Has your struggle with allergies hit an all-time high? If stepping outside on a sunny, spring day makes your eyeballs feel like they are on fire, it’s time to heal your gut… hang on, what? Let me explain… Allergies occur when your immune system overreacts to something normally harmless, such as pollen or dust mites, triggering inflammation and producing allergic symptoms. These range from hay fever (also known as allergic rhinitis), digestive discomfort, eczema and asthma, to life-threatening anaphylaxis. While quick-fix medications, such as antihistamines, provide symptomatic relief, targeting the underlying drivers of allergy, particularly your gut health and function, can provide long-term health benefits. So before you pack up your life and prepare to leave planet Earth because you’re allergic to it, why not improve your gut health to increase your tolerance to allergic triggers? This can help you overcome your allergies and enable you to leave the house again without fiery eyeballs.

While quick-fix medications, such antihistamines, provide symptomatic relief, targeting the underlying drivers of allergy, particularly your gut health and function, can provide long-term health benefits.

Allergies Run Gut-deep

Your microbiome (i.e. your gut bacteria) is a foundation of good health, especially when it comes to regulating your immune system and reducing it’s reactivity. In fact, dysbiosis (an imbalance in the types and levels of gut bacteria) has been identified as a characteristic feature of allergy,¹ with research identifying differences in microbiome composition between people with allergies and those without. Dysbiosis has been shown to promote gut inflammation,² which also stimulates inflammation beyond the gut. This includes the release of histamine (an inflammatory chemical produced by immune cells), causing many of the symptoms associated with allergy.³ To learn more about the effects of histamine production. Fortunately, you can reduce dysbiosis and improve the composition of your gut bacteria through use of specific probiotic strains (types of bacteria), which modulate your immune function to prevent and reduce allergic symptoms.^4,5 For instance, the strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG^®) has been shown to increase the production of anti-inflammatory immune cells, which counter allergy-associated inflammation and support healthy immunity.^6,7 Optimising your gut bacteria composition has also been shown to suppress histamine release.⁸ Collectively, these benefits may reduce immune over reactivity and lessen allergy symptoms.

Help! I’m Leaking

Gut inflammation, caused by dysbiosis, has also been shown to trigger leaky gut,⁹ which occurs when your gut barrier (cells that form a physical barrier between your digestive tract and the rest of your body) becomes permeable or ‘leaky’. When the gut barrier is breached, food particles, bacteria and toxins may be able to enter your bloodstream, exacerbating inflammation and triggering an immune response that worsens allergy symptoms.¹⁰ Leaky gut may seem confronting, however specific herbs and nutrients can help to restore a leaky gut barrier. These include:

• Glutamine: an amino acid (a small compound that combines with other amino acids to form protein) that reinforces the integrity of the gut barrier and reduces the passage of contents between your gut and bloodstream.¹¹
• Vitamin A: is essential for optimal cell growth and maintenance of the gut barrier, with deficiency of this key nutrient preventing the regeneration of gut barrier cells.¹²
• Zinc: another essential nutrient that supports the integrity of gut barrier cells, with deficiency increasing the likelihood of leaky gut developing.¹³
• Baical skullcap: a herb that has been found to reduce the gaps that form between gut barrier cells (as a consequence of dysbiosis), causing them to become leaky.¹⁴
• Shiitake mushroom: a medicinal mushroom that regulates immune function and reduces inflammation.¹⁵

Allergies? More like “Aller-geez, give me a break!”

Given the strong connection between the health of the gut and immune reactivity, supporting good digestive system function can address some of the underlying factors that cause your immune system to be over-reactive. The Metagenics Allergy and Reactivity Reduction Program is specially designed to repair your gut and improve your immune tolerance, thereby decreasing allergy symptoms. This approach can help you gain control of your allergies and reactivity, so that you can once more indulge in the activities that you enjoy. To find out if the Metagenics Allergy and Reactivity Reduction Program.

Given the strong connection between the health of the gut and immune reactivity, supporting good digestive system function can address some of the underlying factors that cause your immune system to be over-reactive.

Overcoming Allergies

If your nose has done more running during springtime than you have, perhaps it’s time you considered an allergy plan with long-term health benefits. Maintaining a healthy gut is key to supporting your immune function and building tolerance to allergic triggers, and is therefore central to providing a lasting solution to allergic conditions. For guidance around how best to improve your allergies.