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Allergy symptoms curbed by natural products

Category: Allergy Testing

Allergy sufferers may be excited to hear that their symptoms could be treated by a number of natural products, one allergist says.

Dr Cliff Bassett, medical director of Allergy and Asthma Care of New York, reported to ABC News that common items like fruit, vegetables and vitamins may be sufficient to curb the symptoms of an allergy victim.

According to the allergist, low levels of vitamin C and vitamin E have been associated with asthma in adults and children. These minerals act as important antioxidants on the surface of lungs, sometimes regulating reactions to inhaled foreign articles.

Natural botanicals, such as licorice root, skullcap, pine bark extract and butterbur provide anti-inflammatory functions and can block the release of allergens as capably as commonly prescribed histamine inhibitors, 24 Medica reports.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that in the last 12 months, 16.9 million adults have been diagnosed with the common allergy, hay fever.

The National Institutes of Health reports that tests used to discern to which substances a person is allergic include skin tests, elimination-type tests, and blood tests.