Touching the fresh leaf of a stinging nettle is good way to get an allergic reaction, not stop one! But when cooked or dried, nettles have no sting and can in fact help allergic rhinitis. A 1990 study gave 69 allergic rhinitis patients 300 mg freeze-dried nettle twice per day or placebo. Fifty-eight per cent of the patients given nettle rated it effective in relieving their symptoms, as opposed to 37 percent receiving placebo.

Nettles have been used medicinally for thousands of years, but scientists still aren't sure why they work, only that they do. Recommended dosage: 300 to 400 mg two to four times per day.

Congested Sinuses

Bromelain is a protein-digesting enzyme from the stem of the pineapple plant. It reduces swelling of the throat, sinuses, and nasal passages, and thins mucus. Take 500 mg three to four times per day.

Hot peppers open your sinuses but work only when eaten (i.e., no capsules), so you'd better enjoy spicy food! Warm cups of sage, yarrow, rosemary, lemon grass, ginger, peppermint, or spearmint infusions are milder decongestant options. Essential oils of camphor, eucalyptus, lemon grass, and tea tree are very effective decongestants, but are toxic in relatively small quantities if ingested, so add one-half teaspoon total oils to a vaporizer running where you sleep or work.

Coughing, Dry Sore Throat, Lingering Bronchitis

The Chinese herb fritillary is excellent for these conditions, alone or teamed with loquat and licorice in syrups/lozenges (take as directed on manufacturer's label).

Whenever allergy season strikes, sidestep the sneezes with a natural approach.

Bee Pollen - Effective But Misunderstood Remedy for Hay Fever

Bee pollen consists of blended pollen grains collected by honeybees from a wide variety of plants. It is rich in antiallergic, antinflammatory, and immune system normalizing phytochemicals - as are many medicinal plants.

Be wary of claims that state that small amounts of bee pollen over time works like a series of allergy shots to desensitize you to pollen allergies or "hay fever." or claims that state that only bee pollen from your local neighborhood should be consumed. It's important to know there is no scientific evidence for either of these.

While some degree of generalized pollen desensitization activity cannot be ruled out, it is likely that phytochemicals in bee pollen provide the relief.

Take the Bee Pollen Test

If you want to try bee pollen for seasonal allergy relief, make sure you use only fresh, moist pollen granules that have been deep-frozen until shipped out for sale. (Pressed or heat-treated pollen is inferior.) Take only a few granules at a time to make sure you're not allergic to it.

Dosage

If you have no adverse reaction, increase your pollen intake slowly to up to a tablespoon at once. For both chronic and acute allergies, eat one to three tablespoons per day. If you can't learn to like the taste, take at least eight capsules or tablets per day. Chewable flavored tablets are also available.

Precautions
Some people are highly allergic to bee pollen and other beehive products. Their allergic reactions only get worse with time, and a desensitizing process can't be expected to be successful - in fact it may be life threatening. And you don't just have to be allergic to bee stings to react: you can also be allergic to the pollen, to "bee dander," to proteins, or to mold spores in bee products.

C. Leigh Broadhurst, PhD, is a research geochemist with a US government agricultural research facility in Maryland and a consultant to the natural products industry. She is the author of many books and articles, including Natural Relief from Asthma (alive Books, 2002), Health and Healing with Bee Products (alive Books, 2000), and The Whole Family Guide to Natural Asthma Relief (Avery Penguin-Putnam, 2002).

Source: alive #258, April 2004