Welcome to spring Melbourne!
Warm windy days are a definite respite from the cold dreary weather that we’ve been experiencing but now we have another health concern to deal with!
Seasonal hayfever is just ramping up as we enter Springtime in Melbourne. Pollens and grass chemicals floating in the air trigger the unwanted symptoms of sneezing, watery eyes, tickling throat, mucous congestion and fatigue.
If you suffer from these seasonal symptoms, now is the time to learn how to fortify yourself from hayfever misery and to help prevent it from coming back.
The body’s allergic reaction to pollens is not a normal, healthy response. It is an immune system over reaction to an everyday substance. While almost all of the symptoms of hayfever are in the upper respiratory area, the root cause is in the gut.
From a Naturopathic/Nutritional point of view, healing the gut and providing the body with tailored nutrition, is the key to successful resolution of hayfever, not just for this season but for life long improvement/elimination.
Diet as always, can have a significant impact on our quality of life. Some foods such as dairy products can make hayfever ten times worse. The increase in mucous production created by the diary adds fuel to the fire.
Reducing this fuel load by having less dairy overall, can have a dramatic impact on hayfever symptoms.
Nutrients such as Zinc and Omega 3’s are also beneficial in supporting the immune system and decreasing inflammation. This can be done with by adding more food sources of these nutrients into the diet as well as incorporating therapeutic doeses of these nutrients into your daily routine.
From a nutritional perspective, it’s about reducing foods which are known to exaccerbate symptoms and increasing foods which are beneficial to fortifying the body against over reactions to airborne triggers.
From a lifestyle point of view, getting a daily dose of sunshine is about the best thing you could do to improve your hayfever. However, the irony is that going ‘outside’ is deemed to be too risky for many people with severe hayfever. Never fear, Vitamin D comes in liquid form and capsules so therapeutic doses can be taken in lieu of actual sunshine until symptoms subside.
Vitamin D has a long list of beneficial uses but it this instance, it’s modulating the immune system by dampening down the over reaction to airborne triggers and it’s also a very powerful anti-inflammatory agent which reduces the symptoms considerably.
Vitamin D also assists with improving mental health which can be affected by having to repeatedly deal with hayfever symptoms.
A word or caution though. You should always consult with a your Naturopath/Nutritionist before self-prescribing any nutrients. Doses depend on your unique circumstances, so please be sure to follow the prescription given to you rather than sourcing these nutrients off the shelf.
While all of these nutrients will create an improvement in your hayfever they only do half the job. Really knocking this on the head comes from working with through your health history and applying a functional medicine approach to addressing the root cause of your allergic/gut problem.
As a Naturopathic Nutritionist who has consulted with hundreds of clients in Melbourne’s western corridor, I can attest to the vast improvement my clients make when they address all of the underlying drivers of this condition.
And as an added bonus, when the gut and immune system is healthy, so too is the rest of the body. Clients report feeling better all over once they follow the advice and recommendations that are provided for them.
Things change, when we change so if you’re ready to tackle hayfever head on, we’re ready to assist you.
We service the entire western suburbs of Melboune including suburbs such as Caroline Springs, Taylors Hill, Taylors Lakes, Keilor, Deer Park, Cairnlea, Tarniet, Derrimut, Sunshine, Brooklyn, Footscray, Moonee Ponds, Essendon, Altona, Yarraville, Kingsville, Williamstown and many more.
Email gettingwellnaturally.com.au to book an initial appointment today!
Ask about our September Hayfever special and save on your initial consult!