There are many causes of allergies, from food to pollen to mold and dust. Preppers stock up on allergy medicines and epi-pens, but do not always consider the natural alternatives. I tell you what, a bag full of Zyrtec is nice and all, but sooner or later you will run out, then what? Are there any alternatives that actually work?
Fortunately, nature (and your kitchen) offers a few fine solutions. Before I get to those, I have to bring up the old cliché, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” If you know you have issues with pollen, then please rinse off when you come back from being outdoors. Watch for mold growth, especially in an extended disaster scenario, where there is no power to run dehumidifiers. If you are allergic to dust, get rid of carpets and stick to hardwood floors. Overall, avoid irritants and allergens as much as you can.
- Saline rinse. One of the simplest and most effective ways to relieve respiratory allergies is saline solution. It irrigates the nasal passages and dislodges various irritants that may cause inflammation, itching and sneezing. Unfortunately, these don’t help everyone.
- Peppermint tea. Peppermint tea relieves nasal congestion and also possesses antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Horseradish. If you’ve had horseradish, you know its sinus clearing effects. Flavoring some of your meals with a small amount of horseradish will provide nice temporary relief to your stuffy nose. One of the best things about horseradish is that it I easy to grow.
- Apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar reduces the production of mucous and effectively makes you less congested. However, your body goes into overdrive producing mucous for a good reason to flush allergen particles out of your mucous membranes and reduce irritation. His is why you should use apple cider vinegar in conjunction with saline rinse.
- Nettle leaf tea. Nettle leaf is a natural antihistamine. It literally keeps your body from producing histamine, which happens to be responsible for most of your allergy symptoms.
- Vitamin C. Add a load of vitamin C to your healthy diet. Apparently, vitamin C helps with the antihistamine activity, on top of its already beneficial immune support. There is research that supports the claim that vitamin C is beneficial in fighting allergies.
- Probiotics. As a long-term strategy, probiotics are a great addition to your allergy fighting arsenal. It is known that allergies are your body’s hyper response to irritants, so using probiotics to strengthen your digestive and immune systems is said to help long term.
- Carotenoids. Carotenoids are basically natural food pigments. One of the most common carotenoids is beta-carotene (it’s what makes carrots orange). Lack of carotenoids can cause inflammation of your airways, which will obviously complicate any existing allergies you may have.
- Green tea. Green tea apparently slows histamine production, thus making allergies more bearable. Granted, you probably won’t be growing tea, if you well stocked, it should last you though a few allergy seasons.
- Acupuncture. Many allergy sufferers swear by acupuncture and although no solid proof exists that acupuncture helps with allergies, I do know that it provides a temporary congestion relief.
To save yourself some grief down the road, add nettle, peppermint and horseradish to your seed bank.
To your survival,
Richard Marshall
