23 replies to this topic

[NIMh714]

I went to mow the lawn for the first time this year and it seems like allergies are already starting to bother me. Is there anything I can take thats natural and would help with allergies? I usually get the breathless asthma feel and itchy eyes. My fiance will usually get the nasal drip and nasal congestion.

[Logan]

Start eating a tablespoon of raw wildflower honey and bee pollen from your region everyday right now. Also, you can try nettle root, quercitin, reishi, and butterbur.

[Logan]

Probably don't need a tablespoon of bee pollen, a teaspoon should be plenty.

[NIMh714]

thanks! Now when you mean my area, I live in MD. Should it be as specific as my county or state? Could it be from Va or PA?

[gamesguru]

The theory suggests you ingest them from your back yard so you desensitize yourself to your native pollen species. You don't want to take species of plants not found in your area. I'm not sure how big of a radius bees forage for honey in, but it has to be at least 5 miles?

Also, anti-histamines are very bad in the long run (side effects). Quercetin is very helpful, and so is limiting your exposure to allergens.

Good luck!

[Blankspace]

Supplementing pycnogenol may help:
http://www.nlm.nih.g...tural/1019.html

Pubmed:
"Pycnogenol improved allergic rhinitis symptoms when supplementation was started at least 5 weeks before the onset of the allergy season."
source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....4?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22108478

[nameless]

I used pycnogenol for a while. It did seem to help some, but is very pricey. It didn't seem to help more than a simple antihistamine did though.

Although not a supplement nor natural, I'd recommend something like claritin or nasalcrom spray. Ajnast really liked those nasal saline wash things for allergies, but for me it didn't work very well.

A little extra C may help a tiny bit too. Quecertin, maybe... just be careful of drug interactions.

For indoor allergies consider an air purifier. I use a Rabbit Air, as so does Niner, if I remember right. Although I can't say my allergies have improved a ton while using it. But perhaps for minor allergies it'll help some.

[NIMh714]

thx!

[User]

I've tried forskolin, bromelain, quercetin, Vitamin C (1 gram dosage) and enteric coated garlic. For me, quercetin's effectiveness seemed to drop with longer use. Forskolin, bromelain and quercetin act as mast cell stabilizers. Vitamin C is an anti-histamine in large doses. Garlic induces interleukin-10 expression, which is an anti-inflammatory cytokine.

Nowdays I just cycle forskolin and bromelain in the evening (for me, bromelain causes slight drowsiness). Vitamin C in the morning and enteric coated garlic extract in the morning, afternoon and evening.

I also use an air purifier (HEPA filter) and an ionizer.

[Matt]

CR (cured my allergies)
Pycnogenol is good
Quercetin with bromelain
Vitamin C
Green tea
Honey
Allicin Max (allimax in the US)

[mwestbro]

^{Freeze-dried nettle leaf (not root) works.}

Edited by mwestbro, 30 March 2012 - 08:51 PM.

[niner]

This probably isn't what the OP had in mind, but I used to have a terrible allergy to dust mites that was starting to be debilitating. I was cured with a natural product - dust mite antigen, which I get subcutaneously injected in my arm every two weeks. In the past 20 years of living in a high pollen area, I've developed some pollen allergies, and I now get injected with pollen extracts as well. This keeps it nicely under control. I also take steps to avoid exposure to the things I'm allergic to, which is definitely helpful, though much less important to me now than it was before I started immunotherapy.

[waldemar]

Also, anti-histamines are very bad in the long run (side effects). Quercetin is very helpful, and so is limiting your exposure to allergens.

Really? Which ones?

[gamesguru]

All of them which cross the BBB and act on histamine receptors. There is some preliminary evidence which suggests they may contribute to cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer's.

[niner]

All of them which cross the BBB and act on histamine receptors. There is some preliminary evidence which suggests they may contribute to cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer's.

Assuming there's something to this, you would probably be safe with the non-drowsy antihistamines like Claritin and others. They don't cross the BBB, which is why they don't make you drowsy.

[smithx]

I'd recommend something like claritin or nasalcrom spray. Ajnast really liked those nasal saline wash things for allergies, but for me it didn't work very well.

I recommend against nasalcrom. It caused me to completely lose my sense of smell (and therefore of taste) for two weeks. When it happened, I researched it and found a lot of other people complaining about the same symptom. Some said they'd lost their sense of smell and it hadn't come back, years later.

Nasal steroids can have the same side-effect.

Believe me, losing your sense of taste is not a good thing. I felt like a big part of my life had been taken away from me and I was ecstatic that it came back.

[zorba990]

yakriton will detoxify the extra histamine if that is the issue.

[nameless]

I recommend against nasalcrom. It caused me to completely lose my sense of smell (and therefore of taste) for two weeks. When it happened, I researched it and found a lot of other people complaining about the same symptom. Some said they'd lost their sense of smell and it hadn't come back, years later.

Nasal steroids can have the same side-effect.

Believe me, losing your sense of taste is not a good thing. I felt like a big part of my life had been taken away from me and I was ecstatic that it came back.

I didn't realize some people had problems with nasalcrom, but I do recall an issue some have with benzalkonium chloride. And I see it is in Nasalcrom too. Perhaps that is the culprit.

Edited by nameless, 06 April 2012 - 05:18 PM.

[zm3thod]

Quercetin + Vitamin C is the magic combination. I take 1g Quercetin with 1g VitC 2-3 times a day, as needed. Vitamin C + NAC will clear out any congestion in the short term. NOW Activated Nasal rinse is my favorite saline for the nose.

I have suffered severe allergies for years and these are the only "natural" solutions that I've found to have any effects.

Edited by zm3thod, 08 April 2012 - 04:25 PM.

[zm3thod]

All of them which cross the BBB and act on histamine receptors. There is some preliminary evidence which suggests they may contribute to cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer's.

Assuming there's something to this, you would probably be safe with the non-drowsy antihistamines like Claritin and others. They don't cross the BBB, which is why they don't make you drowsy.

I get no side-effects from Zyrtec (Cetirizine HCl), which also seems to work the best for me besides Xyzal. I got 300 of the generic Walzyr for around $30.

Edited by zm3thod, 08 April 2012 - 04:35 PM.

[ZeitWohlstand]

I'm taking 500mg of vitamin B5 (usually Calcium Pantothenate from Solgar) several times a day. Works like a charm for me. Reduces my hay fever symptoms by 80 to 95% with no untoward effects noticed so far. It's worked well for me for the last 7 or 8 spring seasons, so I'm not expecting the effect to wear off. Hope this helps!

[Thorsten3]

I want to second suggestion for Reishi great stuff. Also Schizandra seems helpful in this area.

[Shay]

I traditionally have pretty bad allergies (sneezing 20 times in a row, multiple times througout the day), but this year there's been almost zero. The only difference in my life is the addition of whey protein and spirulina in the mornings. On a hunch, I checked pubmed for spirulin and allergies, there are several studies.

Here's one: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18343939


And this excerpt from a "State of Spirulina research" paper which I found referenced in an old post:

The Potential Application of Spirulina (Arthrospira) as a Nutritional and Therapeutic Supplement in Health Management
Amha Belay, PhD* Scientific Director, Earthrise Nutritionals Inc., Calipatria, California

The role of Spirulina in the activation of INFγ and NK cells observed in the human clinical study and the adjuvant effect seen in the regression of implanted mouse tumors are important in relation to the potential nutritional and thera- peutic use of Spirulina in cancer immunotherapy. The anti-allergy effects observed in these studies are also sig- nificant in relation to natural therapeutic intervention in allergic situations. Spirulina neither induced nor enhanced allergic reactions dependent on IgE. On the contrary, it was found to enhance IgA production when ingested both con- currently with antigen and before antigen stimulation, pro- viding protection against allergic reactions. The observa- tion that secretory IgA production was found to correlate with Spirulina consumption may point to the potential role of Spirulina in mucosal immunity. The salivary glands are recognized as part of the common mucosal immune system,
32 JANA Vol. 5, No. 2
Spring 2002
and saliva is commonly used to study the effect of various parameters on the human mucosal immune system.30 Recently there is a focus on research in the therapeutic use of antigen feeding for immunization and/or oral tolerance induc- tion.31 It is now well established that oral or intranasal immu- nization confers protection against a variety of viral and bac- terial mucosal pathogens. On mucosal surfaces, secretory IgA antibodies elicit a whole series of biological responses such as agglutination of microorganisms, neutralization of bacterial enzymes, toxins, and viruses, and immune exclusion and inhi- bition of antigen or allergen absorption.32 Though conjectural, Spirulina may have a role in modulating these beneficial effects that result in the killing or inactivation of pathogens, antigens, and allergens, in addition to protection offered through the stimulation of cell-mediated immunity.

[dazed1]

Nothing touch nigella sativa.