We’re in peak allergy season, so I thought I’d share what I did this year to prepare for allergy season. Surprisingly, I ended up being so successful I’ve nearly cured my seasonal allergies!
Last year during this time, I was living in Paris and had the worst seasonal allergies I’ve ever had in my life. As soon as I would lie down every night, I’d start wheezing and coughing so much that I couldn’t sleep. When the coughing and sleepless nights didn’t stop after a week, I went to the doctor, who prescribed me prednisone for a few days and gave me an inhaler to use daily for a while until everything calmed down. Then after that I had to keep an inhaler on me just in case I got an asthma attack.
Around December of this year I knew I wanted to prepare for allergy season by getting my immune system in tip top shape. What I did seems to have helped immensely because my seasonal allergy symptoms are only 5% of what they were last year. They were tested when I was in Paris last week eating all the dairy and pasta, and I was fine!
My thinking around how to prep for allergy season centered around improving my immune system by (1) healing the lining of my gut and (2) doing everything possible to ensure I have a wide variety of thriving good gut bacteria.
To heal the lining of my gut, I did 3 things (and am still doing these things):
1 - Incorporated high-quality (grass-fed/pastured) bone broth into my diet as many days a week as possible. I did this by drinking it, blending it with steamed veggies, and/or cooking my rice in it (you can use the ratio of 190g of rice cooked in 300 mL of bone broth).
2 - I took a high-quality colostrum supplement every day, 2-3x a day. I have been using and had an amazing experience with ARMRA. I like doing the unflavored version because I can just empty the packet in my mouth. It tastes like powdered milk. The flavored versions taste pretty good, and I prefer the watermelon over the orange.
3 - I took a high-quality L-glutamine supplement from Pure Encapsulations every day.
To ensure I have a thriving population of good gut bacteria, I did 5 things (and am still doing these things):
1 - I incorporated organic white miso paste into my diet every day. I either spread it onto lentil cakes and topped it with avocado or mixed it with my oatmeal. If you’ve never had savory oats, this is going to blow your mind. Top it with a poached egg for extra credit. A teaspoon at a time does the trick.
2 - I took organic apple cider vinegar every day, at least once a day. I put one tablespoon diluted with one cup of water into a glass and chug that every morning before I eat or drink anything else.
3 - After two months of doing the above, I started eating fat free Greek yogurt or fat free Biotiful kefir protein every day. Miraculously, I had zero negative reactions to these foods after doing the stuff above. I used to get the worst congestion from eating yogurt or kefir even once, but now I can have unlimited amounts of dairy every day and feel zero congestion symptoms. Kefir has more strains of good gut bacteria than yogurt does, so I prioritize kefir.
4 - I eat at least 30g of fiber a day. I do this by having half an avocado and two 125-g packs of raspberries or blackberries a day. That helps me hit my fiber target easily when combined with the rest of my food.
5 - I eat a lot of plant variety, at least 30 unique per week. Every week I eat all of the following: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, peanut butter, asparagus, broccoli, broccolini, cauliflower, romanesco, asparagus, several varieties of mushrooms, broccoli sprouts, oats, rice, potatoes, parsley, dill, cilantro, tomato, chili peppers, bell pepper, carrots, matcha, coffee, miso paste, edamame, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, brazil nuts, and peas. I find it easy to fit all of this in by regularly cooking the following: (1) breakfast oats topped with tons of different fruit, nuts, and seeds; (2) fried rice mixed with tons of different veggies and herbs; and (3) roasting a huge tray of veggies every day and having it for dinner and then having leftovers for lunch. I also recently shared on Instagram a video showing how I store my nuts and seeds to make them very easily accessible to me.
I also want to note that I RARELY eat processed foods like crackers, chips, candy, cookies, etc. Avoiding these foods is critical if you want to repair the lining of your gut because these foods often contain ingredients that impair the lining of the gut, undoing all your hard work from the other dietary changes. I didn’t add this to the list above because I had already been minimizing my intake of these foods. The worst culprit for harming the lining of your gut is having fructose in super high quantities in processed foods where that fructose isn’t paired with fiber.
All of these changes have been truly miraculous for me. I no longer have a dairy intolerance and have barely any seasonal allergy symptoms other than the occasional need to blow my nose. My wheat intolerance is also a lot better than it used to be but not totally gone yet. I’ve found that eating bread from some places works for me while bread from other places does not. But in general, I can tolerate wheat a lot better. I used to take a few bites of wheat then start wheezing and get eczema on my elbows. Now, I sometimes react to wheat, and when I do I start wheezing but don’t get any eczema.
I know everyone’s healing journey is different, but I wanted to share my experience so you know there is hope if you have horrible seasonal allergies or strong food intolerances.
Try these things and let me know how it goes!
BTW – with the exception of the supplements (colostrum and L-glutamine) and yogurt/kefir, all of these dietary recommendations are of course woven into the Methodology nutrition program, especially our curated Reset experience. This experience ensures you get 200+ plants a week, 30+g a fiber a day, apple cider vinegar twice a day, and naturally probiotic foods like pickled veggies and miso. If you’re suffering from bad seasonal allergies or food intolerances right now, try doing an 8-week Reset to see how it heals your gut. If you do a Reset that’s 3 weeks or longer you’ll save 10%.
Julie Nguyen
CEO & Co-Founder of Methodology