Note from Jennifer: While I am working on catching up with homework – finals are 2 weeks away!! – and living through a home remodel, I’m happy to have Claire Murray, a naturopath from Australia, share some nutritional therapy from a naturopath’s perspective.
Please extend your warmest welcome and make her feel as warm and fuzzy about my wonderful readers as I do!
A common root in such conditions as allergies, food intolerances, eczema + asthma is an immune system responding inappropriately.
Most of us associate our immune system with uncovering + fighting pathogens in the body (like bacteria or viruses) in the form of a healing cut or cold + flu.
Due to many potential reasons (leaky guy, dysbiosis, vaccination, allergy, heavy metals, nutritional deficiency), the immune system can also become ‘sensitized’ to certain substances such as food, pollen, furs, perfumes.
It begins to believe these normally harmless substances to be on par with the bacteria and viruses + creates a similar immune response to fight them.
This results in inflammation, allergies, intestinal symptoms, eczema, asthma and even autoimmune disease.
So, regulating and retraining your immune system so it no longer reacts to these harmless substances goes a long way in the management, treatment + healing of allergies.
[Note from Jennifer: ‘where to buy’ links are affiliate links to products I use; full disclosure]
My Top 5 Supplements for Immune System Regulation
1. Fish oil
Moderate to high doses of fish oil play a huge role in halting the inflammatory process that is occurring with allergies, intolerances and sensitivities, because it is rich in the Omega 3 essential fatty acids EPA + DHA.
EPA especially is able to decrease or halt the inflammatory response that is occurring down at a cellular level, making the immune system less responsive to perceive allergens.
Consuming these fats at adequate levels allows the body the chance to heal and repair over time.
It is also important allergy suffers have a greater ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid intake, as Omega 6 can actually increase the inflammatory response if not consumed along with high enough levels of Omega 3.
I often recommend a high EPD + DHA containing Cod Liver Oil as a great way to get sufficient doses of these nutrients. As well as Omega 3, it also delivers gut + skin healing Vitamin A as well as immune regulating Vitamin D.
Note from Jennifer: I usually suggest going with a raw product that contains naturally occurring fatty acids and to stay away from those that add synthetic vitamin (where to buy). There is less of a chance of vitamin toxicity.
2. Vitamin D
The explosion of research undertaken on Vitamin D in recent years has exposed the vital role it plays in the healthy development of the immune system. Low levels of this fat soluble vitamin can compound the effects of an immune system that’s sensitized.
Having adequate levels of Vitamin D ensures immune cells stop developing with the tendency to react in an allergenic way, and instead have a normal balanced immune reaction (where to buy).
In this regard, it is really important to ensure pregnant woman with allergies have sufficient levels of Vitamin D, as deficiencies are passed onto children who have a higher risk (for allergy development as their immune system matures.
3. Glutamine
Glutamine aids in retraining the immune system via healing an inflamed or leaky gut. As our intestines use glutamine as their main fuel source + to repair themselves, it is a must have in any gut healing regime.
Sealing the gut aids in creating a healthy + less reactive immune system, as substances that previously passed into circulation and triggered the immune system are no longer able to.
4. Probiotics
The good bacteria found in our small + large intestine makes up whopping 70-80% of our entire immune system.
The bacteria found here therefore have a large part in ensuring the strength + vigor of our immune system.
Like Vitamin D, they have a role in ensuring immature immune cells grow into cells that react to appropriate substances only (like bacteria), rather than being sensitized to otherwise normal items (e.g. wheat, dairy).
Strong levels of good bacteria also stop pathogenic bacteria from adhering to the intestinal wall + leaving the body prone to illness + poor digestion.
Consider taking a probiotic if you have intestinal symptoms like constipation/ diarrhea, bloating, and flatulence or after antibiotics or food poisoning (where to buy).
Note from Jennifer: Be sure to use probiotic foods along with supplements that contain a prebiotic, transient probiotics (like Bifida and Lactobacillus), and strains of native bacteria for repairing the gut microbial environment.
5. Quercetin
Quercetin is know as ‘nature’s antihistamine’ and is most commonly used for hay fever + sinus symptoms.
It acts in down grading the allergy responsive parts of our immune system such as our mast cells that produce inflammation-creating histamine.
It can be a fantastic addition to any allergy treatment regime, as it will aid in decreasing the allergic inflammatory response whatever system it is occurring in (e.g. respiratory, intestinal or skin).
While allergies can be debilitating and at times all consuming, the myriad of natural treatments available today can go a long way in decreasing the severity and increasing quality of life.
Regulating the immune system to reduce the burden of inflammation upon the body is one strategy of many that should make up an allergy treatment regime.
Committing to long term immune system modifying does yield results and can drastically improve symptoms.
Claire Murray is an Australian based naturopath + creator of clairesholisticpursuits.com.
Her passion lies in making self-care understandable, relatable + achievable. She shares practical tools to use in uncovering your highly personalized version of what is it to be healthy, one that follows no regimes but the inherent knowledge your body holds.
Her online platform aims to create a space to inspire people to examine their life on a deeper level, in order to understand how they can achieve higher levels of vitality from within.
Links to pages:
Site: www.clairesholisticpursuits.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clairesholisticpursuits
Instagram: www.instagram.com/theclairem
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theclairemurray
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/holisticclaire/
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9 Responses
Do you have any suggestions where to buy quality supplements?
It depends on the type of supplements you are looking for. For the supplements recommended in this post, I like Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil, Carlson Lab Vitamin D Ddrops, and Custom Probiotics 11-strain, Biokult, or Theralac for therapeutic-grade probiotics. Those that I use as a practitioner are Prescript-Assist for correcting gut microbiota imbalances (the ones previously mentioned are transient strains), and my glutamine and quercetin are sourced through Biotics Research.
I highly recommend looking for food sources as a first step for nutrient supplementation. You can use whfoods.com to search out foods with specific nutrients in them.
Do you have a recommendation on how to get these supplements into small children? My 27mo son appears to have very bad allergies. I also have them, but am able to take supplements and use my neti pot to help mitigate them. Right now he is miserable. He used to take FCLO without a problem, and I used to be able to mix his probiotic into yogurt. But lately he has become very picky and isn’t liking anything mushy that is easy to mix with. Hummus is the one thing that is still mixable. I can probably get the probiotic in, but FCLO is too strong tasting to work with that. He is still breastfeeding before bed, and I’m also wondering if that might be making his allergies worse since I have them as well? Thanks for any advice you can give!
Probiotics can also be mixed with liquids, and most of them should be taken away from food so water is a good choice. FCLO can be taken transdermally so can be rubbed on his bum. If you are eating foods that you are allergic to, then it is very likely that you are passing on the allergenic food particles to him. Try cutting the major allergens out of both of your diets, and see if there are any changes. I think you’ll notice dramatic changes over the first two weeks! I would suggest starting on a gut healing protocol for both of you like Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) or work with a qualified holistic health professional.
You can read through my series on healing digestion through nutritional therapy to get started if you like: http://www.20somethingallergies.com/healing-digestion-restoring-mucous-layer/.
I hope that helps!
What are your thoughts on Quercetin for use with kids?
I think it’s an important nutrient, but I think children especially should be started with foods high in the nutrients they are most deficient in. If there is no improvement after the increase in food sourced nutrients, then targeted supplementation along with digestive support are usually in order. It helps to work with a qualified practitioner to avoid imbalances when supplementing with isolated nutrients.
where do you get Quercetin
You can check your local health food store or consult the almighty Google, Ye Old Keeper of Knowledge. 🙂
Keep up the good work here….you are voices in the mass media wilderness Mi