Ragweed grows along the country roads of Connecticut, flourishing in the August heat along with its companion goldenrod. Ragweed has that mess of reddish flowers at the top while goldenrod has those gracefully arched bunch of yellow flowers four or five feet up a thin stalk. They both make pollen, lots and lots of pollen. One ragweed plant can make a million grains of pollen into the air in one day, and billions over the life of the plant. If you think you’re safe because there are no plants in sight, you’re not. Those pollen grains can fly halfway across the state on a windy day.
If you’re allergic to the pollen it makes you sneeze, sniff, cough and create lots of mucus to protect yourself. Itchy eyes. Itchy nose. Itchy mouth. Just to make the experience even more miserable, most sufferers have insomnia, too. Ragweed allergies can be so severe that they produce mood swings, mental and physical fatigue, and depression. At best, people who suffer from ragweed allergies are tired and miserable.
Goldenrod pollen doesn’t spread as far. The pollen is too heavy and sticky to blow in the wind but it is also allergenic and can cause congestion too. Curly dock, lamb’s quarters, pigweed, and sheep sorrel as well as other Compositae family plants such as sage, burweed, marsh elder and rabbit brush, mugworts, groundsel bush and eupatorium bloom and pollinate at the end of summer, too. The plants that make pollen distributed by the wind cause many more problems than the insect pollinated plants. With this erratic weather, you can experience mold sensitivities all summer and fall, too.
“Ragweed” includes about 15 different plants, all botanically related to sunflowers. If you react to ragweed you should consider avoiding bananas, sunflower seeds, and members of the gourd family including melons, zucchini, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and cucumbers because of cross-reactions, especially with throat and mouth symptoms. Some people expand this list to include apples, pears, cherry, carrot, hazelnut, kiwi and almonds. Also, don’t drink chamomile tea or take Echinacea because these can cross-react, too. Some of the allergenic components in these foods, like the lectins, are neutralized by cooking, so try eating these foods cooked instead of raw during ragweed season. You make the call. If you don’t have problems when you eat these foods, you don’t have to be so careful – but it’s possible that avoiding the entire list may help all of your symptoms.
You can help yourself by staying indoors from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., the time when ragweed plants release the greatest amount of pollen – and keep the doors and windows shut. Take an herbal formula of nettles and eyebright. Quercetin, a bioflavonoid can help too. Wear a mask outdoors. Use the air conditioning when you’re driving. Take a shower and change your clothes when you come indoors.
There is another way to effectively eliminate ragweed reactions as well as most food and environmental allergies and sensitivities. At Advanced Allergy Relief of Connecticut, we use a special technique called Advanced Allergy Therapeutics (AAT). AAT is a breakthrough technology that eliminates the reactions from most forms of allergies and sensitivities. Rather than simply addressing the symptoms, AAT treats the problem at its source by retraining the body so that it no longer reacts inappropriately to a harmless substance. Yes, despite the misery that ragweed causes, it is a harmless substance. The problem is that your body over-reacts to it.
AAT consists of gentle stimulation along the spine while you are exposed to a specific digital signal of the allergen. The treatment is completely painless and non-invasive. In fact, it feels good. With treatment the body alters its perception and corrects its own erroneous response, usually within 24 hours. The body then perceives the allergen as beneficial and useful, and in the case of food, for example, helpful and nourishing. Imagine eliminating your allergic reactions to ragweed in just a few treatments! AAT merges 21st century technology, knowledge of human physiology, and an in-depth knowledge of allergens with 3,000 year old Traditional Chinese Medicine to offer an effective alternative in the treatment of allergies and sensitivities.
With more than 35 years of experience in alternative medicine, Dr. Mitchell is a skilled diagnostician and blends many therapies. She is a cranialsacral practitioner and master of many body work techniques, and an acu-puncturist in addition to her comprehensive knowledge of naturopathic medicine, nutri-tion, homeopathy, and botanical medicine. She works with people who have chronic ill-ness, confused immune systems and inflam-mation, or who have experienced physical or emotional trauma, as well as those who have not achieved their goals with other therapies. She considers it privilege to work with children and babies. She is proficient in Advanced Allergy Technique (AAT) and Dr. Nambruidipad’s NAET to desensitize al-lergic responses. http://www.annemitchellnd.com