Friday, April 25, 2008

Natural Relief for Seasonal Allergies

By J. William LaValley, MD

Every year with the arrival of spring, I see many patients with bothersome seasonal airborne allergies. The usual symptoms are irritation and redness to the eyes, nose, sinuses, and throat. Many of these people also suffer from respiratory wheezing and mild to moderate allergic asthma symptoms.

From years of experience, I have found that blending the best of conventional and natural medicine seems to be the safest, most effective treatment for relieving these symptoms in most people. If you are plagued by seasonal airborne allergies, the following Medical Wellness Protocol^TM that I prescribe for my patients may provide much-needed relief for you as well.

Eating Guidelines
Keep a dietary journal of what foods you eat over a 2-3 week period. It should be set up like this: Each page has a line drawn down the middle. On the left side of the page record in chronological order all the different foods you have eaten during the day. Breakfast is at the top of the page, lunch in the middle, and the evening meal is at the bottom. On the right half of the same page, keep a daily record of how you feel throughout the day and overnight. At the end of the 3-week period, tally how often each food was eaten. For example: dairy products 28 times, cereal 18 times, apples 14 times, broccoli 4 times, etc.

During the allergy season reduce or eliminate the top two or three most commonly eaten foods. This is particularly helpful if the most commonly eaten foods contain dairy products, grains, or soy products.

Recent findings suggest that certain foods are can cause cross-reactions with pollen allergies in allergy-prone people. By changing your diet to reduce or eliminate the most common food in your diet, you can hopefully reduce the likelihood of the most common cross-reactions. The goal is to reduce your "allergen-load" during "allergy season".¹

Conventional Medications
For short duration allergy symptoms, a non-drowsy antihistamine is a safe choice for most people. One of my favorites is loratidine (Claritin) because it is quite safe, generic (therefore low cost), and works to lower histamine without provoking drowsiness.²

Since it has a high safety profile, you can take it twice a day with slightly better results and nearly no increase in side effects. While it may not be quite as effective as desloratidine (Clarinex), it is cheaper and works well. For some people, the short-term use of a nasal steroid inhaler like Flonase can also be very effective with few adverse or risky side effects.

Natural Supplements
Your immune system has a variety of T cells -- some of which produce inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. While T cells are necessary to fight infection and disease, in some people with allergic reactions, their T cells go into overdrive. For seasonal allergies, especially allergic rhinitis (runny nose), the inflammation caused by cytokines can be reduced by taking a natural product called beta-glucan.³

A specific water-insoluble form of this supplement (made from the cell walls of baker's yeast) supports the immune system while reducing the effects of allergic inflammation. I recommend the particular form of beta-glucan distributed by Transfer Point because of this superior quality.

Homeopathic Medication
A virtually risk-free therapeutic choice is the use of homeopathic medications prepared from common plant airborne allergens from trees, flowers, and grasses in your region of the country. Often these are available from local health food stores in liquid dropper bottles.

These dilute preparations (taken under the tongue) have been shown to reduce allergic symptoms without any adverse effects.⁴ I recommend locally derived homeopathic preparations of grass, flower and tree pollens (depending on the allergy season) to reduce symptoms.

Outdoor Activity
I recommend that patients think about the timing of their outdoor activities to limit exposure to the allergens that bother them. If you have tree, grass and pollen allergies, watch the weather forecasts to learn the patterns of allergen release in your local community.

Cool, dry windy days will often have a different allergen profile than wet, muggy days. The air may likely have more or less pollen right after a soaking rain depending where you live. Likewise, rainy or damp days are likely to have increased mold spores released in the air.⁵

Become an expert in your local weather-related allergen pattern and modify your outdoor activity accordingly.

Special Products and Procedures
Indoor air filters can be very helpful to reduce allergen exposure.⁶ You can also eliminate or reduce sources of unnecessary indoor air pollution including strong detergents with heavy scents, scented cleaning products, and scented so-called "air-fresheners" (that are in fact, airborne inhalant chemicals). These all play a role in contributing to allergies in today's modern communities.^7-8 I also encourage you to use natural and scent-free soaps, shampoos and cosmetics.

Unfortunately, your pet may be a significant additional cause for worsening seasonal allergies. Allergens can come directly from your pets (cat and dogs especially) and they may also bring allergens from the outdoors back into the house. There are non-toxic low-allergen pet shampoos that can reduce the allergen exposure caused by your pets.⁹

By following this Medical Wellness Protocol^TM for Seasonal Allergies you should feel significant relief that is safe, beneficial, low cost, and easy to implement.

References

1. Ronchetti R, et al. Adv Med Sci. 2007;52:98-103.
2. Kakutani C, et al. Arerugi. 2006 May;55(5):554-65.
3. Kirmaz C, et al. Eur Cytokine Netw. 2005 Jun;16(2):128-34.
4. Kim LS, et al. Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Apr;39(4):617-24.
5. Schappi GF, et al. Clin Exp Allergy. 1999 May;29(5):633-41.
6. Hacker DW, et al. Indoor Air. 2005 Dec;15(6):420-31.
7. Mosges R, et al. Allergy. 2007 Sep;62(9):969-75.
8. Singer BC, et al. Indoor Air. 2006 Jun;16(3):179-91.
9. Avner DB, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1997 Sep;100(3):307-12.

[Ed. Note: J. William LaValley, MD is a physician in Nova Scotia, Canada and Austin, Texas. He practices Integrative and Complementary Medicine as a member of the Canadian Medical Association, serving as the Chairperson of the Complementary Medicine Section of Doctors Nova Scotia. He is also a member of the American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, and Travis County Medical Society in Austin. He can be reached at 902-275-4555.]

After years of getting a bad rep for being high in cholesterol, eggs are making their way back to the breakfast table. That's because of an ingenious new study by Volek et al.¹ who investigated the effect of a carbohydrate-restricted diet on disease-causing inflammation. (Inflammation is a contributing factor in a host of diseases including Alzheimer's, cancer, strokes, diabetes and obesity).

In the study, 28 overweight men consumed a diet of 17% carbohydrate, 57% fat, and 26% protein for 12 weeks. Half the men were given a diet which included about three whole eggs per day and half ate the same diet without eggs. Both groups were allowed to eat as many calories as they liked, as long as the proportions of carbs, fats, and protein were the same.

At the end of the study, researchers tested the blood of the subjects for levels of inflammation and a valuable compound called adiponectin that is secreted by fat cells. You want more adiponectin in your blood because it helps regulate insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

The men who ate the low carb diet that included eggs had significantly lower levels of inflammation and higher levels of adiponectin than the group that didn't eat eggs!

Volek and his team speculate that the eggs make a significant contribution to the anti-inflammatory effects of a low-carb diet possibly due to two factors -- the cholesterol in the eggs which increases HDL "good" cholesterol and the antioxidant lutein (found in the yolk) which lowers inflammation.

So much for not eating eggs because they have "cholesterol"!

Reference

1. Volek JS et al. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2008; 5: 6.

[Ed. note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He's a board certified nutrition specialist with a Master's degree in psychology and the author of five books including The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. His latest book is The Most Effective Cures on Earth.For more information, click here.]

Spicy horseradish goes swimmingly with wild salmon, and provides isothiocyanates --cancer fighting nutrients found in cruciferous vegetables.¹ This simple dish is quick to prepare and yields restaurant-quality results.

Time To Table: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

Healing Nutrient Spotlight
Excellent source of protein, thiamin, riboflavin, potassium, selenium, omega-3
Good source of folate, iron, magnesium
Low carb, low sugar, gluten-free

Ingredients
36 ounces wild salmon fillets (6, 6 ounce pieces)
8 tbsp organic horseradish
1 whole organic shallot, minced
2 slices organic whole grain bread
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Preparation
Heat oven to 450° and position rack 8 to 12 inches from heat. Place bread in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped (1/4- to 1/8-inch pieces). Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, shallot, dill, horseradish, and olive oil. Pulse just until combined; set aside. Rub bottom and sides of a 12-by-17-inch pan with olive oil. Place salmon on pan, spacing fillets 2 inches apart. Sprinkle salmon with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pat mixture onto top of each fillet. Bake until just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn heat to broil, and cook until tops are a rich golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information
317 calories, 16 g total fat, 2.4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 7 g monounsaturated fats, 5 g polyunsaturated fats, 92 mg cholesterol, 568 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2.5 g sugars, 35 g protein

Reference

1. Verhoeven, D.T.H., et al. 1996. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 5: 733-748.

[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the Founder & CEO of Healing Gourmet. She is also the creator of Healing Gourmet's Personalized Nutrition Software and Editor-in-Chief of the Healing Gourmet book series published by McGraw-Hill, including Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility. For more information, click here.]

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