I had not thought about the difference between whole-wheat & 'white' bread in this context but it makes sense. I have a slice of bread about once in two weeks for toasted cheese and I am no longer sure what eating a lot of bread feels like. Once you go low carb the desire to eat carbs just vanishes.
Interesting. Quite similar history. Had them awful when young (hay fever, crazy itchy eyes, puffy face) and as a young adult it was more swollen sinus, sneezing, runny nose. The latter was worse. The eye stuff was acute and would subside pretty quickly. The sinus attacks, once triggered, could persist for hours to days.
But it all just seemed to go away with age. My own Paleo-ish (little to no grains) from '08 onward...now just whole foods including some whole grains (like 12-grain bread, just for trace minerals and zero problem, ave a slice every day or 2), is pretty confounding, honestly, because I had already been better for years. But, who knows.
Once thing I completely agree with is how you talk about triggering. So, it's not so much the pollen, dust, whatever you're hyper allergic to, but if you're in an infammatory state already, those things just kick you over into a cascade. At lease it feels that way to me.
I keep just straight up Benadryl on hand (Claratin is also ok) and in the rare event I feel a triggering event is in progress, popping a single one seems to nip it in the bud.
Another thing is that I was always just slightly congested and always had to have nose spray on hand (Afrin). Since moving to Thailand in Jan 2020 and nose sprays aren't common (they use those menthol inhaler thingies), I just stopped using all of them and even the low-level congestion has gone away.
Antihistamines such as Clarityn can also be replaced with diet if preferred. I find both first-gen and second-gen antihistamines make me drowsy and grumpy, so in hayfever season I take high-dose (1g) vitamin C, nettle tea, ginger tea, turmeric and quercetin in rotation about every 6 hours; they are as effective as the antihistamine drugs, and they stay active for about 6 hours which is about the same as first-gen antihistamines but less than second-gen. I gather watercress, plums and chamomile tea are also effective although I haven't tried them in season. I've also had very useful success with probiotics (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria) although they don't entirely eliminate the symptoms.
I had not thought about the difference between whole-wheat & 'white' bread in this context but it makes sense. I have a slice of bread about once in two weeks for toasted cheese and I am no longer sure what eating a lot of bread feels like. Once you go low carb the desire to eat carbs just vanishes.
Interesting. Quite similar history. Had them awful when young (hay fever, crazy itchy eyes, puffy face) and as a young adult it was more swollen sinus, sneezing, runny nose. The latter was worse. The eye stuff was acute and would subside pretty quickly. The sinus attacks, once triggered, could persist for hours to days.
But it all just seemed to go away with age. My own Paleo-ish (little to no grains) from '08 onward...now just whole foods including some whole grains (like 12-grain bread, just for trace minerals and zero problem, ave a slice every day or 2), is pretty confounding, honestly, because I had already been better for years. But, who knows.
Once thing I completely agree with is how you talk about triggering. So, it's not so much the pollen, dust, whatever you're hyper allergic to, but if you're in an infammatory state already, those things just kick you over into a cascade. At lease it feels that way to me.
I keep just straight up Benadryl on hand (Claratin is also ok) and in the rare event I feel a triggering event is in progress, popping a single one seems to nip it in the bud.
Another thing is that I was always just slightly congested and always had to have nose spray on hand (Afrin). Since moving to Thailand in Jan 2020 and nose sprays aren't common (they use those menthol inhaler thingies), I just stopped using all of them and even the low-level congestion has gone away.
Another trigger to watch for is fragrances added to detergents and laundry softeners and soaps.
Antihistamines such as Clarityn can also be replaced with diet if preferred. I find both first-gen and second-gen antihistamines make me drowsy and grumpy, so in hayfever season I take high-dose (1g) vitamin C, nettle tea, ginger tea, turmeric and quercetin in rotation about every 6 hours; they are as effective as the antihistamine drugs, and they stay active for about 6 hours which is about the same as first-gen antihistamines but less than second-gen. I gather watercress, plums and chamomile tea are also effective although I haven't tried them in season. I've also had very useful success with probiotics (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria) although they don't entirely eliminate the symptoms.