Natural Allergy Relief with Fruit

Spring allergies getting you down? We get it – the weather is finally warming up and all of nature is coming to life, but you can’t enjoy it the way you want to because all those blooming blossoms and flowering trees are giving you a stuffy head, runny nose and itchy, watery eyes. It hardly seems fair.

Airborne allergens can strike any time of year. Pollen from trees, grasses and weeds, mold spores, dust mites and pet dander can send your immune system into overdrive, releasing histamine and leukotriene chemicals that trigger all kinds of unpleasant symptoms. The good news is that if you’re one of the 50 million Americans who suffers from seasonal allergies, there are steps you can take to control your symptoms and make the season more enjoyable. Over the counter or prescription antihistamines, decongestants and other medications can be used to suppress the body’s immune response, providing relief from symptoms, but a little bit of prevention can help, too. This can include watching the weather to stay aware of pollen and mold spore levels, keeping doors and windows closed to seal out pollen, using an air purifier – and including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet.

We know, we know – “Are you eating right?” seems to be one of the first questions your doctor always asks when determining the state of your health. But a healthy diet is the body’s first line of defense when it comes to fighting off pathogens and foreign substances, and that includes allergens.

You may think of antihistamines as medication, but most fruits contain nutrients that are naturally occurring antihistamines. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory properties in various nutrients found in fruit also help soothe cells aggravated by allergens.

Of course, an apple a day isn’t going to cure your allergies…or even get rid of your symptoms. Fruit should not replace any allergy treatments you might be taking. But a diet rich in certain fruits can complement your allergy-attack plan, providing increased symptom relief as well as other health benefits.

Here are some fruits and vegetables we carry at Pittman & Davis that can help you get through the allergy season a little more comfortably:

Citrus Fruits

A strong immune system is better equipped to fight off allergens and reduce the severity of allergic reactions. Citrus fruits (such as our seedless Navel Oranges and sweet, Rio Ruby™ Red Grapefruit) help contribute to a healthy immune system through their vitamin C content.

Citrus fruits are famous for their high vitamin C content, but this antioxidant provides more than just cold relief. Vitamin C can also help reduce histamine levels in the body, which are released during allergic reactions and cause symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, and itchy eyes.

One of the best things about citrus fruits (apart from their incredible flavor and amazing health benefits) is how easy it is to incorporate them into your diet. There are many varieties of citrus, enough so you can enjoy citrus practically year-round. Some are available for months at a time, like our famous Rio Ruby™ Red Grapefruit (which is in season from mid-fall to late spring); other gourmet varieties (like our rare, exquisite Honeybell Oranges) have a much shorter season. But all are wonderful, have their own unique flavor, and can be enjoyed whole as a snack, juiced, and in a variety of ways including:

• Segmented into a salad
• Blended with yogurt, honey and ice to make an all-natural smoothie
• Roasted with chicken or fish
• Sliced and added to hot or cold drinks, pasta or grains
• Juiced for making sauces, marinades and salad dressings
• Chopped and added to a citrus salsa
• Zested for baking
• Dried or candied for an on-the-go snack
• Juiced for drinking alone or in mixed alcoholic or nonalcoholic drinks
• Sliced or peeled to make refreshing, citrus-infused water

Peaches

It might surprise you to learn that peaches are also high in vitamin C, which means they can also aid you in managing allergy symptoms by preventing the release of symptom-triggering histamine. Sweet, fragrant, juicy – we typically think of the succulent peach as a summertime treat, perfect for enjoying fresh out of hand while lounging in a backyard hammock, grilled, or baked into a cobbler and topped with ice cream. (You can even add slices of sweet peach to your iced tea!) Pittman & Davis’s Georgia Peaches and Sweet Peaches varieties ensure you can enjoy that wonderful peach flavor all summer, which is great for those who suffer from summer allergies (ragweed, anyone?).

But you don’t have to wait for summer to enjoy incredible peach flavor…just in time to help you manage your spring allergy symptoms, our Sweet Petit Peaches are palm-sized snacks you can savor throughout the spring.

Here are a few ways you can enjoy peaches:

• Whole and fresh out of hand
• Grilled, baked or poached
• Chopped into salads
• Sliced over cereal, yogurt or ice cream
• Bake or used as a dessert topping
• Topped with nuts, whipped cream and honey

Mangoes

Like citrus fruits, mangoes (like our Florida-grown Red Mangoes) are rich sources of vitamin C, making them ideal (and delicious!) additions to your summer diet. But they also have something else to help you manage your allergy symptoms: bromelain.

Bromelain is an enzyme that contains anti-inflammatory properties. According to some studies, it also helps desensitize airways to allergens and reduces irritation and inflammation, potentially easing allergy symptoms like itchy eyes, runny nose, and breathing problems.

Apart from enjoying mangoes alone as a refreshing snack, here are some other ways to add them to your diet:

• In salsas
• In salads
• In sticky rice
• With cottage cheese
• In smoothies
• As sorbet
• With pancakes or waffles
• Grilled and added to meats or ice cream
• In drinks or cocktails

Apples

Since all our fruit at Pittman & Davis is sourced in the US, our Fuji Apples aren’t available until the fall. But as fall allergies can be just as unpleasant as spring and summer allergies, we’re including them here.

Apples (particularly red varieties like our Fuji Apples) are a rich source of quercetin, a flavonoid with antioxidant properties. Quercetin acts as a natural antihistamine by stabilizing mast cells that release histamine, a key mediator in allergic reactions.

Snacking on a whole rosy apple is one of the joys associated with fall, but you can also enjoy apples in countless ways, from simple snacks like apple slices with nut butter to elaborate baked goods like apple pie, apple crisp, or apple cake, or even in savory dishes like chutney or salads.

Try:

• Dipping apple slices into peanut butter, almond butter or Nutella
• Baking thin slices of apple to enjoy as a healthy snack
• Layering apple slices with peanut butter or cheese on a sandwich
• Blending apples with yogurt and other fruits for a breakfast smoothie

Quercetin is an excellent, all-natural allergy symptom reliever, but if you don’t want to wait until fall to reap its many benefits, you can also find it in…

Onions

No, they’re not fruits, but Pittman & Davis carries two varieties of sweet onion (Texas 1015 Onions and Sweet Georgia Onions) because they’re so darn delicious. Our Texas 1015s start off onion season in May, so you can enjoy the benefits for your allergies as well as your taste buds in time for grilling season. So mild they won’t irritate your eyes while you’re slicing them, these sweet onions make the tastiest onion rings imaginable – but we like them best added to grilled burgers and steaks.

These sweet onions can also be:

• Used to make French onion soup
• Roasted or grilled and added to cooked meats
• Made into an onion tart
• Used in chilis and curries in place of yellow onion to tone down the heat
• Stuffed (a la stuffed peppers)
• Made into bacon onion jam
• Added to scrambled eggs
• Added to potato or pasta salad

To Sum Up

If over-the-counter medications aren’t enough to handle your seasonal allergy symptoms (or if they’re tough on your stomach), modifying your diet to include more delicious fruits and vegetables can help you take a more holistic approach to allergy relief. Plus, they’re great for your health in many other ways as well!