2023-05-17 03:00:57
The hay fever season is at its peak again: the first grasses are in bloom, which causes hay fever complaints for many. A hay fever patient received a tip that eating yogurt would reduce his complaints. Is that right, he wonders, and what else can he eat to cure his itchy eyes and sneezing fits?
“There are a few scientific studies in which nutrition has both a favorable and unfavorable effect on hay fever symptoms,” says allergy dietitian and researcher Berber Vlieg, “but there is not nearly enough evidence.” From the hospitals OLVG in Amsterdam and Rijnstate in Arnhem, she conducted research into the relationship between nutrition and allergies with an international working group. According to Vlieg, there are indications that good nutrition can be effective in the treatment of allergic diseases, such as hay fever.
“Hay fever is a kind of exaggerated immune system response to pollen. Your immune system keeps your resistance up and is not only a protection against infectious diseases. What people are less aware of is that a well-functioning immune system also protects against chronic diseases. The vast majority of immune cells are found in the intestines. Incorrectly composed nutrition can cause chronic mild inflammation – without there being an infection – which is detrimental to the functioning of the immune system.”
Core of truth
There is a grain of truth in the beneficial properties of yoghurt, says Vlieg. “With current knowledge, we cannot say that yogurt reduces or prevents hay fever, but yogurt does have a beneficial effect on the immune system. Yogurt or kefir based on raw milk may be even better. Yogurt is a fermented product, just like cheese, sauerkraut and olives. Fermented products contain live bacteria. They are healthy because they make your intestinal flora more diverse.” People with hay fever sometimes cannot tolerate certain types of fresh fruit, she says, but research by the UMC Groningen, for example, showed that yogurt can be used to tolerate fresh apples in case of hay fever. For example, hay fever patients could eat an apple if the apple was in a bowl of yogurt.
Vlieg does think that to reduce hay fever you have to do more than just eat yogurt: “It is not a matter of one food, you will have to make your entire diet healthier.” For her research, she developed an immune-supporting diet in order to hopefully be able to prove that allergic complaints are reduced. She recently published this in the scientific journal Allergy.
Her advice is to eat 60 percent vegetable products such as fresh fruit and vegetables. “Eat as pure and unprocessed as possible.” In addition, you also eat plenty of whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat sourdough bread, (sweet) potatoes, legumes, herbs / spices and tea. “Eat fermented foods such as full-fat cheese, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and olives every day, and also use omega-3 fatty acids from oily fish, walnuts, rapeseed oil and linseed oil, but be moderate with fat and meat.”
Do not eat highly processed foods such as packages and bags with highly processed ingredients, snacks, processed and fatty meats and white bread. This food is said to have a pro-inflammatory effect due to its composition and high heating, which gives the immune system wrong (alarm) signals. For example, hay fever patients in a South American study had more complaints if they ate more junk food, and fewer complaints if they ate more fresh fruit and vegetables.
#eat #rid #hay #fever