Journal
The gut & allergy connection
When spring arrives, many of us struggle with hay fever. Itchy eyes and throat, sneezing, congestion and coughing are all symptoms of this common pollen allergy.
In Naturopathic medicine, we always aim to correct the underlying cause of health issues rather than focus entirely on symptoms. With allergies, we look at the health of the gut, as well as the immune system itself, to find the underlying cause.
The Gut Connection
In Naturopathy, the root cause of most health conditions can be traced back to how well we're digesting and absorbing our food. It's very common for people to have problems with 'leaky gut', where the lining of the intestines has become damaged, allowing larger food particles into the bloodstream which wouldn't normally be there. The immune system initiates a response when it notices something unusual, and repeats this time and again every time we eat problem foods. Eventually, this can lead to an overactive immune system. This may be part of the reason why we can suddenly develop allergies, including hay fever.
Healing a leaky gut properly usually involves identifying and temporarily avoiding problem foods whilst taking medicine to heal the intestinal lining at the same time. Usually, this would be done under the supervision of a Naturopath, Medical Herbalist, or Nutritional Therapist, but there are some self-help measures you can take too. Here are a few ideas:
- Try completely avoiding all dairy foods for a few weeks. These are known to aggravate catarrh conditions, and there are so many dairy-free alternatives nowadays it's actually quite easy.
- Get plenty of antioxidants from your diet by 'eating a rainbow' every day. That's at least one fruit or veg from every colour of the rainbow, plus 'black' fruit and vegetables like blueberries and aubergine.
- This 2016 study found that Turmeric extract was highly effective in treating hay fever, so our high strength turmeric extract - Natruflex will help. Take one capsule daily.
- Taking Gut Love will help support the bacteria in the gut which can also impact upon your digestion and is the first line of defence for allergies.
- Rhinodoron Nasal Spray contains aloe vera which acts as a natural barrier to prevent pollen attaching to the membranes of the nose and throat.
All of these products can be safely taken alongside antihistamines, but if you have any questions, please get in touch with our registered pharmacists and we'll be happy to help you.
