If you suffer from seasonal allergies find 10 of the best teas for allergies to naturally help relieve hay fever symptoms.
‘Tis the season for coughing, sneezing, runny noses, and sore eyes. No, it isn’t flu season, it’s the height of summer with allergy season, more commonly known as hayfever.
If you suffer from hayfever, you’ll know the classic signs all too well. Instead of enjoying the summer sun, you’ll be sneezing the sunny days away, crossing your fingers for a day with a low pollen count.
So what can you do for seasonal allergies?
Many people turn to over-the-counter antihistamines, but not everyone wants to rely on prescriptions to save the day.
Did you know there is a natural way of aiding seasonal allergies?!
Drinking tea!!!
Several herbal teas contain natural properties that help relieve seasonal allergies. Let’s take a look at some of the best teas for seasonal allergies to help prevent you from sneezing your way through the summer.
If you suffer from hayfever
What Are Seasonal Allergies?
Seasonal allergies are more commonly referred to as hay fever. These allergies occur most often during particular seasons, however, some people can suffer from them all year round.
Hay fever occurs when your immune system reacts to an allergy such as pollen. When the pollen count is high, e.g. during the summer months, symptoms such as a runny nose, headaches, sore eyes, and blocked sinuses occur.
As pollen is more prevalent during the summer, hay fever is known as a seasonal allergy.
Why Drink Herbal Tea during Allergy Season?
Many people rely on antihistamines from their local pharmacy in tablet forms such as Benedryl, Piriton, and Zyrtec. However, these drugs often come with side effects associated with drowsiness and a lack of energy.
More and more people who suffer from seasonal allergies are looking into natural methods of alleviating their symptoms. A common natural method is through drinking herbal tea.
Herbal teas contain anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants which both support your body to suppress the release of histamines. Not to mention they are full of vitamins and minerals that support your immune system and overall health.
You’ll also find that most herbal teas do not contain caffeine, so there is no risk of a sudden surge of energy followed by a lull. Herbal teas without caffeine help to stabilize your blood sugar levels and energy levels.
10 Best Teas for Allergies
If you are considering drinking herbal tea as a natural method of alleviating seasonal allergies, take a look at this list of the 10 best teas to choose from:
Rooibos Tea
Rooibos is a red tea native to Africa. It contains the bioflavonoids rutin and quercetin that block the release of histamine. Histamine is a chemical response the body produces to allergens.
As the bioflavonoids block the release of histamines, rooibos tea is reported to relieve symptoms of itchy eyes and runny noses.
Though scientifically, this isn’t proven as allergy relief, it has been shown within a lab to block the release of histamines.
So, if you are an allergy sufferer, drinking rooibos tea could benefit your symptoms. Plus it’s high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties so are beneficial for your health.
Licorice Tea
A surprising tea to add to the list, licorice tea can also alleviate seasonal allergy symptoms.
Licorice is believed to increase the number of natural steroids your body produces, helping your body protect itself against the cold and flu symptoms often associated with allergies.
Drinking this tea may reduce the amount you cough along with inflammation due to its antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties.
Lemon Balm Tea
Lemon balm is a natural antihistamine helping to decrease your body’s physical response to allergies. It is full of vitamin C and antioxidants, relieving headaches and respiratory symptoms.
Ginger Tea
Ginger is a popular natural ingredient that is used to alleviate swelling. With antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, ginger can help with sore eyes, swollen throats, and sinuses.
A study was carried out in 2016 on mice that demonstrated using ginger lowered the production of pro-inflammatory proteins, leading to a reduction in allergy symptoms.
If you find drinking ginger tea too strong, try adding a dash of honey to sweeten and subtle the ginger strength.
Peppermint Tea
Peppermint has long been used as an essential oil to relieve inflammation of the sinuses.
In tea form, peppermint can also act as a decongestant. Peppermint tea has antioxidant properties and can decrease the release of histamines released when experiencing seasonal allergies.
Green Tea
Green tea is full of antioxidants to help your body remain healthy as well as being anti-inflammatory.
Green tea contains the bioflavonoid, quercetin, which helps to block histamines, lowering the effect of seasonal allergies.
Tulsi Tea
Also known as holy basil, tulsi tea has anti-inflammatory properties along with combating respiratory symptoms e.g. blocked sinuses.
It also is suggested to help boost your energy, which is important when suffering from seasonal allergies that can make you feel fatigued.
Turmeric Tea
Similar to other teas, turmeric tea also is anti-inflammatory, helping lower the effect of seasonal allergies on your sinuses.
The active ingredient found in turmeric known as curcumin holds anti-inflammatory properties and is full of antioxidants to boost your immune system.
Nettle Tea
Nettle tea is made from stinging nettle plants that commonly grow in Africa, Europe, and America.
This tea is popular for its health benefits but also helps allergy sufferers.
Nettle leaf contains anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce itchy eyes, runny noses, and swelling.
Butterbur Tea
One of the lesser-known teas, butterbur tea is popular for relieving seasonal allergies. A 2013 study found that drinking butterbur tea helped relieve allergy symptoms as effectively as fexofenadine, a popular antihistamine.
Butterbur tea is less common than other herbal teas listed. If you are wanting to try butterbur tea, it is best to head to your local health food store rather than a mainstream supermarket.
This list of the 10 best teas for seasonal allergies will certainly help to keep your symptoms under control without any nasty side effects.
Drinking herbal tea can offer a natural yet effective method of helping to keep your hay fever under control this summer.
Why not try a couple of the teas listed above, or even create your unique combination to suit your taste preferences e.g. tulsi and ginger tea, lemon balm, and ginger tea, or rooibos and green tea.
For more top tips and helpful tea guides, be sure to check out some of these posts:
- A Beginner’s Guide to Herbal Tea
- Best Herbs and Teas for Immune System
- How to Grow An Herbal Tea Garden
- Beginner’s Guide to Green Tea
