I’ve talked, in the past, about how we took gluten and dairy out of my son’s diet when he was having what seemed to be a reaction to allergy season, back in Spring 2015. His sinus/environmental sensitivities and headaches immediately went away after we started an elimination diet (taking the inflammatory foods – primarily gluten & dairy – out of his diet). He hasn’t had any allergy sensitivities since that Spring, but seems to be having a reaction now, in the last couple of days. I learned from the 2015 experience, that if your body is in a state of inflammation going into allergy season, it will have an impact on how your body handles allergy season. Almost like your body is unprepared to handle the allergies. (Which, can also leave you more susceptible to catching viruses, as your immune system will be in a compromised state). 

So what is the solution? Work on the inflammation (preferably before allergy season, but never too late) and immune system:

1) FOOD

The food you eat impacts inflammation, your immune system, adrenal system and liver (major indicators for allergies will be the state of your adrenals and liver).

• Eliminate what you are sensitive to (or get a food sensitivity test if you don’t know)

• Eat anti-inflammatory foods (fish, fruit, veggie, nuts, seeds, edamame, etc…)

• Stay away from inflammatory foods (white potatoes, tomatoes, red meat, corn, gluten, dairy, sugars, etc…)

2) HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES

There are other anti-inflammatory and immune boosting supplements which we love and use, such as probiotics (amazing for gut health), but the below listed are 4 top supplements to know: 

• Quercetin (antihistamine – will limit inflammation in the body)

• EPA fish oil (anti-inflammatory, also great for brain development & immune system support)

• Astraglus (immune system support, anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, liver health)

• Vitamin C (anti-inflammatory, antihistamine, immune system support)

All of this I learned from my Toronto based Naturopath, Jill Kelner at Jaya Health (who also turned my health around in 2000). I reached out to Jill this morning since my son’s symptoms appeared yesterday and had worsened overnight. We had a quick phone consult this morning. Seeing as we live at the base of a mountain (hill, escarpment… whatever you want to call it) now, and there is currently lots of allergens in the air, we both agreed it sounded like allergic reaction/inflammation vs viral. She gave me a refresher and updated me on dosage levels (vs what we did in 2015, now that he’s older). I am confident his symptoms will reduce &/or eliminate within no time. 

Remember, your health is in your hands. You don’t have to settle for discomfort and/or resorting to masking the problems with meds. There are ways to get to the root of most problems. Happy Spring!

SIDE NOTE  Here is a general schedule of what is in the air and when. If you are finding you are only sensitive in some months, this will help pinpoint your sensitivities. (This list was given to me by Red Paw):

MAY – trees

JUNE – grasses

AUGUST – ragweed 

NOVEMBER – moulds/leaves