Seasonal Allergies and the Gut
‘All disease begins in the gut' said Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. Figure out the "gut component" of your problem and it stands to reason you can solve the problem.
Consider seasonal allergies. You might think it is pollen up the nose that is the culprit.
Not necessarily so.
85% of immunity occurs in the gut
Given that over 85% of our immunity stems from the intimate interaction of our lymphatic system without intestinal microbiome the investigation becomes a lot more interesting.
Deep down in the small intestine, our friendly bacteria (probiotics) are triggering a cascade of events that result in the activation of our mucous membranes. Those mucous membranes are our first line of defence against invasion. It is the cells within our mucous membrane that trigger the Inflammation, runny nose, tearing eyes and congestion.
When those activated cells are responding normally we don't have a problem with seasonal allergies. So what makes them act abnormally? This is the question you want to ask your self.
What's up in the Gut?
Seasonal allergies are a red flag that signals disquiet on two fronts.
First, the immunoglobulins in the mucous membrane are dependent on specific types of probiotics in the gut for their proper functioning. If those probiotics are being compromised in the gut by an overgrowth of Candida or other pathogenic bacteria the correct messages won't be getting to your mucus membrane.
Your mucous membrane is your main barrier against attack, which makes this a significantly serious piece of information fro a proactive point of view.
Secondly, if the gut is irritated and leaky gut is present there is a flow of toxins from the gut into the bloodstream putting our immune system on hyper alert resulting in overzealous action.
If you have any gut symptoms like bloating, pain uneasy digestion or constipation these all confirm the presence of leaky gut.
What to do
Seeing allergies as a symptom of a bigger picture is your first step in resolving not only seasonal allergies but potentially other symptoms as well.
- There a few things that can give you support from the natural medicine toolbox.
Delete grains from the diet. Grains including gluten are known to be factors aggravating leaky gut. Adopting a Paleolithic diet is something well worth experimenting with. If it works for you, your overall health will improve. If it does nothing for you absolutely nothing is lost but a few pounds. - Increase your probiotic intake. Probiotics are found in fermented foods as well as yogurt. There are also amazing probiotics available commercially.
- Make sure the probiotic you select has both a delivery system that allows it to get to the small intestine and contains prebiotics to increase the survival rate of the newly introduced probiotics. A prebiotic is simply food for a probiotic.
- Digestive enzymes will help with the breakdown of food in the gut. In a compromised, leaky gut, the cells that are responsible for the breakdown of nutrients are unable to handle the load.
The addition of enzymes with meals takes some of the pressure off allowing recovery of the compromised cellular lining of the gut. - Ingesting a blend of CPTG essential oils will support recovery from the symptoms of seasonal allergies. A blend of 3 drops each of lemon, lavender and peppermint CPTG essential oils in a small glass of water will help clear your allergy symptoms.
What is a CPTG essential oil? It is tested therapeutic grade oil, far beyond the purity of most drugstore varieties of essential oils.
Watch the Core Health Video to learn more or go to the education page and sign up for the next live webinar on Core Health. Core health is gut health.
