Originally published by Karen on September 5, 2022.
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, this is for you. This isn’t an exercise topic. However, if your allergies keep you from exercising, there might be something simple you can do to keep those symptoms at bay.
My husband used to have horrible seasonal allergies. Around 2006, we noticed that his symptoms were not nearly as bad as they had been. We didn’t really question too much as to why. We were just thankful that they seemed to be getting a lot better.
Fast forward a couple more years and I found out why. Around 2009, I was reading about a possible link between probiotic usage and improved seasonal allergy symptoms. It hit me that this could be it!
I asked him how long he thought his allergies had been much better, and he answered maybe about 3 years. Well, about 3 years before this, I had him start taking a store brand version of AirBorne. Only this store brand had probiotics added to their formula. I had been reading good things about probiotics back in 2005-2006. So I had added them to our diet with supplements.
I am not a doctor or nutritionist. I read quite a lot about exercise, wellness, and health topics. This includes a lot of research studies in those areas. Back then, I didn’t come across any studies linking probiotics and seasonal allergies. Now, there is only a handful.
My guess is that there aren’t too many studies about this subject because the big money is in drugs to treat the symptoms. Pharmaceutical companies are not going to put money into studies where they cannot patent the formula. It’s simply not their business. Probiotics are not drugs. They are relatively inexpensive, natural, and also part of the non-regulated vitamin and herb industry. (At least in the US.)
Which probiotics will help? Well, that has been a trial and error route for us. A couple of years after discovering that this generic supplement with added probiotics worked for my husband, they stopped selling them. So, we tried various probiotics and found a new one. Then, a couple of years after that, we couldn’t find those. So, again, we tried more and found a new one. Let’s hope they keep making this one!
If you’re interested, below this article are some resources to learn more. The probiotics mentioned in several studies and articles which seemed to be most beneficial are lifidobacterium lactis, lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus GG, and L. gasseri. It took us a while to find a formula that worked well each time the one we used was discontinued.
Again, I am not a nutritionist. And I am not recommending medical advice. Check with your doctor or nutritionist, and please don’t stop any medical treatment you may be doing to try this. It is just information for you. Do your own reading, and if nothing else, you will have learned something new.
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A few resources:
“Home Remedies for Seasonal Allergies” The Cleveland Clinic (April 26, 2022)
