|
 |
 |
 |
| ACHOO! According to the weather channel, our dry winter has made for a “mild” allergy season this year. Try telling that to all those folks you see with the wheezing lungs, watery eyes, and drippy noses. Conventional medical treatments, consisting of antihistamines and nasal sprays, focus on suppressing symptoms. While effective, they can also create side effects and potential health risks. Don’t forget you can take charge, and handle this in a more natural way. Try one of these solutions to what’s blowing in the wind - Avoidance - you make a point to avoid other things in life that make you miserable. Why should pollen be any different? Close those windows, and clean those vents! Vitamin C - is a natural antihistamine, and counteracts inflammation due to hay fever. Supplements - Grape seed extract was shown to be 20 times more potent as an antioxidant than Vitamin C. Or, try Quercetin, which works as a preventative, and is best taken a week or two before the expected onslaught of allergy season. Herbs - the herbal answer for allergies is stinging nettle, according to Andrew Weil, MD, well-known author of numerous books on natural health and healing. Ayurvedic physicians attribute hay fever to ama, a toxic by-product of sluggish digestion. To purge the body, they recommend drinking eight to 10 glasses of warm water with lemon juice a day. Acupuncture is recommended for hay fever by the United Nations World Health Organization. So why not try the at-home version, acupressure. Press on the point known as Large Intestine (LI) 4, between the fleshy webbing near the base of the thumb and the index finger. Breathe deeply and hold the point for one minute. — by Gayla Gongwer |
 |