By Anastasia Stephens

Bursting with pollen, blossoming trees and lush springtime grasses are the perfect recipe for allergic misery. But before you rush to the anti-histamines to calm your itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing, think again.

Good nutrition and natural supplements can actually dampen down your body’s allergic reactions, making hay fever symptoms significantly less severe.

At the most basic level, you simply need to get your diet right. Allergic reactions are all inflammatory states. If your diet feeds your body’s inflammatory state, the worse your allergy symptoms will be. And if you eat anti-inflammatory foods, you’ll help calm symptoms down.

So cut down on alcohol, smoking, coffee, sugar, white bread and junk food which all encourage inflammation. Instead eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds with several servings of oily fish a week – as these are packed with anti-inflammatory Omega 3 oils.

I often recommend hay fever sufferers try a wheat and dairy-free diet for a few months to see if their symptoms improve. Pollen, wheat and milk all originally come from grass. It may be that some hay fever sufferers become sensitive to proteins that are common to grains, grasses and possibly milk.

If you suffer from hay fever or other allergies and have irregular or irritated bowel movements, consider taking a probiotic supplement. Researchers in Finland have linked high levels of good gut bacteria to a reduced risk of allergies. These bacteria also strengthen and balance your overall immunity, which is vital for allergy sufferers.

And take time to relax. Various studies have linked allergies to stress and poor digestion. When you’re stressed, your body goes to ‘red alert.’ When you suffer an allergic reaction your body also goes into red alert. It’s a kind of overdrive, a panic of your immune system, triggered by stressful living and not enough rest.

Then, with the right foods and supplements, you can reduce your body’s tendency to form histamines, molecules that cause allergic swelling, irritation and mucus.

Onions, cabbage, blackberries and apples are all rich in flavonoids, calcium and magnesium, which reduce this tendency. Large amounts of Vitamin C, a natural anti-histamine, are useful too – researchers in Italy found hay fever sufferers who took 2000mg daily, had less congestion and wheezing than those who didn’t.

Quercetin, a yellow pigment found in apples, tea and peppers, is another great natural anti-histamine – this appears to reduce histamine and stabilizes cell membranes, making them less reactive to allergens such as pollen.

Herbally, stinging nettle is a rich source of minerals and is a key anti-allergy medicine. I’ve found that drinking nettle tea every day for around six weeks before and during the hayfever season, can improve hayfever symptoms markedly. Often I give this along with Chamomile and Dandelion root as these can help to calm inflammation and soothe the body.

Anastasias Tip:
Every evening, put an onion in a glass of water overnight, and drink the water in the morning. The ‘onion water’ will act like a natural anti-histamine solution.