It’s that time of the year when plagues so many of us. Sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes… yuck! Aside from the symptoms, what is hay fever?
Aside from the symptoms, what is hay fever?Essentially it is your immune system going a little over the top at the pollens and dust in the air during the spring time. Most of the symptoms are in our nose, throat and eyes however the majority of our immune system lives
Essentially it is your immune system going a little over the top at the pollens and dust in the air during the spring time. Most of the symptoms are in our nose, throat and eyes however the majority of our immune system lives within our gut. The bugs in our gut make up 90% of our immune system! To quieten the symptoms of hay fever, we need to look after our gut bugs. The bugs of the gut are generally referred to as our intestinal biomass.
Us westerners, by and large, tend to have biomass low in variety and number. The gut biomass is negatively affected by antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, cesarean section births, alcohol and sugary diets. As well as this, most of us just don’t eat enough dirt! Our insides are designed to run with a good smattering of soil as part of our food. There is a community of folk out there who intentionally eat dirt every day. I can see the logic but even hippie me draws the line somewhere.
I suggest eating some cultured food regularly. If you’re motivated, there are heaps of YouTube clips on how to make your own sauerkraut or kimchi (I like the beetroot-based stuff personally.) If you can’t be bothered with that, buy some that someone else made. If that is still a but yuck, we sell some great probiotics in the office. All of these things aid in continually providing your gut with the bacteria it needs to work optimally.
Gut biomass is only one factor in hay fever. In my experience, both personally and with my patients, it is a very significant one. All lifestyle factors play a role. Getting your sleep, nerve system, diet and exercise all sorted tends to make most of us fairly bullet proof. We need all the requirements for health, at the same time for a lifetime.