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By Ray Hinish, Pharm.D., CPT, LWMC www.illnessisoptional.com | 410-356-2169

Ahh, feel that? Spring is in the air. Ahh, the days are getting warmer. Ahh, the flowers are starting to bloom. And, ahh, ahh achoo! It’s allergy season again.

Blame global warming, blame antibiotics in our food, blame the Japan earthquake, but for those of us who suffer from allergies, the symptoms seem to be getting worse for Marylanders statewide. No matter whom you blame, our misery is real and so, by association, is the misery we inflict upon our loved ones who suffer through our suffering.

With most allergy medications now available without a prescription, you would think that we would be able to get through the season with little discomfort. Unfortunately, even with the most powerful drugs many of us continue to suffer through the Spring with puffy eyes, noses that flow like Niagara Falls, and miserable sinus headaches that guarantee that we will not enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

So, if medicqtions can only offer temporary and minor symptom relief, what are we to do?

Being an allergy sufferer myself, I have spent the last decade investigating some of the most powerful anti-allergy compounds available through nature’s laboratory. When you make use of these powerful compounds, you will typically enjoy fewer symptoms and the symptoms that do occur will typically be less severe.

And that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Allergies occur after exposure to some sort of trigger such as pollen, which we call an “allergen”. Once the allergen makes contact with the moist environment of the eyes, sinuses, and/or throat, the body senses the allergen and, being a natural worrier, mistakes the allergen for some sort of bacteria or virus that is trying to enter into the body.

In an attempt to prevent the perceived threat from entering the blood, the body sends out signals that cause mucous flow (to trap and expel the offending organism), sinus swelling (to prevent entry of the organism deeper into the respiratory tract), and watering of eyes (to expel anything that could pose a risk to sight).

As you can see, the body has your best intentions in mind when it mounts an allergy reaction, the problem is, the body is misperceiving a harmless allergen for a potential threat and thus the reaction is exaggerated and unnecessary.

Nature has manufactured many compounds to counteract this exaggerated allergy response. Interestingly, many of these compounds are produced in fruits and vegetables that occur in season with allergy symptoms.

It is almost as if nature was anticipating the allergy reactions and providing the remedy along with the cause. The problem is, we don’t consume these compounds in any volume in our diet any more.

There are many natural compounds that have proven themselves to be powerful allies in the fight against allergy symptoms.

Quercetin – Considered nature’s most powerful anti-histamine, quercetin is a bioflavonoid that is found abundantly in fruits, vegetables, and teas. Sources include apples, onions, parsley, citrus, grapes, dark cherries, and most berries. Quercetin helps to stabilize mast cells, immune cells that are known to leak histamine, the primary cause of most allergies. Most allergy medications work by inhibiting histamine release or by blocking histamine receptors. Quercetin works by a slightly different mechanism, virtually plugging up the holes in the mast cells that leak histamine. Recommended Doses are 1,000 mg to 3,000 mg in divided doses throughout the day.

Stinging Nettle – Stinging nettle is one of the most powerful anti-allergy herbs available and works very well when combined with quercetin. While quercetin works to prevent histamine release, stinging nettle works on other inflammatory compounds that impact allergy symptoms. Recommended dose: 1000 mg – 4,000 mg per day.

Rosemary Extract – This year I have added rosemary extract to my list of recommended supplements for allergy symptoms due to some compelling research that suggests that a natural compound found in rosemary extract, called rosmarinic acid, can actually balance the immune system in such a way that decreases inflammation in the body. The recommended dose is 50 mg of rosemarinic acid twice daily.

Conventional medicine’s model of disease treatment is to find and target one particular compound that is associated with a particular disease. In the case of allergies, the drug companies attempt to decrease histamine while ignoring other important inflammatory compounds and immune cells.

Natural products allow us to approach a health challenge from multiple pathways without risk of side effects. In fact, we have discovered that there is a synergistic effect from the use of multiple natural products. In other words, the benefits accomplished through the use of multiple herbs and nutrients are far greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Product Recommendations

There are many well-balanced natural allergy formulas on the market. For a foundation product containing quercetin, stinging nettle, and other powerful allergy-normalizing compounds, I recommend you try Natural D-Hist by Orthomolecular products (call our office about this product) or Aller-Res-Q by Natura Health Products. The recommended dose is 2 capsules two to three times daily. This year, I am also recommending a product called Butterbur with Standardized Rosemarinic Acid by Life Extension Products 1 softgel twice daily.

A bonus tip is to flush out the allergens. The sinuses are very good at trapping allergens; unfortunately they are not so good at kicking these offending allergens out. To flush them of these offending products, wash the sinuses every morning and evening with a neti pot or Nasaline nasal syringe. These tools are a powerful way to dramatically improve your sinus allergy symptoms. Admittedly, sinus rinsing is uncomfortable at first, however, like many of our patients who are resistant, you too will quickly find yourself addicted to the clean and open feelings that follow this morning and evening ritual.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, also known as GERD, is one of our society’s most common health complaints with one in ten Americans having daily episodes of heartburn.  Researchers estimate that GERD is experienced by 25%-35% of the population, which makes Proton Pump Inhibitors, a popular medication used to treat GERD, the third best-selling class of drug in the United States.

There is mounting evidence that drug treatment for GERD does not come without potentially serious risk. Such studies suggest that these drugs increase the risk of osteoporosis, depression, serious digestive tract infection, flu, irritable bowel disease and nutrient deficiencies such as vitamin B12 as well as important minerals. Although research has demonstrated these potential consequences, it does not take a multi-million dollar study to be able to reason that medications that interfere with acid secretion in the stomach will also interrupt nutrient absorption while making it easier for harmful organisms such as C. difficile to grow and cause havoc in our digestive tracts.

GERD occurs when the digestive juices back up into the esophagus, which results in an irritation to the fragile lining of the esophagus. The chronic irritation to the esophagus potentially results in a pre-cancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus and then, left unchecked, to esophageal cancer. This process of progression sounds horrible and, drug companies would have you believe, imminent if left untreated.  Research, however, does not support this seemingly rational and unquestionable connection. In fact, a recent review of the data suggests that the connection between GERD and Barrett’s esophagus is so weak that the reviewing scientists felt that the widespread practice of screening patients with GERD, using endoscopy, was not warranted. Other researchers found that patients who were suffering with nighttime symptoms, as well as obese patients, were at a higher likelihood of having GERD progress to Barrett’s and ultimately to cancer. These patients may be the ones who require endoscopy as a screening tool.

What causes GERD?

A common characteristic of GERD is what is known as a relaxed lower esophageal sphincter (LES Valve). This sphincter acts as a door between the esophagus and the stomach. In a healthy person, the door slams tightly shut after food enters the stomach; however, in someone with GERD, this door may not shut snuggly, which can lead to reflux of stomach contents and ultimately irritation of the esophagus. The better question is, “what causes this doorway to remain slightly ajar?”  There are number of reasons for this:

1. Portion size – People who eat large quantities of food can cause the stomach to expand well beyond the normal stretched size. Regular exposure to this degree of stretch can cause a deformity in the doorframe so that a gap remains, even when the door is shut. Portion size of food can have an immediate and a more long-term effect. If you eat a large meal right now, the stretching of the stomach can immediately cause symptoms; long-term exposure to such large portion sizes can result in a deformity in the doorframe even when the stomach is empty. Both of these situations can be remedied by eating smaller quantities.
2. Mint – Mint has a relaxing effect on the esophageal sphincter, you may want to avoid using mint candies and gum if you suffer with GERD.
3. Deep fried food – These foods slow the movement of food from the stomach to the intestines, this increases the likelihood of contents moving into the esophagus.
4. Late night eating – This increases the likelihood that food will be in the stomach while your body is in a horizontal position.
5. Medications – There are many medications that can cause problems with GERD: Calcium channel blockers, beta blockers (metoprolol, Toprol XL, etc.), NSAIDs (Ibuprophen, Naproxen, Advil, Aleve) , aspirin, nitrates, anti-depressant medications, bisphophonates (Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, etc.) and progesterone.
6. Excess weight, especially central obesity.
7. Food allergies and sensitivities. Although this is an underappreciated cause of reflux disease, it is important to note and it may be worthwhile to look for offending foods and precede with eliminating these foods from the diet.  These food sensitivities can be worsened by acid suppression through the use of medications like Nexium, Prevacid, Tums, etc.
8. Stress is a major cause of GERD. When you are stressed, the digestive tract does not function properly. This can result in a poorly functioning LES valve and more reflux.
9. Other factors – There are other factors that have been linked to GERD such as: Smoking, spicy food, citrus, tomato products, caffeine, alcohol and chocolate.

Isn’t GERD Caused by Too Much Acid in the Stomach?

Although there is a condition, called Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome, where the stomach produces excess acid, this condition is quite rare. In fact, many doctors have discovered that 9 out of 10 people, who suffer with reflux, actually do not produce enough acid to trigger the closure of the LES valve. In addition, when stomach juices do not reach a particular acid level, the food contents sit stagnant and the food begins to putrefy and rot. As the food sits, it ferments and causes excess gas to form. This bubbling action can further worsen reflux by pushing the contents of the stomach into the esophagus.

So what do we do about it?

1. Have a careful assessment of medications and request your doctor remove or alter any medication listed above that may be linked to reflux. Please note, most doctors and pharmacists do not know about the link between these medications and reflux.
2. Learn about and implement a food elimination diet to try and pinpoint certain food triggers. Wheat, gluten and dairy are common culprits.
3. Replace acid in the stomach. It is a little known fact that a lack of acid in the stomach may be responsible for the reflux. This goes contrary to the conventional belief about what causes GERD; excess acid and poor sphincter tone. See our article about Betaine HCl Therapy for GERD. Taking an enzyme along with the Betaine HCl could result in further improvements.
4. Take an Enzyme – Plant enzymes work throughout the entire digestive tract to break down the food that we consume. Through the use of enzymes, we can decrease the time it takes to move the contents of the stomach from the stomach to the intestines. A potent enzyme that we commonly recommend is OrthoDigestzyme V. What makes these enzymes so powerful is the fact that they work through a broad range of acid levels. If the pH within your digestive tract is off, these enzymes will still work. This will often improve transit times and decrease gas and bloating.
5. DGL Ultra – This is a chewable form of licorice that helps to coat, soothe and stimulate healing in the esophagus and stomach. Chew 1 tablet before each meal and at bedtime.
6. Acid Assist – For symptomatic relief and/or in serious cases of GERD, Acid Assist is a chewable tablet that forms buffered foam on top of the stomach acid. This allows normal digestion to occur beneath the foam while preventing acid from jumping into the esophagus. This is to be used as needed to control symptoms while you are working to rebalance the body.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study found that subjects who took 730 mg of quercetin daily enjoyed blood pressures that were 7 mm/Hg lower for systolic (upper number) and 5 mm/Hg lower for diastolic (lower number) after just 28 days.

Dr. Ray Hinish’s Notes:

Quercetin is a bioflavonoid that is most commonly used in the management of allergies, although it is well known for many other benefits to the body. This appears to be the first study to demonstrate benefit to blood pressure. It is very interesting that blood pressure came down despite the normal blood pressure of the participants of the study. The dose of quercetin used in the study was quite conservative, the dose used in management of allergies is typically 1500 – 2500 mg daily.

(J Nutr. 2007 Nov;137(11):2495-11)

There are a few simple rules to follow when choosing the foods that are permitted to enter your mouth. Remember, every year all of the molecules in your body have been replaced with entirely new molecules. Those molecules will be comprised of the molecules that you put in your mouth through your food. So, it would make good sense to fill your body with healthy, living enzymes and nutrients.

This section will introduce you to natural eating, it is not a full course on healthy eating but it should give you plenty of information to get you started.

Rule number one, follow the golden rule: “Eat foods in the package that nature provides!” You don’t see orange juice growing on a tree, you see oranges growing on a tree. Follow this rule and you will be half way to a healthy diet. You see, when you drink a glass of orange juice you are getting the sugar equivalent of 4-6 oranges. This sugar has been liberated from the fiber of the pulp and is thus much more readily absorbed into the blood. Whenever sugar enters into the blood at such a fast rate it reeks havoc regardless of whether that product comes from fruit or not. It is much healthier to eat the whole orange. You will get the fiber and the extra bioflavonoids! This rule goes well beyond OJ, if you apply it to the majority of your diet, you will literally change your health in one swoop. It is THAT powerful. You don’t need to learn complex rules, count calories, or read packages, just eat REAL food from nature as often as possible.

Rule number two, nutrient density decides the quality of food. Nutrient density has to do with how much nutrition there is in a food in comparison to how many calories are present. High levels of nutrition and low calorie count make for an ideal food. Any food with low or average nutrient levels along with high calorie levels is considered unhealthy. If you eat lots of vegetables and fruits while following the Golden Rule, then you can almost never go wrong. Pick the fruits and vegetables that are the most colorful as these will have the most healthful qualities! Although you can not always guarantee the presence of vitamins and minerals, you can always guarantee the presence of healthy phytochemicals such as carotenoids by merely looking at the product. These phytochemicals are what give fruits and vegetables their vivid color.

What About Meat?

There is a lot of controversy regarding how meat impacts your health. On one side of the story you hear the high protein arguments and on the other the vegetarian arguments.
If we look at our Paleolithic ancestors, it is estimated that 45-85% of their calories came from animal sources such as fish, insects, birds, amphibians, mammals, etc. Scientists estimate the daily protein intake of Paleolithic man to be 300-400 grams of protein per day, along with 200 grams of fat.  (Sisson, Mark. Primal Blueprint)

The debate surrounding vegetarian versus omnivores living is ridiculous because it is possible to be very healthy or very unhealthy eating either way. Personally, I choose a omnivore lifestyle that includes large quantities of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I choose lean meats and consume these lean sources of protein with most of my main meals. If you choose to be vegetarian, you must be sure to supplement with sublingual B12 and consume plenty of sources of vegetarian protein. Regardless of whether you choose a vegetarian or omnivore lifestyle, there is one rule that you must follow to enjoy optimal health…

Third, cut out refined carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, white rice, candy and sugar as much as possible. There is nothing good coming out of these foods but taste. We do not need to drop them out of our diet completely, however, we do need to significantly limit their intake. With a little self-discipline we can learn to love healthier foods like we love these nutrient poor, carbohydrate based products. If you can achieve these goals, you will be well on your way to optimal health!

If you would like a great book suggestion to get you started on the path of healthy eating I would highly suggest Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. This book really helps people understand a healthy diet and provides TONS of great health tips that you can put to use right away.

Finally, drink your water! Few people realize just how important water intake is to your body’s health. I have seen peoples energy skyrocket, blood pressures drop, allergies improve,  and memories return to youthful levels, simply by drinking more water! Here are some tips for working more water into your lifestyle:

1. Keep a 32 oz bottle of water on your desk, sip at it all day long. If you freeze it over night you can sip at it as it melts throughout the day. If you do freeze it please be sure to fill the bottle only two-thirds the way to allow the water to expand.
2. Get a NSF certified filter for home use and USE IT! A good filter is New Wave 10-Stage Filter .