I couldn't be happier that spring is here in Toronto, but along with the warmer temperatures comes sniffling & sneezing for many people.
A Canadian study of 2700 children just came out linking air pollution to allergies in infants. This isn't surprising as when we breathe in so many toxins, it's bound to have an effect on our body. It was found that Vancouver was the most allergic city at 23.5% vs 17% in Toronto & Edmonton and 9% in Winnipeg. This study on infants also cited the following ways to reduce the chance of getting allergies:
- having a pet
- eating a variety of foods during the first year of life, including dairy & nuts
- attending daycare
- having an garage that is NOT attached to the house
There are lots of naturopathic ways to help manage allergies, including:
- Sinus rinses can be very effective to flush out the allergens that you're breathing in.
- Acupuncture can help regulate your immune system and give symptomatic relief.
- Quercitin is one of the most popular supplements used to treat allergies. It can act as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent, and a mast cell stabilizer (those are the cells that burst to release histamine)
- Staying away from red wine can be important for many people as it contains up to 200% more naturally occuring histamine than white wine does.
If you're suffering, please come in and let's deal with it!
