ALLERGIC REACTIONS: VITAMINS, HERBS AND EXERCISES HELPING IN HAY FEVER
Vitamin C, however, acts as a natural antihistamine, counteracting the tide of histamine that causes your rose to swell, ache and run. According to doctors we spoke to, the average dose of vitamin Ñ needed to break a bout of hay fever is about five grams a day – ranging from four to eight grams (individual doses), depending on the individual.
Bioflavonoids – compounds found in the white pulp of oranges, grapefruits and other fruits and vegetables – boost vitamin C’s ability to relieve hay fever symptoms. Studies show that citrus bioflavonoids seem to favorably alter the way our bodies use vitamin C, concentrating the nutrient in certain tissues and making it more absorbable (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). Bioflavonoid tablets – up to six grams a day – are the most convenient way to get the amounts needed to break a reaction.
For those days – or nights – when your nose is so stuffy that you feel like it’s been embalmed with rubber cement, there are several ways to get your head unstuck. One of them is pantothenic acid, à Â vitamin. Sandra Stewart, former assistant director of the Out-Patient Department of Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, decided to try it when she found she couldn’t tolerate antihistamines.
‘I took a 100 milligram tablet at night,’ she says. ‘And I found my nasal stuffiness would clear in less than fifteen minutes. I could breathe again. And I [no longer woke up] at four or five in the morning with a cough and mucus secretions. So pantothenic acid appears to have an antimucus-secreting effect on me personally.’ And, she adds, many of her patients report that it helps to relieve their nasal congestion, too (Annals of Allergy).
Hot broth also speeds up the flow of mucus, especially if the broth contains fiery foods or herbs such as onion, garlic, cayenne pepper or horseradish.
The vapors of eucalyptus leaves (available in many health food stores) also help to clear the head quickly. Place a few leaves in a large pot of boiling water for five minutes. Turn off the heat. With a towel draped over your head, breathe in the vapors. (Be careful not to get too close to the steam – you could scald your face.)
Exercise, too, promotes free breathing. Many hay fever sufferers find that running, walking, bicycling or other vigorous exercise relieves their stuffiness. Evening jaunts are best if you exercise outdoors – the pollen levels are lowest then. Pollen counts also tend to be lower after it rains and near lakes, ponds or other large bodies of water. Indoors, fifteen or twenty minutes of rope skipping or dancercise may do the trick.
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