Allergy Remedies and Other Stuff

Summer school is here and I’m sure your unhappy about that, I don’t have summer school until later in the summer because I’m taking the second session here at UCI so I have a few more weeks of no school heheheee.  We have a lot to cover today so let’s get to it.

Soothe Spring Allergies: 10 Food and Herb Fixes for Allergy Relief

When talking about natural allergy relief, sometimes you hear more about the foods to avoid than about the ones you should be eating. For instance, about a third of people allergic to pollen deal with an added annoyance called oral allergy syndrome, meaning they experience generally mild symptoms of an itchy, tingly mouth, throat, or lips when they eat certain tree fruits or plants. Someone allergic to tree pollen may experience agitation from oral allergy syndrome when eating apples, cherries, plums, almonds, or walnuts. If ragweed causes you grief each hay fever season, you could also experience sensitivity to melons, bananas, chamomile tea, or echinacea in any form. And you may have heard the suggestion to give up milk and meat during hay fever season because the grass cows eat could stir up your allergies. The good news, though, is that there are lots of foods and herbs out there that can actually help bring you natural allergy relief.

Here are your secret tools for beating allergies, naturally:

1. Broccoli

This precious piece of produce serves two purposes in annihilating your allergy symptoms. It's high in allergy-relieving vitamin C and it's a member of the crucifer family, plants that have been shown to clear out blocked-up sinuses. Researchers have found about 500 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C a day can ease allergy symptoms, and just one cup of raw broccoli packs about 80 mg.

2. Citrus Fruits

To hit that 500-milligram vitamin C level from whole food sources, you can also turn to oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. A large orange contains nearly 100 mg of C, while half of a large grapefruit contains about 60 mg.

3. Kale

Don't just admire kale as a garnish. Eat it! This superfood packs a one-two punch against allergies; like broccoli, it's a member of the crucifer family, but it's also rich in the carotenoid department, pigments believed to aid in fighting allergy symptoms.

4. Collard Greens

Highjacked by hay fever? Put collard greens on the menu for the same reason as kale. Their phytochemical content, mainly, carotenoids, eases allergy issues. To increase the amount of carotenoids your body absorbs, eat the veggie with some sort of fat source. One idea? Lightly cook it in olive oil.

5. Stinging Nettle

You can't discuss natural allergy remedies without hailing stinging nettle. It helps stifle inflammation that occurs when you're experiencing allergy symptoms. Stinging nettle contains histamine, the chemical your body produces during an allergic reaction, so it helps you acquire tolerance. Look for 500-mg freeze-dried nettle capsules in your natural health store, and take three times a day. That's the best form for allergy relief; it won't sting because it's freeze-dried. Long-term use of the herb is not recommended, since it can deplete your potassium stores.

6. Butterbur

Leaves and roots of the butterbur shrub contain compounds called petasines, which can block some reactions that spark allergies. Does this plant really work? Science says yes, though its use is not generally recommended for young children, people older than 65, or those with ragweed allergies. A large British meta-analysis of six studies looking at butterbur as an allergy reliever found five studies supported the claim. The roots of the perennial shrub generally contain high levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can damage the liver, so herbalists recommend looking for butterbur products that specify no pyrroli zidines, or ones that use a CO2 extracting process, which limits the amount of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Swiss and German researchers found that butterbur was just as effective as the prescription antihistamine cetirizine (Zyrtec) after two weeks of treatment. It's also been shown to relieve sneezing, itching, runny nose, stuffiness, and watery eyes in just five days.

7. Elderberries

Immune-strengthening elderberries are often hailed as a natural flu treatment, but the berries serve a purpose in natural allergy relief, too. Try elderberry wine, juice, or jam to tap the fruit's beneficial flavonoids that reduce inflammation.

8. Onions and Garlic

Quercetin is another secret weapon that helps fight allergies by acting like an antihistamine. Onions and garlic are packed with quercetin, as are apples. (If you go with eating apples, just make sure they don't stimulate oral allergy syndrome.).

9. Parsley

According to Michael Castleman, author of The New Healing Herbs (Rodale, 2009), parsley inhibits the secretion of allergy-inducing histamine. (Parsley is a diuretic, so talk to your doctor before taking supplements or eating large amounts of it.)

10. Anti-Allergy Soup!

There's nothing like a warm bowl of soup when you're feeling sick, and while this usually pertains to chicken soup for the flu, an expert on herbs developed this soup to naturally battle allergies. In The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods: Proven Natural Remedies to Treat and Prevent More Than 80 Common Health Concerns (Rodale, 2008), herb expert James Duke, PhD, recommends this allergy-fighting soup recipe:

• Boil an onion (with skin) and a clove of garlic.
• Add ½ cup chopped leaves and diced taproots of evening primrose.
• After boiling for about 5 minutes, add a cup of nettle leaves and a cup of diced celery stalks, and boil gently for another 3 to 10 minutes.
• Before eating, remove the onion skins and eat the soup it's while still warm.
• Season with wine vinegar, black pepper, hot pepper, turmeric, curry powder, or celery seed.

8 Foods That'll Make You Look Younger

Kicking nicotine and avoiding excessive sunlight will help, but the secret to healthy-looking skin is the food you eat. "The wrong choices cause inflammation down to the cellular level," says dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, the author of Forever Young, a book about how eating right can keep you looking younger than your years. "And while you can't see it, that inflammation leads directly to wrinkling, sagging, and premature aging." Here is what to eat to prevent that from happening.

1. Sweet Potatoes

Beta-carotene, which makes these tubers orange, balances your skin's pH, helps combat dryness, and promotes cell turnover, all resulting in smoother skin.

2. Wild Salmon

The pigment that makes the fish pink, astaxanthin, is a powerful foe of free radicals, rogue molecules that damage cell membranes and DNA and cause skin to age. A study found that eating one serving every five days can prevent actinic keratoses—ugly rough patches that are precancerous.

3. Tomatoes

The fruit's red pigment, lycopene, is a potent antioxidant that shields skin from sun damage—like sunscreen, but from the inside out. To best absorb lycopene, eat tomatoes with olive oil.

4. Citrus Fruits

Vitamin C is essential to building collagen, a vital component of young-looking skin, which starts breaking down in your twenties. Citrus also contains bioflavonoids, which protect skin from UV rays and help prevent cell death.

5. Leafy Greens

Spinach, kale, and other greens contain lutein, which protects skin from sun-induced inflammation and wrinkles.

6. Stay Away From White Foods

Need another reason to avoid white bread, pasta, rice, and other refined grain products? They're quickly broken down into the ultimate white food: sugar. Once in the bloodstream, sugar bonds with protein and creates advanced glycation end products (aptly abbreviated AGEs), which cause collagen to become inflamed and stiff, leading to wrinkles.

7. Why Food Is Always Better Than a Pill

"There are so many factors in food that haven't been studied. It's very likely that these unknowns work synergistically for a bigger benefit than what you can find in a supplement." —Nicholas Perricone, dermatologist

8. Red Wine and Beer

According to dermatologist Leslie Baumann, red wine contains skin-friendly grape-seed extract and resveratrol, two powerful antioxidants. Hops in beer, it turns out, may also offer antioxidant benefits.

 

BBQ v. Grilling: What's the Difference?

What exactly is the difference between barbecue and grilling? Some people think barbecue is a sauce, or anything that comes off the grill, but technically, barbecue is a method of cooking just like grilling is. The only difference is the length of time and the amount of heat.


Barbecue
Long, low, and slow. The low temperature and the resulting length of time the meat is cooked allows for the food to soak up the smoke and rub flavors, and to become very tender and moist. Think ribs, pork shoulder, and brisket as barbecue.

Grilling
This is the method with which most people are familiar. It is the method of cooking food hot and fast on your grill. Burgers, chicken, steak, and seafood are typically grilled, but you can also grill vegetables and even fruit.

Barbecue v. Cookout
When a Southerners says "Y'all come on over for a BBQ!" it means you're going to be chowing down on juice ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, and the traditional sides of coleslaw, banana pudding, and tea (the sweet version, of course). Northerners tend to use the "BBQ" term for what Southerners usually consider a cookout—hot dogs and burgers.

 

 

PointsPlus Quinoa and Apple Breakfast Cereal

A delicious protein-packed cereal that also makes a sweet side dish — great with raisins, crystallized ginger, sautéed pear, nuts and dried berries, too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 sprays cooking spray 
• 1 tablespoon butter, divided 
• 2 medium apples, chopped or diced 
• 2 cups water, cold 
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 3 tablespoon packed brown sugar 
• ¼ cups fat-free skim milk 

Directions

Soak quinoa in a bowl of water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, coat a large skillet with cooking spray; set over medium heat. When skillet is hot, melt ½ tablespoon butter until it just starts to sizzle. Add apples and cook, turning occasionally, until apples are soft and begin to caramelize, about 5-10 minutes depending on personal taste; set aside. Rinse and drain quinoa. Add quinoa and 2 cups of cold water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, cover pan tightly and allow quinoa to simmer for 10 minutes. When quinoa is cooked (a little tail will appear on each grain), remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Add remaining ½ tablespoon butter, cinnamon, sugar and milk; stir to combine and fold in apples. 

Details

Serves 6
Total Time: 30 minutes