Eating to Alleviate Allergies

Brooklyn is alight with airborne allergens. If your airways are inflamed, nose running and raw, you may be looking for any little trick to manage your allergies. Consider the simplest trick of all: nutrition. Augment acupuncture and chiropractic treatment of your allergies by eating the right ingredients to stay above the weather during this beautiful season. High quality, high-power ingredients provide your body with two key ways of fighting allergies: preventing and lowering inflammation, and regulating the immune system.

Here are some great ways to get started:

Vitamin C comes in at the top of the list, for its role in helping antibody production and antihistamine action. Be sure to eat plenty of citrus fruits, bell peppers and leafy greens. Maximize Vitamin C’s effect by consuming the minerals Sulfur and Selenium, by eating nuts, fish and seeds.

Eat fish. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in high concentrations, particularly in salmon and halibut, as well as nut oils, are strong, natural anti-inflammatories.

Consume Calcium and Magnesium, complementary alkaline minerals. Calcium reduces histamine production. When magnesium levels are low, allergies are high.

Cut down on sugar: even little doses can suppress your immune system, an effect that can last for up to 5 hours, leaving you at the mercy of high allergy season.

At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we want to be your first line of defense against allergies. Call our office at (718) 398-3100 to find out how our services and expertise can help you reduce symptoms and your dependence on allergy medication.

Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac. 

Acupuncture for Allergies

Spring has sprung a heap of symptoms upon you: sneezing, runny noses, itchy eyes and skin, and headaches abound: the changing colors, warming weather and pretty sounds will not fool the poor allergy sufferer. Spending money on antihistamines brings temporary relief, but the symptoms are always waiting around the next corner. Allergies are a cruel trick: a hypersensitive immune system’s good intentions (to keep your body clear of harmful substances) backfire, taking emergency action to flush out the allergens. This inflammatory response is what leaves you sniffling. Allergies are also fickle: what affects one person does not affect the other, and some people’s bodies are more susceptible to the high allergy season. What treatments you choose and how you allocate your money are the main ways you can impact your allergy suffering.

For allergy season defense in Brooklyn, look to our practice at Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture. We do not interfere with your standard treatments: if you are finding success with antihistamines, more power to you. We offer parallel services that rely on natural methods to compliment these treatments. With acupuncture, there is often a sharp response to treatment: many patients experience relief immediately, and often times people can reduce their dependence on allergy medications, whose long-lasting effects are yet to be determined.

Acupuncture addresses allergies by needling along meridians that, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, can help ease the severity allergy symptoms. These meridians correspond with the functioning of the spleen, kidney and large intestine. TCM also diagnoses a deficiency in lung functioning when chronic allergies are present. We combine needling with nutritional advice: limiting your intake of dairy and sugar is particularly important. We use chiropractic adjustment to ensure that all systems of the body are working harmoniously.

I have years of expertise and success providing allergy relief through acupuncture. If your symptoms evade standard medications and allergy shots, do not despair! Call our office in Park Slope at  (718) 398-3100 to schedule an appointment and find out how we can temper your allergy symptoms, allowing you to enjoy the sweet smells of spring.

Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C. L.Ac.

Chiropractic for Sinusitis

Traditional Chinese Medicine offers one approach to mitigating the severity of sinusitis and the accompanying symptoms. However, a problem of this nature calls for a multi-dimensional response; at Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we evaluate your condition through the lens of Western medicine as well. Chiropractic treatment is a powerful tool in the management of sinusitis. Both treatments are natural and seek to address the root cause rather than the surface symptoms.

That being said, our treatment works in stages: first, we reduce the severity of symptoms to give you immediate relief. Common symptoms associated with sinusitis include headache in the sinuses, stuffiness in the ears and fatigue. These symptoms are usually most pronounced in the morning, because the prone position allows for almost no drainage and mucus accumulates over night. Chiropractic adjustments seeks to remove interference between vertebral nerves and the sinus system. There are also dietary considerations: staying fully hydrated and consuming a diet high in fiber are conducive to healthy sinuses; likewise, exercise and movement are great at promoting air circulation and encouraging drainage.

With the onset of allergy season, sinus infections are on the rise. Before heading to the drug store or grabbing that next Kleenex, consider getting rid of your sinus problems for good by calling our office in Brooklyn at (718) 398-3100. There are so many ways to treat sinusitis naturally. With the expertise we offer, you can institute a plan that draws from all these areas to support your body’s natural mechanisms to fight the infection.

Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac