Tips to Get Ready for Spring Allergy Season

1. Cleanse your liver and gallbladder by drinking warm lemon water first thing upon waking up. You can replace lemon with organic apple cider vinegar also. This helps with the liver detox and bile secretion.

   

2. Eliminate all phlegm-producing foods–especially dairies (including yogurts), peanuts, citrus, and fried foods as all of these tend to produce massive amount of mucus in the body. Extra phlegm in the lungs and upper respiratory tract will certainly make your allergy a lot worse.

3. Cleanse your nostrils with neti-pot daily. During the peak allergy season, do it at least twice a day. Neti pots are an ancient tradition of rinsing nasal passages with salty water. Daily rinsing helps remove mucus and offending allergens so that you can breath better. When using neti pots, make sure that you use either boiled or distilled water (Note: DO NOT USE unboiled tap water). For salt, use non-iodized sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon for 1 cup of water.

 

4. Take probiotics and digestive enzymes to take care of your small intestine and colon. Chronic digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel, food allergies and sensitivities, and Crohn’s will give rise to phlegm in the digestive tract that can exacerbate the body’s ability to deal with allergies. Also, introduce huge amount of fiber in your diet so that you eliminate regularly.

5. Augment Your Lung Capacities with Qigong exercises.

Here is a simple exercise you can do to help your lungs. Sit straight, staying relaxed, breathing evenly. Now cross your legs, exhale, bend forward at the waist as much as possible. It’s best to do this exercise sitting on the floor, however, sitting on a chair is ok too.

Using your hands to support yourself, raise your body upright, inhale, then holding your breath for 10 seconds. Exhale while bending forward, then change your leg positions. Sit straight and repeat inhaling and hold your breath for 10 seconds. Repeat this action five times. This exercise not only regulates the qi of the lungs, but helps promote and reinforce the function of the lungs.

6. When your allergy makes you seriously sick, take: Allerplex by Standard process, Antronex by Standard Process (these two are very effective in preventing you from getting major allergy symptoms), Albizia by Mediherb, Jade Screen or Jade Screen with Xanthium by Golden Flowers (Note: all of these herbs and supplements may not be available unless you ask your practitioner. I am highly suspicious of Standard Process products being sold on Amazon).