SNEAK PEEK OF WHAT'S INSIDE:
ALLERGY remedies
TAMAGOYAKI Recipe
April showers definitely bring May flowers! Here in Los Angeles, we’re seeing arches of ephemeral, blue Jacaranda line the streets, as well as all kinds of blooming trees and flowers. While all this new bloom is beautiful, it can be an annoying time for those who suffer from seasonal allergies. Nothing is worse than not being able to breathe well! In this newsletter, we will be focusing on holistic tips to help you combat your allergies. Before we dive in, we should note that finding out the root cause of your allergies is key. Figure out what your body constitution is, run an allergy panel with your doctor, try an elimination diet, and/or reflect on what external factors could be influencing your flare-ups. Without this key piece, you might be scrambling to just fix the symptoms of your root issue. Over-the-counter drugs help to lessen the symptoms short-term, but can have real effects long-term and do not work to get to the root cause. When you think about around how long ago your allergies came on, think about whether you just moved to a new environment, whether you are exercising outside in a new area, whether you just bought new shampoo or cleaning supplies, whether some foods might be triggering this, etc. Running a full allergy panel can also be super helpful in getting to the root cause so you can work on eliminating or alleviating those triggers. Our first tip is to exercise daily for a minimum of 45 minutes. We realize that when your allergies are flaring up and you can’t even breathe well normally, the last thing you might think would be helpful is running. A survey by the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit in Australia actually found that “regular exercise can improve the symptoms of those with severe hay fever.” When we do cardio (even inside), we increase our respiratory system, easing the systems of severe allergies and improving general wellbeing. We can begin with walking for 45 minutes a day! Try to also walk or run early in the morning or early in the evening when the pollen count is lower. Our second piece of advice is to pay attention to your food sensitivities. There are many foods you can begin to avoid during allergy season, including dairy. One main reason that dairy can exacerbate allergy symptoms is because dairy increases mucus production. When our bodies make too much mucus, our nose can drip down the back of the throat, leading to “post-nasal drip.” Yes, ice cream on a warm Summer day sounds blissful, but the consequences of a congested nose sound less fun. Adding other inflammation-fighting foods into your diet, such as fresh organic carrots, yam, or cabbage can be also helpful.
Next, we recommend adding a spoonful of local honey to your daily diet. You can likely find this at your local farmer’s market. Local honey in small amounts might help relieve watery eyes, congestion, and other allergy symptoms because it contains the pollen from the area your allergies are coming from. Over time, the idea is that you would become less sensitive to this pollen. Other great herbal additions include nettle tea and ginger tea. Nettle tea is a popular herbal remedy for many uses because it can reduce allergy-related inflammation in the body. Also called stinging nettle, the plant is often used to treat muscles and joint, arthritis, and eczema as well. We recommend consuming it as a tea daily for 2-3 months before allergy season to help with the onset of symptoms once allergy season comes around. Ginger tea is another great option because ginger has incredible anti-inflammatory properties. For years, ginger has been used to combat nausea or joint pain, but it can also boost your immunity, make you feel invigorated and refreshed, and can relieve minor pains. Boiling water with cut-up fresh ginger root is a great way to maximize the nutritional effects. And finally, like we’ve been saying in our past newsletters, when trying anything new, we must be consistent to see the full effects. We recommend sticking to any new habit for at least 28 days to really examine the benefits. This goes for adding new exercise, adding or subtracting foods, or changing any part of your normal routine. At Little Jasmine, we aim to live a more holistic, healthy lifestyle from the inside out and we hope that these tips might steer you in a direction to help you combat seasonal allergies.
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RECIPE TIME: Nori Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette)
Using Little Jasmine Seaweed, learn how to make this delicious
This newsletter article was originally post in July 2020.
Note: All of our organic seaweeds are now MADE IN USA with a new packaging!