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“It probably depends upon your point of view,” says airborne allergens expert and creator of HayMax allergen barrier balm, Max Wiseberg, “but I guess many people will be surprised to learn that what you eat and drink, how well you sleep, whether you take enough regular exercise and so on can affect how much – or how little – you suffer from hay fever this summer. So here are my 8 top lifestyle changes to help reduce the symptoms of hay fever.”
“According to the NHS website,” continues Max, “A 2010 study of over 2,000 people with hay fever, conducted by the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit (NPARU), found that lifestyle factors, such as stress and exercise, can have a major impact on hay fever.”
“My eight pillars of wisdom on lifestyle changes are:”
1. “Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, to help stay healthy and support your immune system – preferably raw but if not, as undercooked as you can take them. The less you cook them the more goodness they retain. Red onions, kale, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries and apples contain quercetin, which is thought to limit the release of histamine, the chemical that sets off allergy symptoms in your body. And garlic, which reduces catarrh.”
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2. “Snack sensibly (An oxymoron?) Sorry about this, but no chocolate. I know! After all they said about it – good for your heart, good for your gut, good for just about everything – chocolate, apparently, contains histamine. So be strong and wait until after the hay fever season!”
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3. “Use an allergen barrier balm daily, first thing in the morning, before you go to bed at night and as needed during the day. This will help trap pollen before it gets in the body where it can cause a reaction. HayMax (haymax.biz) organic drug-free allergen barrier balm has been proven to trap over one third of pollen particles [1] and is suitable for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.”
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4. “Sleep long and well. Not too surprising – after all, quite a lot of life’s problems seem somewhat less problematic after a good night’s sleep. And it’s just one of the things that can really help manage your hay fever symptoms. An NPARU study showed that people who slept at least 7 hours a night suffered significantly milder symptoms than those who slept no more than 5 hours each night.”
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5. “Drinking responsibly 1. Reduce the amount of alcohol you drink. Beer, wine and spirits all contain histamine. In addition to making you more sensitive to pollen, alcohol also dehydrates you, making your symptoms seem worse.”
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6. “Drinking responsibly 2. Avoid mucus-producing dairy drinks. Excess mucus is exactly what you don’t need if you suffer from hay fever. So drink water, fruit tea, herb tea, or any non-caffeinated tea instead.”
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7. “Stress the big stuff. We need a bit of stress to get us out of bed each day, but too much and hay fever symptoms will get worse. So concern yourself with the big stuff and leave the little stuff to its own devices.”
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8. “Exercise. You know it makes sense. You should try to do two and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise every week. Moderate-intensity means fast walking, cycling, water aerobics, pushing a lawnmower; that sort of thing. You should avoid exercising – or even being – outdoors when the pollen count is highest, generally first thing in the morning and early evening. If the pollen count is really high, take your exercise indoors, for example at your local gym or swimming pool. Or on your exercise bike. The lawn can wait!”
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“So, there you have it – a few simple lifestyle changes that could make all the difference to those nasty symptoms! If you would like more advice on helping deal with hay fever symptoms, visit my Hay Fever Guide at www.haymax.biz/hay-fever.”
Reference
Chief Investigator: Professor Roy Kennedy, Principal Investigator: Louise Robertson, Researcher: Dr Mary Lewis, National Pollen & Aerobiology Research Unit, 1st February 2012.
