6 Natural Allergy Fighters to Utilize Every Spring and Summer

If you suffer from allergies, warmer months can be bittersweet. For people with extreme allergies, it’s not uncommon to have to spend a beautiful spring with the windows tightly shut. There are numerous over-the-counter allergy drugs that claim to offer relief, but this relief is short-lived and usually comes with a host of side effects. Fortunately, there are other natural solutions for allergies too—those that lessen your symptoms and those that work to eliminate your allergies altogether.

Natural Allergy Solutions

• Perhaps the most important food to include in your allergy-fighting diet is honey. Not any old store-bought honey, but a local honey can help build your tolerance for the local pollens and allergens in your area. Take one tablespoon or so of local honey each day. Building up this resistance can take months so be patient. Luckily, taking this “medicine” is actually enjoyable. (Check out the amazing health benefits of honey).

• Fruit in general has also been shown to reduce the incidence of allergies. Dutch researchers tracked children from birth through eight-years old and found those with the greatest intake of fresh fruits had the lowest incidence of allergies.

• Nuts can also fight your allergic symptoms by providing vitamin E and magnesium. Tree nuts like walnuts and pecans are the best choices, according to Mike Tringale of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The magnesium works to stop wheezing and the vitamin E can boost immunity while protecting against free radical damage and inflammation.

• Onions and garlic are both rich in quercetin which acts like an antihistamine, helping to reduce allergic irritation. In addition, garlic is a great immune booster and can help clear out your sinuses if you enjoy it a lot.

• Researchers looking at residents on the island of Crete found that apples can slash allergies and asthma. Again, blame it on the quercetin. This flavonoid effectively fights inflammation and apple peels are rich in it and other antioxidants.

• If your allergies are already in full swing, try a nettle tea, or eucalyptus lozenges. Clearing allergens from your nasal passages with a neti pot can also soothe your symptoms.

Allergies affect millions of people and everyone has their own ways of coping. From cool rags resting on itchy eyes to soothing teas and aromatherapy—there are many possible solutions.

What’s your favorite natural allergy buster?