Life
Avoiding These Foods Could Reduce Your Allergies
If you’re an allergy sufferer, April usually means making regular CVS runs to stock up on antihistamines…and tissues…and Visine…and Milanos (don’t judge, they were on sale). But what if I told you that you could reduce allergy symptoms by avoiding certain foods like, let’s say, apples? According to CNN, certain fruits, vegetables, nuts, and spices could be triggering your allergies.
Let me explain. When people who are allergic to certain kinds of pollen eat particular foods, they may experience tingling or itching of the mouth. Some people may have more severe reactions, like throat swelling or anaphylaxis — this is called pollen-food allergy syndrome, or oral allergy syndrome. These symptoms/reactions occur because of cross-reactivity, or when the proteins in certain foods are similar to the allergy-causing proteins in certain pollen. Luckily, all you have to do is eliminate particular foods from your diet to greatly reduce your allergy grief over the next couple of seasons. I told you this would be easy!
Thanks to the folks at CNN and the Mayo Clinic, we have a complete list of foods you should avoid this spring, summer, and fall according to what you’re allergic to!
If you’re allergic to birch tree pollen, a regular during spring months, you should avoid:
- Apples
- Carrots
- Celery
- Hazelnuts
- Peaches
- Pears
- Raw Potatoes
Ragweed pollen, the culprit responsible for hay fever, tends occur during the fall. If you’re allergic to it, starting around August you might want to leave these foods off your grocery list:
- Bananas
- Melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon
If you experience allergies during the Summer, you’re probably sensitive to grass. Try to eliminate these foods from your diet this May:
- Melons
- Oranges
- Peanuts
- Tomatoes
- White Potato
Mugwort, is unfortunately not a character from the Harry Potter series, but rather a perennial plant known to cause hay fever. Those suffering from hay fever and mugwort-related allergies should avoid these foods:
- Apples
- Bell pepper
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Onion
- Spices like caraway seeds, parsley, coriander, anise seeds, and fennel seeds.
There. Don't you feel better?
