[Important] Foods That Can Make Your Seasonal Allergies Worse
Quote of the Month
“I’m so grateful cold and flu season has finally given way to allergy season!”
Allergy season has definitely ‘sprung’ up for everyone suddenly this year.
With allergic reactions, an allergen triggers release of antibodies. These antibodies attach themselves to mast cells. Mast cells contain histamine. When histamine is released from the mast cells it may cause a huge variety of symptoms:
- Itchy, watery, burning eyes
- Itchy, runny nose, sneezing, mucous
- Itchy skin with rashes or hives
- Congested sinuses
- Headaches
- Respiratory problems
- Stomach cramps or diarrhea
There are many foods that contain histamine or cause the body to release histamine when ingested. The medical community considers these reactions to be intolerances. Intolerances are reactions that do NOT involve the immune system. But the symptoms you get can be exactly the same as those that DO involve the immune system (ie. allergy).
These particular foods can make you worse because they actually contain ‘histamine’ or even worse…they trigger histamine release. Histamine is what the body releases in response to an allergy.
Here are 15 foods you may be eating, that may be making your seasonal symptoms worse:
- Alcohol, fermented or pickled foods
- Bananas
- Chocolate
- Eggs
- Fish, shellfish
- Milk, cheese
- Papayas
- Pineapple
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Spinach
- Processed meats
- Yeast
- Dried nuts and seeds
Avoid these foods to see if your symptoms improve!
Did You Know?
- People take ‘anti-histamines’ (such as Reatine, Claritin, Aerius) to block histamine release
- The enzyme diamine oxidase in our body breaks down any histamine that we absorb from a histamine-containing food
- People with low levels of diamine oxidase may suffer with allergy-like symptoms
- Reactions to histamine cannot be tested by a scratch test and won’t appear as a IgE allergy
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