Chronic runny nose? Itchy eyes? Sneezing?

It could only mean one thing, the hay fever season is here! Many people are getting affected like never before, while others are newcomers to the allergy season having never experienced this before. So why is it getting worse for some and why are others getting affected when they never were before?

Without going into too much detail, one reason is that our environment and food quality has changed dramatically over the last few decades, which places our bodies under a greater amount of stress. The increased load quickly depletes our vitamin, mineral and antioxidant status making our bodies more vulnerable to things such as Hay fever.

Here are some things that can help you combat Hay fever and boost overall immunity and give you greater resilience.

1. Increase your antioxidant status with broccoli sprouts.
Eating broccoli sprouts increases one of our bodies strongest detoxifiers called Glutathione-s-transferase(GST). This enzyme works by attaching Glutathione to a toxin so it can be carried out of the body via our natural elimination processes.

2. Increase your vitamin D.
Australia is renowned for its sunny climate and outdoorsy, beach-loving lifestyle, however our population is – paradoxically – deficient in vitamin D. Approximately one in four Australian adults has inadequate levels of the ‘sunshine vitamin’. When it comes to allergies a deficiency in vitamin D increases chances and severity of Asthma, food allergies, Eczema, nasal allergies and allergies in general.

3. Acupuncture.
Researchers at the University Medical Center in Berlin conducted a large, multi-center study of the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. The study divided 422 people into three groups for two months: one group received acupuncture treatment, the second received “fake” acupuncture, with needles placed in random, meaningless spots on their bodies, and the third group only took antihistamines. At the end of the study, the group that received acupuncture therapy reported greater relief from symptoms than the other two groups.