In this episode, I talk about the connections between hay fever and the gut and why pollen allergy sufferers should start preparing in December to get through the spring better.
You can listen to the episode here:
[g_podcast id="21384080"]
Hay fever is an allergy in the classic sense: a type 1 allergy. It proceeds as follows: nothing more happens at first contact. This phase is called the sensitization phase. The body sniffs out the intruder and memorizes its protein structures.
On renewed contact, the body may then show an "overreaction". It thinks to itself: "Oh help! A bad guy! I have to fight it really quickly!" The allergens react with the IgE antibodies and act as a kind of key in a lock: the "allergy cells" (mast cells) are "unlocked" and histamine is released.
I already talked about histamine in the last episode with Dr. Florian Bilz, so if you're interested in the topic, feel free to listen to it afterwards!
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-125-histaminose-histaminintoleranz/
Within seconds to minutes, various symptoms occur. The histamine leads to various problems: the bronchial tubes contract → shortness of breath develops. Small blood vessels dilate → the skin reddens. Sensitive nerve endings are stimulated → itching occurs. The permeability of the blood vessels is increased → water retention, swelling and blisters develop. Excessive amounts of histamine are released → a sudden drop in blood pressure can follow (this is called allergic shock and can be life-threatening in the worst case).
Now you may be wondering what the causes of hay fever could be, but first I would like to talk briefly about how conventional medicine combats hay fever.
Conventional medicine offers cortisone-based medication and effective antihistamines etc. for severely affected allergy sufferers. However, these medications also have side effects such as fatigue or impairment of the intestinal flora.
Desensitization therapy, in which the body is slowly accustomed to the allergen by injecting small doses, can also help. However, the therapy is very lengthy and carries the risk of an allergic shock. In addition, many people react not just to one, but several allergens.
Another option is autologous blood therapy, in which the immune system is virtually reversed.
Because a large part of the immune system is located in the gut, hay fever is also a (actually with all allergies), it is important that you include the gut and diet in the treatment.
Hay fever often only develops over the course of a lifetime. However, the foundations are often inherited from the parents. We speak of a so-called "allergy career": it begins in infancy with allergies of the gastrointestinal tract, followed by eczema at around one year of age, then asthma at around 3 years of age and then hay fever at school age or even later.
And even in this cascade you can already see that it started in the stomach/intestines!
It is therefore advisable to pay attention to the intestinal health of newborns and to seek advice if necessary. With Arktibiotic Start, we even have a probiotic that you can use in infants. But as I said, you should seek advice from a specialist.
If the intestinal mucosa is leaky, as I've talked about several times in the podcast, substances can enter the bloodstream that cause inflammation or an immune response. Especially stress and an unfavorable diet.
It is important to protect the body at an early stage! And that's why we recommend starting to combat hay fever as early as winter to perhaps even make symptoms disappear completely.
It has been proven that taking certain minerals can counteract the symptoms of hay fever. However, as already mentioned, it is important to strengthen the immune system well in advance of the pollen season! Vitamin C, vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium, calcium or methionine are ideal for this. They help the immune system to cope better with allergic stimuli. Vitamin B6 and zinc support the breakdown of histamine.
Our Histahit has proven to be very effective here because it contains vitamin C, vitamin B6 and zinc, among other things.
Allergy cells are stabilized so that they cannot release histamine so quickly. At the same time, it ensures that enzymes that break down histamine are affected.
In addition, because of the leaky gut problem, it is highly recommended to build up the intestinal mucosa, and here we work with L-glutamine and our acacia fiber product Grow.
You can round it all off with colostrum, which has a strong anti-inflammatory effect and strengthens your immune system, so you are very well equipped for the hay fever season next year in terms of nutrients. However, what is still missing and is absolutely essential is nutrition! I know, not a particularly popular topic, especially at Christmas time and I still recommend that you pay attention to a few things if you suffer badly from hay fever.
Because leaky gut and inflammation play a role in hay fever, as well as the excess histamine, diet is a very important factor if you want to get rid of your hay fever naturally or at least significantly reduce the symptoms.
I particularly recommend cutting out or greatly reducing wheat, cow's milk and sugar. Furthermore, as always:
DG124: Anti-inflammatory and natural - my dietary recommendations for leaky gut
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-124-ernaehrungsempfehlung/
It would go beyond the scope of this episode if I were to go into the following points in detail, but I would at least like to mention them:
DG069: What to do when you are under too much stress? Interview with Kristina von Fuchs
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-069/,
DG070: Flash de-stressing with essential oils and spices - Interview with Dr. Sabine Paul
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-070/
or DG107: Diet is only the first step for allergies - interview with Nadja Polzin
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-107/
As always, if you know the episode number, just enter our websitewww.arktisbiopharma.ch and then / plus the number.
I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you suffer from hay fever, allergies or asthma yourself, then I recommend that you put the tips on diet, stress reduction and the recommended products into practice!
And if you are not affected yourself, but know someone who runs around with a runny nose and swollen eyes every spring, then please recommend this episode to them!
You don't want to miss any future episodes? Then subscribe to the Darmglück podcast in your favorite podcast app. Here are the links to my podcast in the most popular apps:
If you have any questions or feedback about this episode, write them in the comments below! We'll be happy to answer!
You can listen to the episode here:
[g_podcast id="21384080"]
What is hay fever?
The term hay fever is a little misleading. It should actually be called pollen rhinitis, because you are allergic to pollen and not to hay.Hay fever is an allergy in the classic sense: a type 1 allergy. It proceeds as follows: nothing more happens at first contact. This phase is called the sensitization phase. The body sniffs out the intruder and memorizes its protein structures.
On renewed contact, the body may then show an "overreaction". It thinks to itself: "Oh help! A bad guy! I have to fight it really quickly!" The allergens react with the IgE antibodies and act as a kind of key in a lock: the "allergy cells" (mast cells) are "unlocked" and histamine is released.
I already talked about histamine in the last episode with Dr. Florian Bilz, so if you're interested in the topic, feel free to listen to it afterwards!
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-125-histaminose-histaminintoleranz/
Within seconds to minutes, various symptoms occur. The histamine leads to various problems: the bronchial tubes contract → shortness of breath develops. Small blood vessels dilate → the skin reddens. Sensitive nerve endings are stimulated → itching occurs. The permeability of the blood vessels is increased → water retention, swelling and blisters develop. Excessive amounts of histamine are released → a sudden drop in blood pressure can follow (this is called allergic shock and can be life-threatening in the worst case).
Now you may be wondering what the causes of hay fever could be, but first I would like to talk briefly about how conventional medicine combats hay fever.
How does conventional medicine combat hay fever?
Conventional medicine offers cortisone-based medication and effective antihistamines etc. for severely affected allergy sufferers. However, these medications also have side effects such as fatigue or impairment of the intestinal flora.
Desensitization therapy, in which the body is slowly accustomed to the allergen by injecting small doses, can also help. However, the therapy is very lengthy and carries the risk of an allergic shock. In addition, many people react not just to one, but several allergens.
Another option is autologous blood therapy, in which the immune system is virtually reversed.
Causes of hay fever: overreaction of the immune system
Because a large part of the immune system is located in the gut, hay fever is also a (actually with all allergies), it is important that you include the gut and diet in the treatment.
Hay fever often only develops over the course of a lifetime. However, the foundations are often inherited from the parents. We speak of a so-called "allergy career": it begins in infancy with allergies of the gastrointestinal tract, followed by eczema at around one year of age, then asthma at around 3 years of age and then hay fever at school age or even later.
And even in this cascade you can already see that it started in the stomach/intestines!
It is therefore advisable to pay attention to the intestinal health of newborns and to seek advice if necessary. With Arktibiotic Start, we even have a probiotic that you can use in infants. But as I said, you should seek advice from a specialist.
Co-causes of leaky gut
If the intestinal mucosa is leaky, as I've talked about several times in the podcast, substances can enter the bloodstream that cause inflammation or an immune response. Especially stress and an unfavorable diet.
What is our approach?
It is important to protect the body at an early stage! And that's why we recommend starting to combat hay fever as early as winter to perhaps even make symptoms disappear completely.
It has been proven that taking certain minerals can counteract the symptoms of hay fever. However, as already mentioned, it is important to strengthen the immune system well in advance of the pollen season! Vitamin C, vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium, calcium or methionine are ideal for this. They help the immune system to cope better with allergic stimuli. Vitamin B6 and zinc support the breakdown of histamine.
Our Histahit has proven to be very effective here because it contains vitamin C, vitamin B6 and zinc, among other things.
Allergy cells are stabilized so that they cannot release histamine so quickly. At the same time, it ensures that enzymes that break down histamine are affected.
In addition, because of the leaky gut problem, it is highly recommended to build up the intestinal mucosa, and here we work with L-glutamine and our acacia fiber product Grow.
You can round it all off with colostrum, which has a strong anti-inflammatory effect and strengthens your immune system, so you are very well equipped for the hay fever season next year in terms of nutrients. However, what is still missing and is absolutely essential is nutrition! I know, not a particularly popular topic, especially at Christmas time and I still recommend that you pay attention to a few things if you suffer badly from hay fever.
Diet as a decisive factor in preventing hay fever
Because leaky gut and inflammation play a role in hay fever, as well as the excess histamine, diet is a very important factor if you want to get rid of your hay fever naturally or at least significantly reduce the symptoms.
I particularly recommend cutting out or greatly reducing wheat, cow's milk and sugar. Furthermore, as always:
- natural, fresh food
- no additives, preservatives etc.
- lots of vegetables and fruit, combined with protein and good fats
- 3 meals a day, no snacks
DG124: Anti-inflammatory and natural - my dietary recommendations for leaky gut
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-124-ernaehrungsempfehlung/
Other factors in hay fever treatment
It would go beyond the scope of this episode if I were to go into the following points in detail, but I would at least like to mention them:
Point 1) Exposure to heavy metals
Hay fever can also be linked to an increased heavy metal load, which is why it is advisable to have a heavy metal check-up and subsequent elimination carried out if the symptoms persist for a longer period of time and cannot be remedied by intestinal cleansing and a change in diet.Point 2) Stress reduction
Because a leaky gut is often triggered by stress, mindful use of your own resources, rest and time for yourself are also part of a holistic approach. Here I can recommend previous podcast episodes, such asDG069: What to do when you are under too much stress? Interview with Kristina von Fuchs
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-069/,
DG070: Flash de-stressing with essential oils and spices - Interview with Dr. Sabine Paul
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-070/
or DG107: Diet is only the first step for allergies - interview with Nadja Polzin
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/darmglueck-folge-107/
As always, if you know the episode number, just enter our websitewww.arktisbiopharma.ch and then / plus the number.
I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you suffer from hay fever, allergies or asthma yourself, then I recommend that you put the tips on diet, stress reduction and the recommended products into practice!
And if you are not affected yourself, but know someone who runs around with a runny nose and swollen eyes every spring, then please recommend this episode to them!
Subscribe to the Darmglück podcast
You don't want to miss any future episodes? Then subscribe to the Darmglück podcast in your favorite podcast app. Here are the links to my podcast in the most popular apps:
If you have any questions or feedback about this episode, write them in the comments below! We'll be happy to answer!
