Functional Medicine Tools to Combat Allergies

Allergies can be debilitating and cause significant interruption to life’s routines. Ranging from minor irritations to potentially life-threatening circumstances, allergy symptoms can vary greatly. 

Allergies occur when the human body reacts to a foreign substance—whether an environmental substance like pollen, pet dander or dust mites; a food, particularly peanuts, eggs, and dairy; insect stings, such as those from ants, bees or wasps; medications, including penicillin and related antibiotics; or other things that the body comes into contact with, like latex. Basically, anything that causes the immune system to mistake a normal item as dangerous can invoke a harmful chain reaction.

During an allergic response, the immune system produces antibodies to attack whatever foreign substance the body has encountered, with results that impact the sinuses or nasal passages, skin, digestive system or airways. The body continues to produce antibodies and histamines whenever it is subjected to the culprit, thus perpetuating an undesirable cycle. 

Certain individuals are more prone to developing allergies, like those with a family history of asthma or allergies. But for those who suffer, the good news is that there are many ways to find relief.

Lets take a look at some of our favorite supplementation relief....

Quercetin

Quercetin is crucial to include because of its strong antioxidant activity and it has been shown to support immune health by mediating the release of inflammatory compounds. Quercetin is known for its ability to stabilize mast cells, diminishing the release of histamine, the compound known to cause hypersensitivity reactions during seasonal changes.

Diamine Oxidase

Main enzyme responsible for the degradation of ingested histamine. This enzyme has been clinically tested and found to break down food-derived histamine in the digestive tract. DAO is not absorbed and does not have systemic activity. For those of you that suffer from chronic seasonal allergies, this could be very helpful to manage symptoms. 

L-Glutamine

It is a vital nutrient that is needed to heal leaky gut. Leaky gut syndrome is a condition where your gut lining becomes damaged allowing it to be permeable for toxins and microbes to enter your bloodstream . Once these particles pass this barrier and get into your blood stream, it sets you up for a host of health problems. These include food sensitivities, joint pain, skin issues, depression, headaches and many more issues we deal with on a daily basis. Once we lower inflammation and heal/seal that gut lining, you may start to see those allergy symptoms get better. 

There are so many factors involved in finding relief from seasonal allergies. But the greatest place to start is your internal environment. Your sinus tissue is greatly comparable to your immune tissue in your gut. Start there and see if you experience some long term relief

← Previous Post Next Post →