I’ve read some interesting things about allergies lately that I wanted to share. I love finding out the “why” of things! I was reading an article that was interviewing a horticulturalist about trees, and they were saying that a lot of the problem with the increase in seasonal allergy symptoms is because far more male trees are being planted than female trees.
Male trees have long been seen as desirable for street and residential plantings, because they don’t make fruit or seeds and are “less messy”. When it comes to pollen though, male trees produce it in abundance. Female trees are able to “trap” some of that pollen to use to create fruits, but now with the lopsidedness of primarily male trees, there’s a ton of pollen floating around without an equal amount of female trees to use it. So basically that leaves us with a ton of pollen hanging around, making allergy symptoms worse.
Another interesting thing I was reading in regards to allergies was that excesses of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere causes trees to produce more pollen. CO2, or carbon dioxide, is actually a reproductive stimulator of plants, and research has shown that trees produced significantly more pollen when treated with CO2, and that’s basically what’s happening worldwide at the moment, since burning fossil fuels produces increased CO2 in our atmosphere.
So, if you’ve been experiencing an increase in allergy symptoms, there’s actually a reason for it (if that makes you feel any better). Still, spring is a beautiful season, and it’s a sad thing to be trapped inside with the windows closed when the weather finally turns warmer.
Luckily, there are some natural supplements that can help. We usually think of histamine when we think of allergies, and that is what most over the counter allergy drugs focus on. Histamine is a compound produced in the body in response to allergens, but histamine is not the only chemical in the body involved in our allergy response, which is why over the counter allergy medications can sometimes have limited effectiveness, or change in effectiveness over time in our bodies.
Natural products for allergies have a more balanced approach, helping to calm down the overactive immune response to pollen and seasonal allergens naturally. One of the most effective supplements to do just that is quercetin. Quercetin is a flavonoid, a plant compound found in many fruits and vegetables like onions, apples, and berries. Quercetin supplements have been shown in studies to be effective in reducing allergy symptoms by not only inhibiting our body’s overactive release of histamine, but also in decreasing other inflammatory compounds produced in the body as a response to allergens. Quercetin is also a potent antioxidant, which offers further benefits to the body.
One quercetin supplement we especially recommend for allergy season is called Quercetin Nettle by Mt. Angel. It combines a high dose of quercetin along with a pineapple enzyme called bromelain that helps with reducing inflammation in the body as well as stinging nettle, an herb that has long been used for allergy symptoms. This specific product by Mt. Angel was formulated based on research published by the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon for seasonal allergies, and we have a lot of customers who have used it with good results.
Another idea is to try some raw, local honey. The idea of using local honey is almost like a pollen inoculation, that you’re ingesting honey made from the flowers in our local area which will hopefully make your body freak out less when you encounter spring pollen made from those same plants. Plus, who doesn’t love honey? Also, buying local honey supports local beekeepers, which is a great thing to do, especially in 2021, regardless of allergies or not! We support two different local beekeeping families at Pass Health Foods, and we’ve just gotten in more 16 oz. jars of raw, unprocessed honey sourced from wildflower fields in Homer Glen.
