Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!
You or someone close to you might be all too familiar with the chronic sneezing that often accompanies allergic rhinitis or hay fever – otherwise known as seasonal allergies. Seasonal allergy sufferers can experience a multitude of symptoms such as a stuffy or runny nose, watery or itchy eyes, coughing, throat irritation, and in extreme cases sufferers will break out in hives. An allergic reaction occurs when your body misidentifies a normally benign substance like pollen as a threat.
Over the course of the year, approximately 10-30% of the global population experiences seasonal allergies, and that percentage has been increasing steadily in recent decades1.
New research supports climate change as a potential catalyst for the increased prevalence of seasonal allergies. Anthropogenic induced climate change has resulted in a relatively rapid increase in global temperatures and CO2 concentrations. Plants respond to these changes in climate by producing higher levels of pollen1.
Although it is certainly difficult if not impossible to avoid allergens resulting from climate change, it’s possible to improve other environmental factors that have a significant impact on allergy sensitivity, such as diet. By following The Paleo Diet, your body will be less likely to suffer from systemic inflammation that is common with a Standard American Diet and contributes to allergy symptoms.
Below are a handful of tips and tricks for mitigating your seasonal allergy symptoms:
Reduce inflammation with fish oils
First and foremost, if you want to reduce your body’s susceptibility to seasonal allergies, you should reduce inflammation. An adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids is crucial for keeping inflammation low and although debated some evidence supports the notion that higher omega-3 intake is correlated with fewer incidence of allergic symptoms2.
In a recent study by Nagakura et al., 29 children suffering from bronchial asthma were split into two groups – a control and an experimental group. Every day over the 10-month experiment, the control group took 300mg of a placebo (olive oil,) while the experimental group received 300 mg capsules of fish oil containing 84mg of EPA and 36 mg of DHA. Those in the fish oil group demonstrated decreased asthmatic symptom scores while the olive oil group showed no improvement 2. Although this study only demonstrated benefits for asthma sufferers, it nonetheless draws a positive correlation between respiratory health and omega-3 intake that could be beneficial for seasonal allergy sufferers as well. Aim to consume seafood at least a few times per week or consider supplementing with fish oil.
