- Camembert and red wine can be hay fever triggers like symptoms.
- Experts say that foods rich in histamine can worsen the symptoms of hay fever
- Other types of hay fever mean that apples and watermelons make symptoms worse.
Pollen counts have skyrocketed this month – signaling the start of six months of misery for millions of hay fever sufferers.
But can changing your diet and avoiding certain foods help you get rid of constant runny nose and watery eyes?
Here, MailOnline explores which foods you should avoid if you don’t want your sneezing to get worse.
Aged cheese
It’s not good news for cheese lovers, as experts say the histamine found in some types of cheese can be harmful to those with hay fever.
Histamine is a chemical that causes an allergic reaction.
Histamine is usually released when the body encounters something harmful, such as an infection. To protect the body, it causes the blood vessels to expand and the skin to swell.
But in people with allergies, the body mistakes harmless things, such as pollen, dust or animal hair, as a threat and produces histamine.
This causes the well-known allergy symptoms of itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing and skin rashes.
But histamine is also present in some cheeses, especially aged and fermented cheeses.
Histamine is produced by bacterial microbes that grow on aged cheese to help it ripen and protect it from harmful pathogens, according to a 2019 article in Scientific Reports.
Dr Adrian Morris, an allergist at the Surrey Allergy Clinic, said: ‘If you have allergies and you’re reacting to pollen, you’re releasing histamine.
If you eat foods that are naturally rich in histamine, you may experience slightly worse symptoms.
Cheeses such as Stilton, Roquefort, Parmesan, Blue Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Feta, and even natural yogurt can cause this histamine reaction in some people.
But he added that not all dairy products cause this problem.
“It’s got to be buttermilk,” says Dr. Morris. There is no problem in these foods, so there is no need to avoid milk and cottage cheese.’
Red wine
Like processed cheese, wine is loaded with histamine.
‘If you have a glass of red wine and you have hay fever, you’re going to sneeze more,’ says Dr Morris.
Histamine is produced during the fermentation and aging process of wine.
But red wine has 20 to 200 percent more histamine than white wine, Drinkwell says.
Red wine has 60 to 3,800 micrograms of histamine per liter.
This red wine is supposed to be fermented with the seeds and skins, which produces a large amount of tannins – another irritant that creates more histamines.
On top of red wine, cider, real ale and even balsamic vinegar have the potential to worsen hay fever symptoms, says Dr. Morris.
But beer may not have the same effect as wine. That’s because beer has 21 to 305 micrograms of histamine per liter, Drinkwell says.
Boiled meat
If you find that it makes your symptoms worse, bacon may be off the menu.
This is because cured meats like salami, pepperoni and cured ham are high in histamine.
Chicken liver, pie, processed chicken and any leftover meat can cause a reaction, says Dr. Morris.
He said: ‘They have natural histamine in them so when you eat them they flood your body with histamine. You can have a combination of them, and the levels can increase slightly.
“Most people change well and it’s not a problem. But some people can sneeze more and itch with it.”
Fish, including tuna, salmon, mackerel, caviar, pickled herring and oysters, have all been shown to raise histamine levels.
And how these foods are cooked can affect how much you suffer from hay fever symptoms, according to a 2017 Korean study published in the Annals of Dermatology.
For example, roasted pork has the highest histamine levels compared to uncooked or boiled pork, which has a 60 percent reduction in histamine levels.
Chocolate
Chocolate is thought to trigger hay fever sufferers’ worst enemy – histamine.
Even if they don’t contain large amounts of the chemical, certain foods and drinks can trigger mast cells in the body – in the skin, lungs, nose, mouth, intestines and blood – to release histamine.
Certain foods can inhibit the activity of diamine oxidase, an enzyme involved in breaking down histamine.
According to a 2007 article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, chocolate stimulates both processes.
This means that although chocolate is low in histamine, it can trigger the release of histamine in the body.
Chocolate also contains other biogenic amines — chemicals in food, of which histamine is one type — that slow down the breakdown of histamine, according to an app to help those with dietary restrictions.
Watermelon
Refreshing summer fruit may not be the best snack for hay fever sufferers.
Certain fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes that aren’t associated with histamine effects can trigger hay fever symptoms, says Dr. Morris.
Oral allergy (syndrome) or pollen-food syndrome (pollen-food syndrome) occurs when our body mistakes the structure of pollen found in trees, grass and weeds.
This cross reaction means that the immune system recognizes the food protein as an allergen and creates an allergic reaction.
Symptoms may include swollen lips, itchy mouth and itchy inner ear.
Many types of fruits can cause this reaction, but for people with pollen-food syndrome, it is the main culprit, because it is bad for people who are sensitive to grass and weed pollen.
If you are sensitive to birch pollen, others may react, including apples, carrots, parsnips, peppers, onions, tomatoes, wheat, celery, fennel, peanuts, walnuts, peaches, potatoes, and kiwis.
Other pollens can also cause itching.
A reaction to grass pollen can be triggered by melons, oranges and tomatoes.
Mugwort pollen reaction can occur with celery and watermelon.
Ragweed pollen may cause reactions from bananas, honey, chamomile tea, and sunflower seeds.
But these allergy symptoms vary from person to person.
“People with this disorder don’t react to all foods, but they may react to four or five,” Dr. Morris said.
“Only cut out if you know it’s a problem,” he adds, “but I wouldn’t eliminate all of these foods because they may not respond.”
Some people are allergic to pollen and grass and have no reaction to the fruit. But it’s good to know them.’
However, just like histamine in meat, the way you cook your food can make a difference when it comes to pollen allergies.
“If you cook the food, you can reduce the allergy,” says Dr. Morris.
People report that their hands itch and sneeze when they peel potatoes, but they are fine if they eat them raw.
This is because heating damages the protein, so it is less of a problem.
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