5. Avoid excessively hot spices, sour and acidic foods. These foods are irritating to body and promote inflammation, according to Ayurveda. Many people experience their allergies become worse when they eat foods with chilis, tomato sauces, hard or aged cheeses, refined sugar and sweets, and acidic foods. Bell pepper, eggplant and potato should also be avoided due to their channel-clogging effects.

6. Do include detoxifying spices in your daily diet. Turmeric in particular has anti-allergy, immune-balancing effects. Coriander helps to detoxify on a cellular level; fennel cools and balances; ginger helps digestion and dissolves ama, and black pepper clears channels and increases bioavailability of nutrients. Make a spice mixture of 6 parts fennel, cumin and coriander, 4 parts turmeric and 1 part each of ginger and black pepper. Freshly grind spices, sauté them in a pan without oil until lightly browned, and put in a small airtight container. Carry them with you and sprinkle _ to 1 tsp. on your food at each meal, and cook with them when at home.

7. Do sip boiled warm or hot water about every half hour during day around change of seasons, to help your body purify and to support good digestion.

Behavioral Approaches to Reducing Allergies

Diet is not only consideration in allergies. Ayurvedic theory also recommends following behavioral changes to help tone down allergic response.

1. Go to bed by 10:00 P.M. Between 10 PM and 2 AM, body performs a natural cycle of internal cleansing. If we stay up after 10 PM, we interfere with this metabolic “house cleaning” and toxins and impurities begin to accumulate. Worse yet, metabolic activity of cleansing tends to trigger hunger, and we may be tempted to indulge in proverbial “midnight snack.” Unfortunately, eating after 10 PM further compromises cleansing process and leads to even more waste accumulation, and more allergy tendency. On other hand, going to bed by 10 PM improves overall rejuvenative quality of sleep. You will find that your early bedtime habit helps not only your allergies, but your energy and complexion as well!

2. Cleanse body before allergy season. The traditional Ayurvedic answer to allergies includes purifying body of ama and toxins before allergy season begins to prevent symptoms from arising at all. This internal cleansing may be done at home or, more thoroughly, through in-residence cleansing treatments called panchakarma or Maharishi Rejuvenation Therapy.

3. Have a regular routine of life. Eating, sleeping, working and exercising at about same time each day is very balancing and stabilizing to immune system and to body as a whole. Allergies tend to be aggravated when routine of life is hectic and scattered.

4. Practice Yoga asanas and meditation. Yogas asanas and meditation are very balancing to all aspects of mind and body and have been used by many people to reduce allergy symptoms. For meditation, I suggest TM technique because of its ease of practice and scientific verification.

Summary The best approach to allergies is to focus on good eating habits, practice stress reduction and do natural cleansing before allergy season.

Note: This article is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or treat disease. Please consult your physician regarding any symptoms you have or before you make changes in lifestyle and diet. Statements in this article have not been evaluated by FDA and are not intended for prevention, diagnosis or treatment of disease.

Nancy Lonsdorf M.D. received her M.D. from Johns Hopkins and did her postgraduate training at Stanford. She has studied Ayurveda with some of the world's most renowned Ayurvedic physicians in India, Europe and the U.S. Dr. Lonsdorf has 18 years of clinical experience with Ayurveda and is currently the Medical Director of The Raj Ayurveda Health Center in Vedic City Iowa.

http://www.ayurveda-ayurvedic.com

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