How to Tolerate Smoke + Pollens + Seasonal Allergies
This month I have been talking and writing about allergies and hormonal imbalance, and how the two can overlap and aggravate one another. Because of all the problems people are having right now with the smoke plus pollens and seasonal allergies I will get into allergies first, and next week continue onto hormones.
Immune Tissues are Found in the Gut
Regarding allergies, since 70-80% of the body's immune tissue is located surrounding the gut, (i.e. the small and large intestines), and because the bacteria in your gut can play a major role in either calming this immune tissue down, or make it more inflamed and reactive, having the right probiotics predominating in your gut can impact inflammation and reactivity through the whole body. [1] [2] [3].
This includes affecting the respiratory tract, and how much histamine you are producing. [3] [4] [5] Your gut's layer of immune tissue, (i.e. the lamina propria) is rich in histamine-releasing mast cells. The right bacteria in your gut can help reduce histamine production and speed up its degradation, whereas the wrong bacteria can slow it down and increase histamine (not helpful!). [4] [5]
The Best Probiotic for Reducing Histamine
For reducing histamine, the best probiotic strain with the highest response rate I have ever found is the DDS-1 strain of acidophilus, accompanied by the UABla-12,UABla-14, and UABb-10 strains of Bifidobacterium.
After using and recommending such combinations for over 30 years, particularly as a remedy for histamine, allergies and gut problems, we had the good fortune of adding it to our own line of products in 2017 as Opti-Elite Probiotics. (We knew it worked before we made it!)
It has been my experience that for the antihistaminic effect, you need to take it on an empty stomach, preferably 3 capsules at a time, and bite one of the capsules to get the powder into your mouth before swallowing. (This can produce very fast improvement!)
A Congested Liver Makes Allergies Worse
When it comes to allergies, an "overheated" liver can also be a big problem.
The liver, like the gut, has to strike a balance of reacting to foreign entities that pose an actual threat and not overreacting to those that don't, all the while doing the messy job of detoxifying hormones, drugs, toxins, etc.,... performing in excess of 500 different functions. [6]
Constipation Increases the Liver's Burden
Something that can negatively affect liver function, adding to its burden, is gut dysbiosis from the wrong bacteria and yeasts. [10] [11] And what contributes to dysbiosis? Constipation.
In a vicious cycle, constipation worsens dysbiosis, and dysbiosis worsens constipation. [12] [13] [14] [15]
Support your Immune System via your Microbiome, Liver & Colon
- Have an absolute minimum of one good, complete poop each day! We added Opti-Colon Cleanse to our products because it both volumizes and helps empty and clean your colon, while at the same time being gently stimulating without causing diarrhea. Yet, some with more unresponsive colons may need something more stimulating, such as Cleanse-More by Renew Life. Many also find magnesium extremely helpful for constipation, and this is why we included an extra 50mg of magnesium oxide - the most laxative magnesium - in our Optimized Magnesium 250 mg.
- Make changes to promote your friendly bacteria. In addition to probiotics in supplements and/or fermented foods, something that will be helpful for both constipation and supporting a favourable gut flora is soluble fibre, as is found in fruits and vegetables. (Healthology's Soluble Fibre Blend is a good supplemental source.)
- Focus on supporting your liver. Of course milk thistle will be helpful as a general aid, as will alpha-lipoic acid, NAC, selenium and Schizandra. These are the ingredients in our Opti-Liv Extra, all of which will help help raise glutathione. [See: Natural Liver Support For A Toxic World]
Glutathione: The Master Antioxidant
Glutathione will not only assist liver detoxification, it will also support gut function, and lung function...all three being primary factors in allergies. High concentrations of glutathione are found in the gut's mucosal cells which line and help protect it. [16]
Also, glutathione is the classic lung rescue molecule and protectant...critical for normal lung function. [17]
One Supplement, Many Functions
Be Well,
[13] https://academic.oup.com/gastro/article/9/5/392/6342866 Role of gut microbiota in functional constipation
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9505360/ Crosstalk between the Gut Microbiome and Colonic Motility in Chronic Constipation: Potential Mechanisms and Microbiota Modulation
[15] https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-021-02995-zConstipation induced gut microbiota dysbiosis exacerbates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in C57BL/6 mice
[16] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10470601/ The role of glutathione in the gastrointestinal tract: a review
[17] https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajplung.1999.277.6.L1067 Lung glutathione and oxidative stress: implications in cigarette smoke-induced airway disease
[18] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/