Wellness Radio Recap: September 12, 2020
Lately, in our chiropractic clinic, there’s been a lot of queries about sinus and allergy issues, which is unusual around late summer. Though unusual for this time of year, as the queries have increased, we discussed common sinus and allergy triggers on this episode of Wellness Radio.
Read on to learn why you have constant sinus issues even out of season and how you can get relief from all-natural methods. Here’s a quick rundown of the time each topic was discussed so you can get more details from the video:
2:50 - Mold could be growing in your sinus cavity
5:14 - Histamine reactions
7:32 - Food sensitivities
18:58 - Natural solution for mold
28:14 - The benefits of chiropractic care
32:35 - Solution for histamine reaction
37:27 - How to help food sensitivities
46:39 - Top histamine foods to stay away from
3 Common Causes of Sinus and Allergy Problems
If you want to ease your sinus problems for good, it helps to get to the root cause of the flare-ups. Let’s discuss three common causes of sinus and allergy problems including things you may not have considered:
- Mold spores growing in your sinus cavity
- Histamine reactions due to genetics
- Food sensitivities
Mold in Your Sinus
If you suffer from a chronic sinus issue, you could be your own source of mold as the spores can grow in your own sinus cavity. This can be caused by your surrounding environment, like if there is mold inside your home or lots of moist greenery in your space. This becomes a chronic breeding ground for Multiple Antibiotic Resistant Coagulase Negative Staph (MARCoNS), bacteria that cause sinus issues.
You can get tested for this. It is similar to a COVID test, using a swab to retrieve tissue from the back of your nasal cavity. If this is the case, read on for natural treatments for this issue.
Mold robs the body and brain of energy and damages the immune system so you want to get this nipped right away if this is happening in your body or your immediate environment.
Histamine Reactions
Similar to a DNA test kit to find out your ancestry, you can do a genetic test to determine if you are genetically unable to reduce your reactions to histamines.
This test will help to eliminate this as a factor for you and help you to determine if you need supplements or to avoid anything in your diet and environment.
Food Sensitivities
Your immune system may be negatively reacting to some foods and that reactions may be presenting itself as sinus and allergy issues.
All-Natural Solutions for Common Sinus Issues
If your problem is that you’ve been found to be growing mold spores in your nasal cavity, then you want to irrigate your sinus on a daily basis. For this to work, it is quite important that you be consistent. You may need something stronger than a neti pot depending on the severity of the problem.
Make a saline solution or get one that is non-toxic and made with simple, clean ingredients, preferably just salt and water and maybe a few drops of essential oil that will also help. Be consistent for at least 6 months, irrigating your sinus cavity at least once a day but maybe twice for best results. Over time, this will kill the mold spores and clear the nasal passage, allowing you to be free of your sinus issues.
Chiropractic Care
A good chiropractor will do some work on your cranial bones, your jaw, and even the nasal passage itself to open it up. This can help your body from a structural standpoint, especially in children who may not be getting enough air into the body.
Not getting enough air can manifest through bedwetting, teeth grinding, and baggy eyes. If you notice these things in your children, try taking them to a chiropractor for structural care. This can be helpful even for infant babies to prevent breathing and sinus issues later.
Natural Antihistamines
How will you know if your problem is related to histamines?
Think about how easily you get irritated by bug bites, bee stings, and your pets. If you can tolerate them well this is probably not your issue. But if you’re always randomly swollen, itchy, and suffering from headaches then you might need to reduce your histamine reactions with natural antihistamine supplements such as butterbur, quercetin, and feverfew.
Feverfew by Herb Pharma (available here) particularly works really quickly on sinus headaches.
D-Hist Jr by Ortho-Molecular, a sugar-free chewable, is great for children, and HistaEze by Designs for Health and Hista-Aid by Quicksilver Scientific are two great options for adults (all available here).
Vitamin C is another natural antihistamine that can be taken every two hours when you’re awake to combat sinus issues.
Grass-fed beef kidney is also an excellent source of DAO, a digestive enzyme that offers superb histamine support. If the thought of eating kidney is not appetizing to you, this is also offered in supplement form. We recommend the one from Ancestral Supplements.
How to Identify Food Sensitivities
If you feel you may be suffering from food sensitivity, there’s a test for that. It’s best to take the test under the guidance of a health professional as they are not always 100% accurate so a professional will be able to help you determine your true results.
They will at least highlight the foods that are the most inflammatory that are found in your diet. Once found, cease consuming these foods for 4-10 weeks to allow the body to rest while working on healing and sealing a leaky gut.
You can support this by supplementation as well. In kids, IonBiome is like loaded mineral water, very dense with tetra hydrides which will help to close up tight junctions in the gut.
Top Histamine Foods to Stay Away From
Eating a more antiinflammatory diet has many health benefits which just so happens to include alleviating sinus and allergy issues.
Avoiding foods that trigger a histamine reaction will also decrease inflammation in the body which we know leads to a whole host of other ailments.
The top food to avoid is conventional cow’s milk and all dairy products made from it.
Raw milk and raw milk products preferably from goat or sheep is the way to go if you want to consume cheese, milk, butter, and yogurt.
You’ll also want to stay away from corn and soy as these are mostly genetically modified produce.
This will create histamine reactions and cause imbalances in your microbiome leading to your body attacking itself.
Finally, cut out all vegetable oils as these are largely rancid and lead to larger health issues than sinus and allergy reactions. This includes corn oil, canola oil, and soybean oil.
While those are the top inflammatory foods to stay away from, some foods trigger histamine reactions that can also be avoided for short periods of time to give the body a break. These include fermented foods like kimchi and kombucha and even salsa. Tomatoes trigger histamine reactions for a lot of folks.
When you discover a food that causes a histamine reaction, stay away for 4-10 weeks to give your body time to heal before indulging again.
Choose from these suggestions to help you navigate your sinus and allergy issues and eliminate the pain and suffering they cause.
Disclaimer: This content is strictly the opinion of Drs. Warren and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All recipients of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Drs. Warren do not take responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All recipients of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.
Wellness Radio: 09/12/20