Allergies are a growing health concern in America. According to the Allergy and Asthma Network, about 1 in 5 Americans have environmental allergies, causing them to miss a total of 4 million days of work each year. Financially, it is causing the economy to lose $8 billion a year.1
Thankfully, research is now showing hope for allergy sufferers. Flavonoids from whole foods, especially kaempferol, provide natural relief from allergies without relying on anti-allergy medications.
Kaempferol provides anti-allergic benefits
Researchers from Tokyo University of Science discussed the benefits of kaempferol in a short letter published in Allergy. In particular, this flavonoid has been found to have anti-inflammatory properties, helping to increase the expression of RALDH2, an enzyme produced in the gut. For those unfamiliar with this process, here’s a summary:2
“In the gut, specialized dendritic cells (DCs) produce an enzyme called RALDH2 (retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2), which converts retinal, a chemical derived from vitamin A, into retinoic acid. This retinoic acid stimulates the production of regulatory T-cells, which suppress the immune response to allergens.
Based on this framework, RALDH2 plays a role in allergies, and again, kaempferol has been observed to have a beneficial effect. In their study, the team screened 40 different flavonoids and found kaempferol to be the most effective.3
They used an animal allergy model using ovalbumin (OVA), a protein found in egg whites, to create an experimental environment. Then, kaempferol was applied, with significant results. According to Chiharu Nishiyama, Ph.D., one of the study’s authors:4
“Rapid reduction of body temperature and allergic diarrhea observed after acute compression of OVA administration in kaempferol-administered mice.”
Kaempferol is abundant in leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and kale. According to a study published in the year5 Broccoli has a high concentration, while blueberries and onions are good choices.
Make a list of your allergy triggers
While we’re on the subject of foods, it’s important to know if you have any food allergies, and the best way to narrow them down is to go on an elimination diet. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine,6 The goal of avoiding foods is to know which of them cause allergies and eat as little of them as possible. Nutritionist Barbie Cervoni recommends this strategy to help you get started:7
“Usually, you start slowly by removing histamine-rich foods and recording symptoms. If symptoms improve after removing the trigger food, you can try to remove the food temporarily and add it back to your diet. The amount of food you remove and add over a month depends on your tolerance and symptoms.”
Once you know you are allergic to them, it is important to gradually reintroduce foods because giving them up can lead to malnutrition, which you do not want to happen. So, when you’re doing an elimination diet, don’t stick to one thing because it severely limits your nutrient intake to a narrow list. As for temporary dietary recommendations, here’s a brief summary:8
- Foods to eat: Grass-fed beef, raw milk and butter, pastured eggs, most fruits and vegetables, and pickles.
- Foods to Avoid- Processed beverages, meat and seafood, fish such as sardines, anchovies and tuna, shellfish, nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes and eggplant, and certain fruits such as papaya, strawberries, kiwi and pears, and fried foods such as kimchi and sauerkraut
Again, avoiding allergenic foods is not practical permanently. As you can see from the list above, many foods, such as processed vegetables, contribute to good health.9 Adding more fresh and whole foods will also help in the interim. In a 2020 study in Nutrients, researchers found that participants with mild asthma experienced better symptom relief when they ate a low-histamine, Mediterranean-style diet for four weeks.
In addition to this approach, since your body is not constantly producing histamine, you can build up your resistance over time by gradually introducing allergenic foods.
According to a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition,10 Participants who regularly ate the regular diet experienced more skin allergy symptoms. However, the other test group, which began eating a low-histamine diet before switching to a normal diet, did not experience headaches or other allergy symptoms.
Vitamin C helps fight allergies
Vitamin C, commonly known as ascorbic acid, plays an important role in supporting functions such as tissue growth and repair, collagen synthesis, iron absorption and immune function due to its antioxidant properties.11 Plus, did you know it can help manage seasonal allergy symptoms?
According to a study12 Listed in the food, vitamin C has antihistamine properties, and a daily dose of between 300 and 500 milligrams (mg) “inhibits histamine degradation and mast cell degeneration.” In another study13 Examine animals affected by bronchoconstriction when vitamin C is administered.
A separate study revealed the mechanism behind the anti-allergic benefits of vitamin C, in particular, this antioxidant removes the imidazole ring, the chemical substance of histamine.14 Additional studies have shown that a daily 2,000-mg dose of vitamin C for two weeks reduced in vivo plasma histamine levels by 40%.15
Now that you know the benefits of vitamin C in controlling allergies, what are the best dietary sources? Whole foods are still preferred, and there is a wide variety to choose from. These include red bell peppers, parsley, broccoli, kiwi, strawberries, guavas, tomatoes and all citrus fruits. If you eat these foods every day, you’ll get more vitamin C from your diet, along with other bioactive compounds that support your health.
I also recommend keeping a liposomal vitamin C supplement in your medicine cabinet, especially for acute viral infections. If I got really sick, I would take 4 grams every hour until I felt better, then reduce the dose over a few days until the symptoms improved.
Add Curcumin for anti-allergic effects
Turmeric is a root product of the ginger family. It is a popular spice base for many dishes. In addition, it has medicinal properties – ancient methods such as Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine are used to treat various diseases thanks to its main bioactive compound, curcumin.16
Thanks to modern technology, researchers have discovered what makes curcumin a useful tool for natural medicine. As it turns out, it has various anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti-tumor and antioxidant properties. It also has antihistamine properties, and this has been documented in studies17 Published in International Research Journal of Medical Sciences.
Here, researchers have a single participant – a 24-year-old man with a history of severe asthma. Eventually, you develop hay fever, which causes sneezing and stuffy noses whenever your body inhales allergens.18 He was taking various anti-allergy medications to control the condition.
The team administered 500 mg curcumin tablets twice a day for two months to the experiment. After that, the dose was reduced to once a day for the next two months. After the diagnosis, the man showed better symptoms until he greatly reduced his dependence on oral steroids. However, he continued to use the inhaled drugs.
Consider adding Quercetin to the formula
In the video above.19 Dr. Jin Sung explains the role of quercetin in helping to relieve seasonal allergies. According to his findings, he believes that quercetin has the greatest anti-allergic activity compared to other flavonoids. In particular, it works by regulating the release of histamine from basophils and mast cells. This process has also been documented in a study published in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy.20
As for dosing, Sung recommends taking 500 to 1,000 mg of quercetin two to four times a day during allergy season to help control symptoms. First, start with the lowest dose – 500 mg, twice a day – and increase gradually if necessary.21 This is because the half-life of quercetin is 3.5 to 7.5 hours, so it is better to take it in divided doses.
To help improve the results, I recommend taking other supplements to create balanced effects. These include burning sauce, butterfly extract, mangosteen extract, ginger, vitamin C and vitamin D.22
Like vitamin C and kaempferol, quercetin is also found in many whole foods. These include citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, apples, onions, green tea, red wine, black cherries and berries, such as blueberries and cranberries. Among these examples are large amounts of apples – especially the skins – as well as red onions, broccoli, cherries, berries and green tea.23
If you’re looking for a concentrated source of quercetin, look no further than onion skins—they contain 77 times more quercetin than the flesh.24 But if eating onion skins doesn’t appeal to you, consider making a soup made from them instead.
