Allergies and Your Immune System
People tend to blame food, the environment, weather and anything else that they can think of when they have allergic reactions. Allergies are an effect. The cause is always the body’s response to inflammation. Allergies are an example of chronic inflammation, in which factors such as food intolerance, stress, and poor digestion allow toxins to activate the immune system. This causes inappropriate inflammatory responses on the skin or in the eyes, nose, or throat.
There are common foods that provoke chronic conditions. These include dairy products, wheat, corn, citrus fruits , processed and refined foods, eggs, strawberries, pork, tomatoes, peanuts and chocolate. I have found that alcohol can be a problem as well as it depresses the immune system.
Ultimately, improving digestion and reducing stress will help suppress allergic reactions. Poor digestion keeps the body from eliminating toxins and limits the absorption of nutrients. I go into more detail in my book, Let’s Practice Health in the chapter called the Four Pillars of Health: Digestion, Absorption, Utilization and Elimination. When digestion fails, so does absorption and elimination. This causes congestion in the lymphatic system and the immune system suffers. When food is completely digested, allergic reaction are often eliminated.
If you suffer with allergies, seasonal or otherwise, I highly recommend switching to a plant based diet. Fruits and vegetables provide flavonoids and antioxidants which support appropriate immune response. Herbs, such as dandelion root and garlic are powerful and can help with digestion as well as teas such as oat straw or skull cap.
I often recommend to clients that they take digestive enzymes for a period of 3 months as some people who do not eat enough raw food, definitely lack enzymes! If you are deficient in enzymes, your digestion will be a challenge and this can cause inflammation.
By Frances Michaelson
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