Natural treatments for allergies
Natural treatments for allergies, particularly hay fever, are increasingly sought after by individuals looking for alternatives to conventional medications. Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, affects a significant portion of the population, leading to symptoms like sneezing, a runny nose, and itchy eyes, primarily triggered by pollen and other allergens. Several natural remedies have gained attention, with butterbur being a principal contender, showing effectiveness in reducing allergy symptoms comparable to traditional antihistamines in some studies. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is another proposed natural treatment, involving the administration of allergens under the tongue, which has demonstrated potential in alleviating symptoms over time.
Other alternatives include acupuncture and various herbal preparations, but their effectiveness varies, with some studies showing minimal benefits. Flavonoids, such as quercetin, and antioxidants like vitamin C have also been noted for their potential to ease allergic reactions, although research results can be inconsistent. While some individuals advocate for methods like consuming local honey or using bee pollen, scientific backing for these approaches is limited. As the interest in natural treatments continues to grow, it remains important for individuals to consult healthcare professionals before pursuing these options to ensure safety and efficacy.
Natural treatments for allergies
DEFINITION: Treatment for an allergic reaction best known as hay fever.
PRINCIPAL PROPOSED NATURAL TREATMENTS: Butterbur, sublingual immunotherapy, bromelain
OTHER PROPOSED NATURAL TREATMENTS: Acupuncture, adrenal extract, antioxidants, Ayurvedic medicine, Bacopa monniera (brahmi), barberry, bee pollen, betaine hydrochloride, cat’s claw, Coleus forskohlii, conjugated linoleic acid, enzyme potentiated desensitization, fish oil, gamma-linolenic acid, hops, hypnosis, methyl sulfonyl methane, nettle leaf, oligomeric proanthocyanidins, other flavonoids, including citrus bioflavonoids, probiotics, quercetin, rosmarinic acid/Perilla frutescens, royal jelly, soy sauce extract, spirulina, Tinospora cordifolia, topical capsaicin, traditional Chinese medicine, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E
Introduction
About 25 percent of American adults and 20 percent of American children have hay fever, an allergic condition that can cause runny nose, sneezing, and teary eyes. It is known officially as allergic rhinitis, allergic sinusitis, or allergic conjunctivitis, depending on whether symptoms manifest mainly in the nose, sinuses, or eyes, respectively. Hay fever usually peaks when particular plants are pollinating or when molds are flourishing. People who have year-round hay fever (perennial rhinitis) may be allergic to persistent allergens in the environment coming from such sources as dust mites, mice, and cockroaches.
In response to the foregoing triggers, a person prone to allergies develops an exaggerated immune system response. A substance known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) floods the nasal passages; white blood cells called eosinophils arrive by the millions and billions; and inflammatory substances such as histamine, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes are released in massive amounts. The overall effect is the familiar one of swelling, dripping, itching, and aching.
The mechanism of allergic response is fairly well understood. Why allergic people react so excessively to bits of pollen, however, remains a mystery. Conventional treatment for hay fever is usually effective, primarily involving nonsedating antihistamines and nasal steroids.
Principal Proposed Natural Treatments
The herb butterbur, sometimes called coltsfoots, is best known as a treatment for migraine headaches. The American Headache Society gave the herb an A rating for the prevention of migraines. However, butterbur also shows promise in treating allergic rhinitis in some patients.
In a two-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 186 people with intermittent allergic rhinitis, the use of butterbur at a dose of three standardized tablets daily, or one tablet daily, reduced allergy symptoms compared with placebo. Significantly greater benefits were seen in the higher dose group. Such “dose dependency” is taken as a confirming sign that a treatment really works.
In another double-blind study, 330 people were given either butterbur extract (one tablet three times daily), the antihistamine fexofenadine (Allegra), or placebo. The results showed that butterbur and fexofenadine were equally effective, and both were more effective than placebo.
A two-week double-blind (and earlier) study of 125 persons with hay fever compared a standardized butterbur extract with the antihistamine drug cetirizine. According to ratings by both doctors and patients, the two treatments proved about equally effective. This study did not use a placebo group. Two much smaller studies produced inconsistent results.
Many studies evaluating butterbur's efficacy in treating allergies published positive results in the first decades of the twenty-first century. However, the herb remained most popular for medicinal use in Asia.
An alternative to allergy shots known as sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) involves using allergenic substances placed under the tongue. Numerous double-blind, placebo-controlled studies indicate that SLIT can improve all major symptoms of allergic rhinitis when the offending allergens are known. However, in a comprehensive review of SLIT for grass pollen and house dust mite allergies, researchers raised questions regarding the quality and consistency of these and other studies.
If SLIT is effective, it may require two to three years for significant benefits to develop. One placebo-controlled study found that three years of treatment was more effective than two years. In addition, to provide benefits for grass allergy season, SLIT must be started at least eight weeks before the onset of the grass allergy season; even longer lead times lead to even better results. Putting all this evidence together, it appears that SLIT may work best if used year-round and year after year.
One study suggests that SLIT is not only effective for treating allergies but also effective in preventing the development of new allergies or mild persistent asthma in children with allergic rhinitis or intermittent asthma.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several SLIT options for allergy treatment and prevention, including Oralair for five types of northern grass pollen, Grastek for timothy grass, Ragwitek for ragweed, and Odactra for dust mites. While SLIT is fairly well accepted in conventional medicine, another form of alternative allergy treatment is enzyme potentiated desensitization (EPD). This method involves injections of allergens combined with the enzyme β-glucuronidase. However, in one double-blind, placebo-controlled study, EPD failed to prove more helpful than placebo for seasonal allergic rhinitis. After these results and similar findings in several other studies, the FDA revoked approval in 2001. EPD remains a popular option in other countries, like the United Kingdom.
Other Proposed Natural Treatments
Several natural products have shown potential benefits for allergic rhinitis in one or more preliminary controlled trials. These include a water extract of hops, a freeze-dried extract of stinging nettle, various probiotics, an extract of soy sauce (Shoyu polysaccharides), the herbs Tinospora cordifolia and Astragalus membranaceus, rosmarinic acid (a substance found in rosemary and other herbs, including Perilla frutescens), and an Ayurvedic herbal formula containing Commiphora mukul, T. cordifolia, Rubia cordifolia, Emblica officinalis, Moringa pterygosperma, and Glycyrrhiza glabra.
Traditional Chinese herbal medicine also has shown some promise for allergies. Another traditional Chinese treatment, acupuncture, is commonly recommended for allergies, but a controlled trial of forty people failed to find significantly more benefit with real acupuncture than with fake acupuncture. However, another study found benefit with real acupuncture plus real traditional Chinese herbs as opposed to placebo acupuncture and nonspecific Chinese herbs. A carefully conducted review of seven placebo-controlled trials failed to find convincing evidence for acupuncture’s effectiveness against allergic rhinitis.
One rather unusual study tested a nasal spray containing capsaicin, the “hot” in cayenne and other hot peppers. It is not clear how practical this spray would be (researchers had to use local anesthetic in the nose before administering the spray).
Preliminary evidence suggests that spirulina may counter allergic reactions of the type involved in hay fever. A sizable (112-participant) double-blind study of vitamin E at a dose of 800 milligrams daily for hay fever found modest benefits at best. A smaller study failed to find any benefits, but spirulina proved more effective in later research comparing spirulina's impact on hay fever to the antihistamine cetirizine.
A twelve-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of forty people tested the supplement conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as a treatment for people with allergies to birch pollen and found some evidence of benefit. Vitamin C is often suggested as a treatment for allergies, but the research results are preliminary and somewhat contradictory.
Test tube studies suggest flavonoids (biologically active compounds in many plants) may help reduce allergy symptoms. The flavonoids quercetin, kaemferol, myricetin, and luteolin are among the most active and effective in treating allergies. Many texts on natural medicine claim that quercetin works like the drug cromolyn (Intal) by stopping the release of allergenic substances in the body called histamine. They also inhibit the synthesis of the chemicals IL-4 and IL-13, which trigger allergy symptoms. An analysis of fifteen studies investigating flavonoids, determining their impact on allergy symptoms, and identifying the most effective among them confirmed positive results across geographic regions and types of allergies.
Tomato extract has been advocated for treating allergic rhinitis, but preliminary research was discredited because of major flaws in its statistical analysis. Later studies found positive results using red tomato peel extract (RTPE) in patients with seasonal allergies.
Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) from grape seed or pine bark are also often said to be effective. However, an eight-week double-blind trial of forty-nine persons found no benefit from grape seed extract (the dose was not stated).
The last several substances discussed (vitamins E and C, flavonoids, and OPCs) are antioxidants. One study failed to find evidence of benefit with a mixture of antioxidants: beta-carotene (9 mg per day), vitamin C (1,500 mg per day), vitamin E (130 mg per day), zinc (45 mg per day), selenium (76 mg per day), and garlic (150 mg per day). Vitamin C was found in one study to be highly effective in reducing the symptoms of allergies.
Adrenal extracts, bee pollen, Bacopa monniera (brahmi), barberry, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, cat’s claw, Coleus forskohlii, methyl sulfonyl methane, and betaine hydrochloride are sometimes recommended for hay fever, but there is no significant evidence that they are effective. A review of six high-quality trials with more than one thousand children found that neither omega-3 nor omega-6 oil consumption prevented allergic diseases in high-risk children. Allergic diseases included eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and food allergy, and omega-3 and omega-6 sources included gamma-linolenic acid, fish oil, canola oil, and borage oil.
It has often been suggested that the consumption of honey from bees living in the region where the allergen naturally occurs can reduce hay fever symptoms. However, little scientific evidence supports this claim. Another study failed to find the bee product royal jelly effective.
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