Five facts about allergies ("must not miss" system)
The past week was particularly spring-like, but together with the pleasant weather and blossoms everywhere, there are quite a few people who are now starting to suffer from seasonal allergies.
If you belong to this group of people, have you imagined that your gut bacteria could be related to the bothersome symptoms you suffer from?
And is there anything to do to reduce the allergy symptoms?
In the 1980s, it was noticed that the incidence of hay fever is lower in people who grew up in large families.
According to the "hygiene theory", the insistence on cleanliness and the lack of exposure to bacteria in the modern world prevent the proper development of our immune system and increase the risk of allergic diseases.
Several studies have supported this theory.
For example, it was found that people who have a pet have a lower incidence of allergic diseases, and children who grew up on a farm or who drank unpasteurized milk also have a lower chance of developing allergies.
On the other hand, there are environmental effects at an early age that damage the balance of intestinal bacteria and are associated with an increased risk of developing an allergy.
Cesarean delivery, formula feeding, and the use of antibiotics - all are associated with an increased risk of developing allergies and asthma later in life. When they compared the intestinal bacteria between children who suffered from allergies and children who did not suffer from allergies, they found differences in the composition of the intestinal bacteria. For example, children who suffered from allergies had an increased prevalence of Unwanted bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Clostridium, while beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were significantly lower in the allergic children.
Exposure to bacteria at a young age actually helps.
A girl and a dog (Photo: ShutterStock)
These studies indicate that exposure to bacteria early in life is important for the proper maturation of the immune system, so that it does not attack friendly bacteria, proteins from food, and various environmental factors that are not normally supposed to cause problems.
The intestine is of considerable importance in the development of food allergies.
80 percent of our immune system cells are in the gut.
In a normal intestine, the intestinal barrier functions like a sieve with very small holes that allow only small molecules, which our immune system does not recognize as harmful, to enter our bloodstream from the intestinal cavity, and therefore no immune response arises against them.
Conversely, when there is damage to the intestinal barrier ("leaky gut"), larger proteins can penetrate the intestinal cavity into the bloodstream.
These large proteins cause a reaction of the immune system and can lead to allergic symptoms.
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When there is an imbalance of the intestinal bacteria, for example due to the use of antibiotics or eating a diet low in fiber, the intestinal barrier is damaged.
Following the damage to the intestinal barrier, the immune system is in a state of overstimulation and can react in an allergic reaction to various factors that should not cause a reaction in a normal state (such as food, and flower pollens).
If we restore the intestine and prevent the condition of the leaky intestine, the immune system will calm down and the allergic symptoms will decrease and even disappear.
How do you do that?
1. Avoid processed foods, sugar, industrial seed oils (such as canola oil and corn oil), and trans fat.
2. Avoid foods that can trigger an allergy such as gluten, dairy products, soy, and corn.
3. Eat a diet consisting of real foods that includes vegetables, fruits, healthy oils such as olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil, fish, chicken, and meat.
4. Be sure to eat probiotic foods such as sauerkraut, kombucha, and kimchi.
5. Be sure to eat foods rich in soluble fiber such as sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, leeks and bananas.
These fibers serve as food for the intestinal bacteria and lead to the production of short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate.
Butyrate is important for intestinal health and improves the intestinal barrier.
Soluble fiber will do you good.
Jerusalem artichoke dish (photo: Dror Einav)
6. Manage your stress well.
A state of stress can damage the balance of your gut bacteria and your gut health, and make allergies worse.
Include deep breathing, meditation, or yoga in your daily routine.
7. Make sure you sleep well.
Poor sleep can harm the balance of intestinal bacteria and the health of the intestine, and worsen allergic symptoms.
Make sure you sleep at least 7-9 hours a night.
8. Try natural local honey for seasonal allergies.
The local honey contains both beneficial bacteria, and local flower pollen that the bees collected from local plants.
Eating a small amount of local honey can help "teach" the immune system not to react to local flower pollens.
A study showed that allergic people who consumed honey produced from the flowers of the birch tree had 60 percent fewer allergic symptoms than allergic people who did not consume the honey.
Dr. Dalit Dariman Medina is an expert in family medicine and integrative and functional medicine
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allergies
allergy
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Microbiome