I heard someone say the other day “I love this time of year.” Followed almost immediately by “But I hate this time of year.” East Tennesseans clearly have a love-hate relationship with spring in this region. Nothing compares to the beauty of budding trees and flowers, however that beauty comes at a price. The cost to enjoy it is sneezing, watery eyes, coughing, you name it.As with all illnesses and ailments an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! We all know that allergies are going to flare up in the spring and most likely again in the fall, and quite possibly throughout the summer. The best way to deal with them is to keep them from giving us fits in the first place. Here are a few ways:

• Eating a whole foods, no sugar diet can help in managing environmental allergies. Inflammation in the body can aggravate allergies, but a healthy diet is full of anti-inflammatory foods.
• Apple cider vinegar has the ability to reduce mucous production and it can also help cleanse the lymph system. Dilute it with a little water and take a sip or 10.
• It’s also important to keep your sinus passages clean and moist. You can do this with a saline rinse using a Neti pot or by using a bottled saline rinse.
• Quercetin is an herb that is said to keep your body from releasing histamines. It is best to start using this four to six weeks before allergy season.
• Eat local honey. Eating local honey helps your body adapt to the allergens in the environment. This is supposed to work like a natural allergy shot.
• And don’t underestimate the healing properties of essential oils. Oils that are helpful specifically for sinus issues are peppermint oil, tea tree oil and eucalyptus.