These are the Best Foods for Fighting Seasonal Allergies

Have you recently started experiencing itchy eyes and a scratchy throat? Sneezing? Runny nose? If you’re anything like your fellow 50 million Americans, you’re suffering from seasonal allergies. (Lucky you.)

Every spring, plants get frisky by releasing huge amounts of pollen into the air. The more pollen they release, the better their chances of survival, so hearty local plants will produce enough pollen to leave your car coated in a fine dusting of gold.

Inevitably, you’ll breath a lot of that stuff in, too, which our bodies don’t love. This overwhelm of pollen granules can trigger an inflammatory reaction in our bodies, leading to all those unpleasant symptoms that accompany pollen season.

It may be comforting to know that seasonal allergies aren’t just a modern day ailment. Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Chinese suffered from “plant fever”, which was essentially seasonal allergies. You can find similar ailments in ancient Greek and Egyptian medical texts.

Because we’ve been dealing with these issues for so long, humans have discovered some nutraceutical methods of gaining a little relief. So stop wasting your money on OTC meds with nasty side effects. Here are the best foods to help you get through allergy season without living at your local drugstore. 

DANDELION GREENS

Our liver needs all the support it can get when it’s dealing with environmental stressors, like pollen overload. Consuming dandelion greens can help the body process excess inflammation more easily, which supports both your immune system and your liver.

The greater array of detoxifying green foods you can eat, the more smoothly the machinery of your internal detoxification system will function.

RAW HONEY + BEE POLLEN

This may sound counterintuitive, but bee pollen can actually soothe your pollen allergies. Bees collect pollen from local plant life and infuse it with enzymes to create honey, so consuming small amounts of local honey and bee pollen can actually help to ease allergy symptoms.

Think of it as a mini vaccine for your immune system. You consume small, digestible amounts of the irritant to allow your body to build up an immunity.

Locally-sourced honeys and bee pollens work best (as they help you build up a tolerance to the native plants in your area), but regional and sustainably-sourced bee products can be supportive, too.

PINEAPPLE JUICE

Pineapple contains high levels of the enzyme bromelain, which boasts natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties—making it an allergy-fighting powerhouse.

Bromelain is also the enzyme that makes pineapple juice so beneficial to digestion, as it helps to quickly break down proteins and streamline the digestion process. Since immunity and digestion are so closely linked in the body, this is an added bonus for allergy season.

You don’t need much to reap the rewards of pineapple juice. Just a shot in your smoothie will do.

TURMERIC

Bodily inflammation is at the root of seasonal allergy symptoms, and nothing fights inflammation quite like turmeric. It contains some of the most powerful anti-inflammatory properties of any plant on the planet. Bring on the curry and golden lattes!

Put all these ingredients together, and what do you get? The ultimate allergy-fighting smoothie! So go ahead, let thy food be thy medicine.