky gut” can cause issues with digestion (constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating), skin rashes, runny nose and congestion, asthma, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, stress, weight gain and affect your hormones.

Springtime allergens add to the burden on the liver, and when coupled with food sensitivities, can make allergy symptoms worse. Eating a lot of fried, fatty or processed foods, and foods that lack nutrients and vitality will also increase the burden on the liver, creating more allergy/ inflammatory response on the body. How do you know if you are showing signs of liver congestion or toxicity or if you have leaky gut? You will have symptoms:

• Allergies, skin changes such as acne, eczema, wrinkly skin
• Digestive issues: sluggishness, gas, bloating, loose stools
• Fatigue, low mood, mind fog or forgetfulness
• Weight gain
• Stress, anxiety and trouble sleeping
• Hormone imbalances

It can be helpful to get a food sensitivity test done, which will tell you if you have a mild, moderate or severe reaction to foods. Many tests vary and test IgG and IgE responses. If you do have some food sensitivities, avoiding the foods is key but it is also important to work on healing the gut lining at the same time.

If you skip that treatment, you may not heal the leaky gut and develop more food sensitivities to the off foods, and the cycle will continue. The timing of avoidance varies from three to nine months. Once you remove the offending foods, you may find your seasonal allergies get better.

Costs of food sensitivity testing can vary depending on what food panels you order. Many panels check anywhere from 90-300 different foods, additives, molds and herbs and cost $350-$950. If food sensitivity testing is not covered by your insurance, you want to make sure it is done by a reliable lab and that you are willing to follow through with healing your gut and avoiding the foods on the list.

If food sensitivity testing is too costly for you, here are a few things that can decrease the histamine response, boost your immune system and benefit or lessen the burden on the liver by reducing seasonal allergies.

1. Try Acupuncture

Regular tune-ups weekly can help boost the lung energy (immune system), clear heat in the liver and move the Liver Qi energy to help reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent an allergic response.

2. Drink Nettles Tea

This a great nutritive herb that helps decrease the histamine reaction.

3. Do a Liver Cleanse Diet

Avoiding all of the inflammatory foods can help decrease the severity of allergy symptoms. Not all cleanses are alike. If you have never done a liver cleanse diet, it is important to make sure you are physician monitored to avoid any detox reactions.

4. Increase Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a great antioxidant that scavenges free radicals that are developed when exposed to toxins. Increase your intake to 2-3 grams per day.

5. Take Quercitin

Quercitin is a natural antihistamine and antioxidant that can be used daily to help stop a runny nose or reduce phlegm production

6. Use NAC-n-acetyl-cysteine

This powerful antioxidant benefits detoxification systems, supports the liver and lung function and will decrease phlegm. It is great for sinus congestion and phlegmy coughs.

7. Consider B-Vitamin Shots

B vitamins may not be absorbed if you have a compromised digestive system. When taken regularly, they can improve your energy, metabolism, cognition, decreases stress and boost the immune system.

8. Drink Lemon Water

Drinking lemon water daily can cleanse the liver and alkalize the body. Lemon is a great purifier and benefits the liver and digestive functions. If you have a lot of drainage from allergies, hot water with juice from half to a whole lemon plus a pinch of cayenne and honey to taste, can decrease phlegm, aid a sore throat and boost the immune system.

9. Put Salve on the Nasal Septum

Putting beeswax salve with calendula or chaparral herbal salve on the nasal septum prevents pollen from attaching and helps nasal dryness. Saline or homeopathic allergy nasal sprays can also be affective for allergies.

Allergy season is here. Know that you don’t have to suffer and that there are many ways that acupuncture and natural medicine treatments can benefit and reduce the severity of allergy symptoms. Even if your allergies appear to be more than seasonal, there are many ways we can prevent and treat them without medications. FBN

By Christina Kovalik

Dr. Christina Kovalik NMD, LAc, The Vitality Doctor, is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist specializing in hormone optimization, optimal health and vitality. She is a new Flagstaff resident, practicing since 2004, and opened her second location in Doney Park in 2020.    For more information, visit thevitalitydoctor.com or call 928-863-6086.