Are you allergic and you dread the arrival of spring and its pollens? Before you rush on your box of antihistamine, here are three tips to fight naturally against these inconveniences that affect us from April to October.

Apples, red grapes, red berries

Beyond general advice such as morning airing of the bedroom, regular nose washing with physiological serum, rinsing your hair to get rid of pollens collected during your last outing, here are some eating habits that will certainly help you live better with the coming seasons.

Eat apples yes, but with the skin! For that, choose them organic. Just like the onions (raw or cooked), red grape, red berries and black tea, apple contains quercetin. This somewhat barbaric name actually designates a powerful antioxidant that will play the role of an anti-inflammatory during allergic peaks. In addition to relieving you of the ailments specific to seasonal allergies (nose tingling, runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, sore throat), quercetin delays the appearance of histamine, the molecule that causes our allergic reactions.

Foods rich in vitamin E

What is the purpose of this supervised diet? You avoid ingesting a lot of drugs on a regular basis for several months and restore a certain balance in the body so that it reacts normally in the presence of pollen. And if you are pregnant, or breastfeeding, you can also treat yourself ! Foods rich in vitamin E should be part of your menus.

According to German researchers behind a study on vitamin E and allergies, this vitamin would reduce allergic reactions by 30% in people affected by this tendency. Of course, the allergy still exists, but we are already living better. Which foods to favor? The avocados, whole grains, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables and nuts (walnuts, almonds), spinach, eggs, dried apricots.

Fermented products

Fermented products are well known and in particular when it comes to probiotics, digestion and regulation of intestinal transit. This time, it is in the case of seasonal allergies that they are advised. Yogurts, sauerkraut, fermented milk and kefir (fermented Caucasian milk) strengthen the immune system. “ Ten years ago, no one was talking about it. Today, consumers are starting to turn away from processed food for homemade. They want simpler, healthier products », Analyzes Claude Aubert, agronomist who praises the nutritional virtues of these fermented products.

In your menus, do not omit omega-3 (oily fish) either, garlic, olive oil. On the other hand, moderate your consumption of meat, spices, alcohol, cheese, refined products and all products that would raise your blood sugar level, responsible for allergic reactions and inflammatory diseases. 

Maylis Choné

To find out more: Itchy eyes, itchy nose… What if it was a seasonal allergy?