Hayfever: Help Yourself Naturally

Hayfever has to be the scourge of the summer. There you are peeling off the layers of winter protection that protect you so well; feeling rejeuvenated, walking jauntily along the pavement until suddenly, you sneeze for no reason, then you accidentally rub your eyes which start start itching like mad, your nose starts twitching and then you remember – hayfever and it completely spoils your day.

The worst ever case I suffered from was when I was eighteen, visiting Australia, during haymaking season. Until then I had never experienced the full wrath of the pollen. I was double dropping anti-histamine tablets like no tomorrow but I got no relief, my face looked like it had been in ten rounds with Mike Tyson, without the bruises.

I have worked with natural solutions for a good few years now, to great affect. I have heard that homeopathic remedies can be very affective, but my success lies wholly with nutritional based remedies.

Reducing Grains:

Our dependency on grains is very high, from breakfast cereals to bread, rice, pasta, fillers in processed foods – it is very easy to eat grains at every meal. As a food group, grains were not introduced into our diets until 10,000 years ago, which believe it or not, is very recent in the timeline of human existence. Thus, our bodies have not evolved sufficiently to digest them as easily as vegetation and meat.

Reducing the amount of dietary grains, especially wheat, has been found to help alleviate hayfever symptoms. The type of wheat used in the majority of produce is high in gluten, which is especially hard for the body to break down. A US study in 1928 discussed the possibility of indigestible grain proteins passed to babies via their mothers’ milk or cows milk resulting in a subsequent sensitivity to grain pollen, which manifests in hayfever.

If you’re a heavy grain consumer, start with removing the food group from one meal and then slowly increase.

For example:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs & spinach

Lunch: Beetroot, feta and lentil salad

Dinner: Roast chicken and steamed vegetables

Increase Natural Anti-histamines:

There are many natural anti-histamine foods in nature, which reduce the amount of histamine released as a response to the allergen.

Vitamin C:

A US study by Arizona State University found that hayfever sufferers given between 500mg – 2,000mg doses of vitamin C per day over six weeks had up to 40% reduction in symptoms as the doses reached the higher range.

Fruit and vegetables are packed full of vitamin C, so it is really important to have as much fresh produce in your diet as possible. Vitamin C degrades over time, some reports say that many foods lose up to 50% of their vitamin C content after picking, so it is very important not only to eat seasonally to increase the density of nutrients but also locally as nutrients degrade during the transportation processes of chilling and storing.

It may also be helpful to supplement with 1,000mg vitamin C between 2-3 times per day – chose a mixed ascorbate product rather than ascorbic acid which is harsh on the body and hard for it to absorb. Emergen-C is a good product that comes in handy sachets and available at most health food shops or online.

Quercetin:

Quercetin is a bioflavonoid that works synergistically with vitamin C. It has been found to stabilize the cell membranes of histamine producing cells. A small study of 24 people in Japan found that 100mg per day reduced the symptoms of itchy and swollen eyes, although not runny noses. Medical herbalists recommend supplementing with 500mg quercetin twice a day 20 minutes prior to eating.

Fish Oils:

Fish oils contain anti-inflammatory properties so increasing the amount of fish you eat may help to alleviate symptoms. A supplement may be useful here – choose a brand such as Eskimo 3 or Nordic Naturals, two excellent products that are rigourously tested for purity.

Bee Pollen:

Find a source of local bee pollen and sprinkle no more than 1/2 a teaspoon on salads, fruit or cereals. It goes well with fish. Check out your local farmers markets for possible producers.

Food to increase:

Vitamin C: berries, apples, dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, broccoli, spring greens, cabbage.

Quercetin: onions, kale, broccoli, squash and courgettes

Gut health:

In order for us to absorb the nutrients from our food properly, it is important to have good gut health. Try out the following tips:

Reduce mucus-forming foods: Dairy, grains and banana’s all increase the amount of mucous the body produces. Excess mucous lines the digestive tract making it harder for the body to absorb nutrients.

Drink water: water makes up a large part of stomach acid which is essential for good digestion. Drink a glass of plan water 20 mins before eating.

Chew well: chewing is the first stage of digestion and signals to the stomach to prepare for food. Chew for 30-40 times or until your mouthful is liquid.

Probiotics: Good gut bacteria = a healthy gut = increased absorption. Taking two capsules of a probiotic supplement such as Biokult in the evening before you sleep can help support the immune system and fight off the infiltration of pollens into the blood stream.

Anti-Hayfever Salad:

Fennel & onion are packed full of quercetin

Jerusalem artichoke contains inulin which help support gut health.

Ingredients:

1 red onion

1 fennel bulb

2 jerusalem artichoke roots

Shave or thinly slice the vegetables  into a dish, drizzle with lemon juice, olive oil, and freshly ground pepper.

Add some smoked mackerel or or serve with steamed salmon for a larger meal.

image by MarilynJane and bokchoyboy

Roast-a-licious

Hands up who likes the cold wintery days as an excuse to dive into the typical British fare of roasts and puddings?? I had a fabulous Sunday roast cooked for me last night and shared with some of my nearest and dearest, the perfect end to a great week. We were discussing the pros and cons of a roast dinner so

I thought it would be a perfect blog post for all those who view the roast as a treat rather than a healthy option.

Roasts: The Low-Down

Roasts per se are not actually that unhealthy. It is the amount of food, the origins of the meat and the way some of the foods have been cooked that are the issues around the concept – and are issues not dissimilar to any other meal that you may be preparing.

1. Meat: Preferably from animals who haven’t been kept in a dark shed with a million of it’s brothers and sisters, fed on a diet of animal feed, antibiotics and excrement is the most important ingredient. If you can’t afford to buy organic or don’t have access to a butcher such as Northfield Farm who sell meat that is organic in spirit but not certified due to specific slaughtering rules then the best choice of meat is Lamb. Sheep can not be reared inside so are naturally free range. Any chicken you buy should be free range, at least – and yes, chickens are expensive, but you can do so much with them they are worth their weight in gold.
2. Potatoes: these very addictive bundles of starch are very high in carbohydrates and apart from containing some chromium, th ey are not exactly the healthiest vegetable on the block. Especially if you peel them which removes 90& of their fibre and roast them in tons of fat. Swop for sweet potatoes or ration yourself to two only.
3. Roast parsnips: these beauties are also very high in starch and soak up oil very easily. The burnt bit, however tasty is the least nutritious part of the vegetable. Burning food produces chemicals called acrylamides which have been linked to an increased cancer risk.
4. Green veg: Brussel sprouts and cabbage, the mainstay of a british roast are possibly the antidote to the burnt ends of parsnips. They contain high levels of anti-oxidants which are crucial for keeping our bodies healthy. Ideally not dripping in butter, of course, but the more greens you have on your plate, the better.
5. Portion size: As with any meal, be aware of portion control. If we have eyes that are too big for our belly (aka yours truly), try using a smaller sized plate, having two slices of meat rather than four, and fill up half of your plate with vegetables, of the colourful variety, not the starchy ones.

Pudding

I have to admit, I am the first to go weak at the knees when there is a crumble on offer, however, this time it was me who made it. I’d had some plums in the freezer for a couple of months, just waiting for the opportunity to make them into a crumble, one of my signature desserts, and childhood comfort foods.

Not having made a plum crumble before, as I’m usually a traditional apple, raisins and cinnamon girl, I had to resort to our www best friend Google to throw up a selection of recipes to choose from. My personal food hero, Nigel Slater, sorry, Sir Nigel, popped up as the first entry and of course I made a beeline for his recipe ignoring all others. And my, what a crumble it was.

Fruit crumbles, as with fruit pies always ask for lots of sugar, butter and flour, not exactly ‘nutritious fayre’; however, Nige scored some real brownie points with me as he includes both ground almonds (protein) and oats (fibre) in his crumble topping to slightly recompense the high carbohydrate and sugar content.

Nigel Slater’s Oat Plum Crumble

I swapped the ordinary flour for spelt flour and accidentally added a few more almonds and oats to the crumble than strictly necessary, but even the biggest nutritional nay-sayer in the group was wowed by my efforts.

plums or damsons -  750g
golden caster sugar – 4 tablespoons
a large knob of butter

for the crust:
flour – 150g
butter – 100g
ground almonds – 50g
golden caster sugar -70g
rolled oats – 50g

Set the oven at 190˚/Gas 5.

Stone the fruit, though you will probably want to avoid stoning damsons. Put them into a deep pan with the butter and sugar and leave them to soften slightly. This will ensure they are meltingly soft and squishy.

Meanwhile, make the oat crust by rubbing the butter into the flour till it resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Stir in the ground almonds, the demerara sugar and the oats.

Pile the fruit into a baking dish, the tip the oat and almond topping onto the fruit and bake for 30-35 minutes till the crust is crisp and golden, the fruit soft and tender.

Serve hot, with cream, ice cream or custard.

See Nigel Slater’s website for more delicious recipes.