Tuesday 10 January 2012

Diet Tips to Help Alleviate the Symptoms of Hay Fever

If you suffer from hay fever or you know of someone who is then, you can understand how a distressing condition it can be. The symptoms are incessant sneezing, itchy eyes and throat that can leave you feeling irritable and depressed. There is no specific factor that causes or triggers hay fever however, there is a strong association that pollen is the main culprit.
The number of cases of people suffering from hay fever is on the rise and has risen considerably over the last 15 years. A large percentage of this rise has been attributed to more people living in urban areas such as cities and towns compared to people living in the countryside. This interesting correlation would lead to the conclusion that air pollution plays a major role in the cause of hay fever.
The onset of hay fever is associated with the warmer summer days. During the summer there are more pollutants in the air that people in urban areas are breathing in. To help combat the affect of this increase in pollutants you should consider strengthening your immune system by eating more foods that are high in antioxidants. These include the essential vitamins A C and E or ACE for short.
However, the most common suspects that are linked to the cause of hay fever can be contained in the food you eat. The two main suspects are cows milk and wheat. These two food types are contained in many foods as either the main or added ingredient. Another key suspect is the pollen and grass pollen. There is an interesting connection between these three because they are all grass related for example, cows cannot produce milk without eating grass. It may be that many people who suffer from hay fever are intolerant to the proteins that are commonly contained within milk and wheat products. One cause could be the connection to gluten. Gluten is a sticky protein that is contained in wheat and has been found to irritate the digestive system.
If you suffer from hay fever you may want to have a look at your diet and review what you are eating. If your diet contains a lot of dairy products such as cows milk, butter, cheese or yoghurt then cut down on these for a while. If your diet is lacking in nutrient rich food then introduce more natural wholesome food. These should include fresh organic green leaf vegetables and fruit.

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