The Sneezin' Season

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Test-tube studies suggest, however, that some herbs may work similarly to cromolyn sodium—in other words, they may help inhibit the release of histamine from mast cells in the first place. Studies haven’t been done in humans to confirm that such herbs, taken by mouth, work in this way; you simply have to try them to see whether they give you relief. Fortunately, most of them are safe and mostly free of any side effects and interactions.

A second class of herbs may be helpful for allergies because they reduce the inflammation caused by the other chemicals released in allergic reactions. Some herbs may exert both actions. Herbs don’t work the same way as antihistamines, but herbalists believe they may help symptoms by blocking histamine release.

Food to silence a sneeze

Berries of all kinds, along with other fruits and flowers, are rich in plant pigments called flavonoids. In test-tube studies, various flavonoids inhibit release of histamine and other inflammatory chemicals. These plant chemicals also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to help contain the havoc that your immune system is wreaking during allergy season. Deborah Wiancek, N.D., author of The Natural Healing Companion (Rodale, 2000), recommends that her allergic patients eat up to 1 cup of fresh or frozen berries or ¹/₃ cup of dried berries per day. She also recommends drinking rose-hip tea because it contains both flavonoids and vitamin C, another natural antihistamine (see “Supportive supplements” on page 58).

Onions are a good source of quercetin, the most abundant flavonoid in the diet as well as a potent antioxidant. Quercetin has actually been tested on the cells of people with year-round nasal allergy symptoms at Japan’s Nippon Medical School; it proved to significantly block histamine release. Onions also contain thiosulfinates, a group of substances that seem to have anti- inflammatory activity and can inhibit constriction of the bronchial passages.

Wiancek recommends eating about a quarter of a medium-sized onion a day. The quercetin concentration is greatest in the skin and outer rings, so there are tricks to cooking onions that can maximize their benefits. James A. Duke, Ph.D., author of The Green Pharmacy (Rodale, 1997) and Dr. Duke’s Essential Herbs (Rodale, 1999), starts out by putting the whole onion—peel and all—in a soup stock. After the onion has simmered until it’s soft, he squeezes it out of its skin, dices it, returns it to the pot and discards the skin. Other food sources of quercetin include grapefruit, red wine, apples, garlic, cayenne pepper, cabbage, and black tea.

The problem with quercetin is that, apparently, the body doesn’t absorb it very well. One study found that 52 percent of the quercetin in a meal of fried onions was absorbed compared to 24 percent of a quercetin supplement. Moreover, it’s not easy to get a therapeutic dose of quercetin from food. As Duke puts it, “You’d have to eat a kilo of outer onion rings to get 345 mg of quercetin.”

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