Here’s what to eat during Atlanta’s pollen season

Here’s what experts had to say about foods to try during pollen season.

Credit: Courtesy of Edward L. Morgan Jr.

Credit: Courtesy of Edward L. Morgan Jr.

Does local honey actually work?

There really isn’t scientific evidence to prove local honey does much to prevent allergies.

“This is a theory that does not have great evidence to back it up,” Bluestein said. “But anecdotally and in some studies, it does show that eating local pollen can help your body be more tolerant of the pollens that season and have less of a reaction when you’re exposed.”

Edward L. “Bean” Morgan Jr. has been operating Bean’s Bees and Honey since 2018. Morgan has bee hives all around metro Atlanta and a few in North Carolina and sells his honey year-round.

Morgan emphasized there’s no scientific proof local honey or pollen will alleviate allergy symptoms, though some of his customers swear by it.

“Don’t take large doses of it, just try it,” he said. Morgan recommends checking with your physician first, and he said not to give honey or pollen to children under 2 years old.

Credit: Courtesy of Cassidy Reeser, MS, RDN / cozypeachkitchen.com

Credit: Courtesy of Cassidy Reeser, MS, RDN / cozypeachkitchen.com

Anti-inflammatory foods

Focusing on a diet of anti-inflammatory foods is often helpful for many medical diagnoses, Bluestein said, not only allergies.

Consuming anti-inflammatory foods also doesn’t have very strong scientific evidence for improving allergy symptoms, she added, and most of it comes from observations, but “we do know that having an anti-inflammatory approach can help, because (allergy symptoms are) all related to inflammation after exposure to something someone’s allergic to, like the pollen.”

In particular, she mentioned the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes whole grains, fish and nuts, all of which are “associated with less inflammation because it helps support good bacteria in the gut,” she said.

Cassidy Reeser, a Georgia-based cookbook author and registered dietitian, agreed there’s no “magical fix,” but eating foods rich in antioxidants will support the immune system.

“The thinking is that if you’re eating these foods, you could be helping combat some of those symptoms,” she said.

Reeser, whose cookbook and blog focus on vegetarian and vegan recipes, said it can help to look for ingredients rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, nuts and seeds, plus incorporating more fruits and vegetables.

“Another great thing about this is these are just generally great recommendations for eating a more healthy diet to begin with,” Reeser said. “So there’s not really going to be a negative side effect of adding more antioxidant-rich foods to your diet.”

For those looking to include more ingredients high in antioxidants, whether during allergy season or year-round, she recommends thinking of it in terms of what you can add to your meal. She offered examples of adding frozen blueberries to cereal in the morning, or swapping pork out for fish one day of the week, or stirring some spinach into a spaghetti sauce.

Incorporating more in-season produce will also help add antioxidants, and flavor, to your meals, Reeser said.

“Things that are harvested in season retain their nutrients better, and they taste better, so it definitely makes you want to eat them more,” she said.

Consuming frozen fruits and veggies has a similar effect, Reeser explained, because the produce is often picked at its ripest then immediately frozen.

Should you avoid any food?

Bluestein said spicy foods and dairy can cause gustatory rhinitis, where the parasympathetic nervous system creates more mucus in the nose. So it can indirectly exacerbate allergy symptoms.

“The symptom that you’re already having from allergies is now worsened because you ate something spicy,” she said. “It won’t happen to everyone, and most people know if it does happen to them.”

If spice is making those allergy symptoms worse, Reeser said, home cooks can consider mitigating the loss of flavor by adding vinegar or some kind of acid, like lemon or lime juice, to supplement.

Of course, if spicy food or dairy doesn’t have a noticeable effect, then there’s no need to cut back on it.

“Trial and error,” she said.

Although incorporating more fruits and veggies into your diet probably won’t hurt, there are definitely more proven ways to deal with persistent allergy symptoms, like over-the-counter medications or going to see an allergist.