AT HOME: Homemade allergy relief

How to get natural relief from nasty allergies HOME REMEDIES TO THE RESCUE

BY AUDREY BARRON, EZRA’S ENLIGHTENED CAFÉ | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER L. RUBENSTEIN

In the United States, allergies are on the rise across all generations, young and old. And if you’ve ever suff ered with allergies, you know how miserable it can be. Th is time of year, as the weather is warming and allergy season approaches, it’s nice to have natural solutions ready to help you get through. Here are some remedies and practices I use and have been recommending to clients and customers for years.

Spoon up some raw local honey

Honey is one of nature’s most powerful remedies for many things, including colds, coughs and wound healing. With antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, honey helps the body fi ght off sickness, including seasonal allergies.

Th e key is to seek out local honey. When you source from a local beekeeper, you consume honey made from the pollen in your environment. A wonderful side benefi t of using locally sourced honey is supporting the bees, which are disappearing by the millions every year due to pesticides and environmental pollutants.

USE: For best results, have a teaspoon per day. Locally sourced bee pollen can also be consumed for this purpose.

Sip some apple cider vinegar

Another seriously versatile medicine, apple cider vinegar is a staple in our house. Taking one to two tablespoons each morning kick-starts your lymph system and digestion and helps reduce mucus production. All of this helps the body handle allergens prevalent in the spring and summer months. An awesome side benefi t: Regular use helps the skin to glow. You can also use apple cider vinegar as a hair rinse periodically for more manageable, shiny locks.

USE: Ingest a couple tablespoons each morning.

Relish your probiotics

Gut health and our overall microbiome in the body is very important to ensure all systems are running smoothly. An out-of-balance gut puts out the welcome mat for allergies, not to mention other unwanted health issues. Local health food stores typically sell a variety of probiotic products. Take the recommended daily dosage for best results. You can also inoculate your gut with the good guys by eating fermented veggies; this is why we put them on so many of our dishes at the café.

USE: A tablespoon or two of fermented veggies daily will help build up your healthy gut fl ora.

Fear not the stinging nettle

Ah, one of my all-time favorite plant allies. Stinging nettle is known to many as that pesky weed that brings a burning sensation to your skin when you are walking in the woods or along the edge of a creek. Th at sting is the medicine of the plant saying “hello” as you walk by. Th e tiny stingers, when brushed along the skin, administer little bits of antihistamine, which helps the body naturally fi ght allergies. If you aren’t a fan of getting stung to ease your allergies, you can pick up some dried nettle leaf from your local health food store, herbalist or online (I love Mountain Rose Herbs) and make yourself a tea. I like to add mint and raspberry leaf to mine.

USE: Drink daily as directed during allergy season to help with symptoms.

Upgrade your food-lifestyle

Just as important as the natural remedies above is the prevention of allergies. A great way to do this is to upgrade what you put into your body. Why not avoid the issue if you can, right? One way to do this is to make some small but profound, changes in your diet. Th e processed foods on the shelves of the grocery store contain disease-inducing ingredients like artifi cial sweeteners, factory-farmed meat and dairy products, highly processed GMO wheat, soy, corn and canola, as well as food colorings and chemicals. None of these substances make it easy for your body to fi ght allergies. In fact, these ingredients are now identifi ed as among the reasons allergies are on the rise as they are simply infl aming our bodies.

So my gentle nudge to you is this: You are worth better. Give yourself the gift of feeling better, and most likely some allergy relief, by replacing processed foods with whole foods like fresh fruits and veggies, healthy fats, locally raised meats and dairy (if you eat animal products), organic gluten-free grains and legumes like quinoa, millet, lentils and beans. Th ese practices should help you have a healthier more enjoyable spring.