Nah nah nah nah, hay hay fever, goodbye.
Better nutrition can help reduce seasonal allergy symptoms—and support how your body responds in the first place. The goal isn’t to eliminate foods or chase quick fixes, but to build a system that can respond appropriately and recover efficiently.
It happens every year. The trees and grasses bloom, your eyes start watering, and suddenly it feels like seasonal allergies become your full-time personality.
Somewhere between the sneezing and too much time spent playing “Dr. Google,” many people cut out certain foods and stockpile antihistamines in the name of seasonal allergy relief.
But seasonal allergy triggers aren’t a pollen problem. They are a whole-body response shaped by digestion, gut health, inflammation, and nutrient status. When those pieces are off, seasonal allergy symptoms tend to stick around no matter how carefully you avoid commonly targeted foods like cheese or (gasp) dark chocolate.
And if the symptoms aren’t life-distrubing enough, I am here to tell you tell you that they negatively impact your weight health. Yes, your seasonal allergies make it harder to lose fat and build muscle, and bone. Arrrrrgh!
Seasonal allergies don’t have one-size-fits-all solutions. What they need is assessment and personalization. But here are some ways you can start identifying your individual symptoms and what your immune system needs to run better.
1) Optimize digestion for seasonal allergy relief (and prevention)
Your digestion is where your immune response occurs, running from the lining of the mouth all the way through your stomach, colons, and anus. You want it to be well-defended with beneficial bacteria, supported by a strong lining, and functioning efficiently.Focused on prevention or symptom relief? Start by assessing and improving digestive function so your body can better process histamine and regulate immune responses.
2) Build a more resilient foundation.
Plants help activate your best defense against bad gut bacteria and support beneficial ones. Focus on variety and consistency to strengthen your overall immune resilience. Herbs and spices, along with nuts and seeds, provide compounds that help your body work on both phases of inflammation. This means supporting an appropriate response and helping your body resolve it effectively.
See our free recipes to get ideas for how to make deliciously doable plant-based choices with these ingredients.
Want one more tip? Eat a rainbow. All those colors in nature help your body fight seasonal allergies better. Evaluate a week’s worth of your intake between your food and supplements to see if you get in all the colors most days. If not, work on adding new choices to get them in — or connect with our coaches for help.
3) Fight seasonal allergies with a more robust army: a variety of good bacteria
Organic cultured veggies before meals or as the base of a power plant “pit stop” are a great idea for better relief as are some non-dairy probiotic yogurts and other fermented foods. Quality strains and amounts of good bacteria can be a great addition to your supplement stack this season. Strain specificity is important when it comes to beneficial bacteria as our system needs a variety so make sure to talk to your practitioner or get our clinical guidance.
Note: most kombucha and other sugar-based products fortified with good bacteria because the amount and type of the bacteria may be insufficient or not what your body needs AND because the added sugar is working against your efforts.
4) Test your tastebuds and reset for seasonal allergy prevention
Sweet is often delicious to our mouth and mind, but not to your immune system, digestion or to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms. Excess added sugar and non-nutritive sweeteners can disrupt your microbiome and increase inflammatory load.
In our community and in Your Best Shot, we share an experiment to test your taste buds and how to reset them. If seasonal allergies have you craving more sweets it IS a signal to address not just a struggle to overcome.
5) Support your body’s natural seasonal allergy response
That’s right, don’t wait until you think you have a sinus infection or feel cruddy for days.
Grab supplements and our other favorites in The Better Nutrition Supplement Store. Support your system with options such as:
- Homeopathic Sinus and Allergy remedies — I love Boiron Sinus Calm.
- Better Quality Nasal Spray — I like Xclear nasal spray.
- A Better Allergy Relief Plant Supplement — I like DHist.
- Resolve Inflammation — I like SPM Active.
Not sure what will work better for you or want specific recommendations for when and how much to use? Our BNP weight health plan patients and members save 20% off on all supplements.
6) Reduce or remove dairy to prevent seasonal allergies.
Especially first thing in the morning or at night before bed. Dairy can be mucus forming and may trap bad bacteria making it harder to heal from seasonal allergies.
Ashley discussed this in detail in her segment on Portland’s KATU watch it here
Replacing dairy with options like walnut crumbles or hemp seeds can provide beneficial fats that support a healthier inflammatory response. Caution: Not all dairy-free products are better choices for your seasonal allergies or overall health. Use our guide to better dairy-free nutrition, available to all BNP members, to help you make better choices.
7) Decode your histamine response — don’t avoid it.
Histamine production is personal and influenced by genetics, digestion, nutrient status, and overall health.
For most people, the issue is not simply histamine intake, but how effectively the body breaks it down. Histamine intolerance is relatively uncommon, and overly restrictive low-histamine diets can create unnecessary nutrient gaps.
Your ability to process histamine depends on factors like adequate levels of B6, B12, copper, iron, and vitamin C, along with optimal digestion.
Rather than removing more foods, focus on improving how your body handles histamine. Learn more about how histamine impacts your seasonal allergies and what to look for here.
8) Move and recover to support seasonal allergy relief
- Turn your world upside down as suitable for your fitness needs. You can lay on the floor with your feet up or practice supported hand, head, or shoulder stands to help keep things clear;
- Add twisting movements. Deep chair twists that move your belly and also gentle neck, ankle, and wrist rotations;
- Continue working out, but head indoors if you need to HIIT it where your allergies won’t;
- Get a massage, sit in an infrared sauna, and soak in a magnesium bath when possible.
Your Better Next Step
This is where a truly personalized approach matters.
Two people or one person at different times can have similar symptoms and completely different underlying drivers of allergies. That’s why guessing rarely works long term.
When you understand:
- How well your body is digesting, absorbing nutrients, and processing histamine.
- What’s increasing your overall inflammatory load and keeping your system reactive.
- What your body specifically needs to both respond to and resolve inflammation effectively.
You can start making changes that actually move things forward.
If you’re noticing symptoms that don’t fully make sense, or don’t seem to resolve, it may be worth looking at your gut health, medications, nutrition, and overall inflammatory load.
Book a free 15-minute consult, and let’s figure out what your body needs to turn inflammation on when it’s helpful—and off when it’s done.
If you want to go deeper, the experiments and frameworks behind this approach are available in my book Your Best Shot, and inside the YBS community.
About the Author
Ashley Koff, RD, is a registered dietitian with 25 years of clinical experience and one of the country’s leading weight health experts. She is the founder of The Better Nutrition Program and the bestselling author of Your Best Shot. Her work focuses on personalized nutrition, gut microbiome optimization, GLP-1 wellness, and helping individuals achieve lasting weight health through approaches tailored to how their specific body functions.
