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''Natural Allergy Remedies'' by Chris O'Brien, Vitamin Retailer Vol.8 No.3 March 2001
Budding trees, spring flowers, fresh grass – that jubilant transition from winter into spring – is less welcome and more a sight for runny eyes for some. Along with mother nature’s beautiful bouquet comes the invisible blanket of pollens and spores that can range from annoying to paralyzing for those suffering from allergies. A recent story in U.S. News and World Report (May 2000) reported almost 39 percent of adults and 40 percent of children in America suffer from allergic rhinitis – that itchy eyed, stuffed head, runny nose syndrome. This includes reactions to animal hair and dander, spores, dust, molds, dust mites and the classic hayfever. According to Tom Bohager, director of Enzymedica in Punta Gorda, FL., last year the rhinitis group spent $4.5 billion on doctor visits and incurred $3.8 million in missed school and work costs.
In fact, sinus and allergy-relief products are the number-one selling OTC products, said Mary Beth Warkins, director of research and development at Botanical Laboratories in Ferndale, WA. The challenge is getting consumers to make the transition from drugs to supplements. Besides the cliché “natural product” pitch, there are some pretty good reasons to get rid of those nasal sprays and anti-histamines in favor of some of the herbal-based remedies. But to better understand how the products affect allergies, let’s take a quick look at what an allergic reaction is – from a biological standpoint.
It’s More Than Just A Nose Tickle
“An allergic reaction happens when our immune system overreacts to a common, everyday substance,” said Watkins. “During this process, the body goes through an inflammatory phase and builds antibodies against the substance.” To get even more technical, there is usually an imbalance between helper T1 immune cells and helper T2 immune cells. The T1s regulate the T2s, which are the responding immune cells.
Here’s the typical scenario: a few million bits of pollen enter your lungs and some get into the blood stream, causing the T2 cells to go on the alert as they think they have found a deadly substance. These cells trigger the release of interleukin 4 and other cytokines – immune cells that stimulate inflammation. These in turn stimulate mast cells which release histamines. The histamines are primarily responsible for the dreadful symptoms – the itchy eyes, the runny nose and even hives.
Now, let’s say your best friend is next to you inhaling pollen by the lungful and nothing’s happening. Why? Mostly because your friend’s T1 cells are keeping the T2 cells in check saying, “Hey, don’t worry about that stuff. That’s pollen, not poison.” Now it’s not quite that simple or linear – the immune system has a complex and interdependent function that relates to all of the body’s systems – but that’s the gist of it.
Conventional Solutions
When this reaction happens, most people rush to the supermarket of pharmacy and pick up some antihistamines, decongestants, or other OTCs. They may even get a prescription of the allergy is bad enough to trigger asthma of other conditions like hives. But there’s problems with these kinds of treatments – they have side effects. Some of the most common OTC allergy remedies include:
· Antihistamines. These drugs actually stop the release of histamines in the body, bringing temporary relief to the sufferer – temporary being the operative word. “Antihistamines attach to the mast cells to prevent the release of histamine,” said Watkins. “But when the medication wears off six to eight hours later, the cells release all that built-up histamine and the symptoms return.” This cycle can create an addictive dependency on these drugs. “Antihistamines can have side effects including drowsiness, dry mouth, difficult urination, confusion, and can give kids nightmares,” said Cheryl Myers, manager of medical communications and education in Enzymatic Therapy in Green Bay, WI. “ But they work very well at clearing up symptoms and that’s why so many people use them.”
· Decongestants also clear up symptoms by constricting blood vessels and drying out mucous membranes. An effective short-term treatment, they can lead to a syndrome known as re-bound rhinitis, said Myers, “where you use them for too long and your body overreacts, creating even more symptoms than before.” Decongestants may also cause nervousness, sleeplessness or elevation of blood pressure.
· Bronchodilators open up the lung passages to make breathing easier and may have similar side effects including nausea, headache, nervousness, restlessness and sleeplessness.
· Anti-inflammatories and other medications such as corticosteroids may be necessary in extreme cases such as asthma to make normal breathing possible, but again carry potential side effects and risks from long-term use. “It’s a constant weighing of risk and benefit,” said Myers. “Natural products are not without problems either, but they do address things in a more holistic sense – not just how we can crush the symptom, but how we can support the health of all the biological systems involved in the allergic reaction?”
Choosing An Allergy Remedy
Most of the supplements available aim to remedy the cause of an allergic response – the over-reactive immune system – while relieving symptoms. Although different formulations originate from different schools of natural medicine, each camp, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the new “scientific” school, has put together its best allergy remedies based on its experience and ideology. Here’s a look at fundamentals and some of the products available from each category.
Homeopathy
“Homeopathy works by using dilutions to stimulate healing deep within the energetic control systems in the body.” Said Frank King, Jr., ND, DC, president of King Bio in Leicester, NC. “These systems include the nervous system and the meridians, which contribute to controlling the body’s functions, and perhaps even more esoteric systems like charkas, which cannot be measured.”
In homeopathy’s like-cures-like philosophy, “if you have a ragweed allergy, a ragweed dilution can help negate the effects of ragweed and teach the body to react more ‘appropriately’ to ragweed,” said King. “This effect happens on such a broad sprectrum in the body that we don’t have the instrumentation to nail down the exact mechanisms. But we can see clinically that it works.” Some empirical challenges lie in the fact that a dilution is almost a non-substance – literally containing no molecules of the material it represents – so it is hard to find a measurable biological reaction to homeopathic formulations.
Botanical Laboratories in Ferndale, WA, produces the Natra-Bio product line including the bioAllers’ specific allergy relief formulas for tree pollen, molds, yeast, grass, grain, dairy and animals and general formulas for indoors, outdoors and pets. “These homeopathics are a natural, safe treatment for allergies that don’t elicit addictive behavior cycles, and work with the body instead of trying to shut responses off,” said Watkins. “This is thought to be a healthier way of working with your immune system instead of constantly shortchanging it.”
Boiron USA in Newton Square, PA, makes the homeopathics Sinusalia for sinus congestion relief, and Sabadil for hayfever symptom relief. HomeoCare in Riverdale, NY, makes Homeocare Allergy Relief, a homeopathic formulation designed to help reduce sensitivity to allergens and to effectively relieve sneezing, coughing, sinus congestion, itchy watery eyes, and hives without drowsiness or other side effects.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Dating back thousands of years, TCM employs a wholebody, or systemic approach to treating allergies. “From a TCM perspective, allergies are a weakness in the immune function,” said Phyllis Tan, co-founder of BMK International in Wellesley, MA. “Chinese herbal therapies use a combination of herbs to address the underlying conditions – to rebuild the immune functions so that in the long run they function better.”
Not unlike homeopathy, it’s difficult to talk about the mechanisms of TCM in a way that is acceptable to our Western scientific-minds. TCM describes allergies using terms such as dampness and heat – which aren’t symptoms, but conditions of organ systems – and their relationship to other body systems. Without the proper training and vernacular, talking about a condition in TCM can sound like a foreign language. But despite the vocabulary barrier, TCM products are shooting for the same goal – relieving dampness roughly means clearing up congestion, difficulty breathing, water eyes, and restoring balance to the immune system and the body.
BMK International makes Neo-Concept Aller Relief with such herbs as siler to improve the immune function, and cyprus bark and magnolia flower to gently dry out congestion. “We are currently doing a study at the Alliance Integrative Center (hospital) in Cincinnati, OH, which has found (to date) Aller Relief to be 80 percent effective in relieving allergies,” said Tan. The product comes in a food-based extract, which is a whole-herb formula, she said. Other standardized extracts may contain significant increases of single compounds from other sources, and do not represent the complete herb. Because Aller Relief capsules contain the whole herb, they can also be opened and used to make tea, she noted.
Conventional Science Supplements
This class of supplements is understood on more of an empirical basis, employing herbs and other ingredients that are coming out of current research, or have been supported by western scientific studies. Among these substances are phytochemicals and known natural anti-inflammatories with newly discovered applications. And one of the latest trends in allergy relief is the use of enzymes.
“An allergy can be defined as an inflammatory response to an undigested substance, whether it’s food or something in the environment that the body can’t eliminate because of enzyme deficiencies,” said Lisa Turner, co-author of The Enzyme Cure (Future Medicine Publishing 1997). “And if foods aren’t digested properly, the body recognizes them as foreign invaders and launches a massive attack against them. This constant stress on the immune system can further contribute to the development of allergies.” Relieving this kind of allergic reaction and achieving better digestive health can be attained through the use of enzymes, said Turner.
The main two types of enzymes used to treat allergies are protease and amylase. Protease enzymes break down proteins. Amylase enzymes breakdown carbohydrates – but there is another connection. “Amylase enzymes actually have antihistamine qualities,” said Bohager. “People who suffer from allergies, even airborne allergies, are almost always amylase deficient. Research has found that when the histamine levels in the body go up, more amylase is secreted to counteract them.”
“Protease not only breaks down proteins, it binds with alpha 2 macroglobulin and has some of the qualities of white blood cells including seeking out and destroying pathogens like bacteria and viruses. We have found that the combination of protease and amylase helps people overcome allergies,” said Bohager.
Enzymedica has a new product called Carbo, which was formulated to aid in the proper digestion of carbohydrates, protein, fats and dairy products. “This formulation contains the highest amount of amylase found in any of Enzymedica’s products and may assist with allergy relief,” said Bohager.
Enzymatic Therapy makes several allergy products including SinuGuard, with a blend of herbs to support sinus and mucous membrane health. Air-Power contains glycerol guaiacolate, a natural plant expectorant that helps to loosen phlegm and bronchial secretions. AllerClear is a natural decongestant that combines pseudoephedrine with an all-natural base of vitamins and minerals. “The pseudoephedrine is safe to take at recommended doses,” said Myers. “You get the OTC effect and the other vitamins and ingredients to support respiratory health for the allergic type.”
Essential Phytosterolins in Acton, Ontario, Canada, makes Moducare®, a combination of plant sterols and sterolins that support the immune system. These compounds are phytonutrients that work in the body to stop the immune system from overreacting. “It’s not just one thing – you’re dealing with many cells in the immune system,” said Lorna VanderHaeghe, spokesperson for Moducare® and author of The Immune System Cure (Kensington 1999), “but basically the sterols and sterolins turn on the gene which activates the helper T1 cells and help regulate the overactive immune system. Antihistamines will stop the mast cells from releasing histamine, but plant sterols will stop the immune response that triggers the mast cells in the first place.”
Rainbow Light in Santa Cruz, CA, recently launched Allergy Rescue which contains, among other herbs and vitamins, quercetin, a substance that helps prevent the release of histamine into the blood stream by stabilizing the membrane of mast cells, and bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme that may help dissolve foreign proteins that contribute to the allergic response. It also contains a blend of TCM herbs to stimulate the immune sytem.
Sweet Annie Herbs in Center Hall, PA, makes an herbal blend called FACS (flu, allergies, cold and sinus) Formula. Designed as a natural antibiotic for respiratory health it contains a host of allergy-relieving herbs including: echinacea root, blue vervain, thyme, and rose hips, propolis and quercetin. “We also offer Sniffles Away tea with organic peppermint and other herbs that clear up the head, and Breathing Easy tea, a combination herb tea with ma huang as an FDA approved bronchial dilator.” Said Ann Marie Wishard, founder of Sweet Annie Herbs and author of Herb Talk (self published).
New Treatments On The Way
There is at least one new development on the horizon for allergy sufferers. A supplement of recent renown, recognized as an anti-inflammatory and touted for its joint-healing properties, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is acquiring yet another hat as an allergy-relief supplement.
According to Stanley Jacob, M.D., medical consultant to Cardinal Nutrition in Vancouver, WA, forthcoming findings from recent studies may have isolated MSM’s mechanism in relieving allergies. “We have already been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal to publish our results, and would like to wait until then to publicly release our findings,” he said. “But I can say that I have worked with MSM and allergies since 1977, and I have seen literally thousands of successful cases. I think its efficacy is at least equal to the antihistaminic group without the usual side effects.” The study results should be available late spring.
Said Ron Lawrence, Ph.D.,M.D., medical director for Carolwood Corp. in Greenville, PA, “My experience has been that MSM is excellent for the treatment of pollen-type allergies, particularly in children.”
Certainly MSM will not be the last supplement to be discovered as an allergy aid. And with peak allergy season just around the corner, it’s time to dust off the shelves and start stocking up on allergy remedies.
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