Four Teas to Get You Through Allergy Season
We hear them on the Pearl Street Mall, and on sidewalks. We see them in their cars, waiting at stoplights. They weren’t around just a few weeks ago. Now, we encounter more of them every day.
Sneezers.
Despite the snow and cold, trees are beginning to broadcast pollen in their annual, widespread and robust efforts to procreate. For many of us, that means sneezing, runny noses, itchy eyes, sore throats and other unpleasantries.
It all begins with trees towards the end of March and across April. Then grass spreads its pollen later in April and May, followed by weeds and finally ragweed. The schedule spans from March into September, at least in northern states like Colorado.
Some allergy sufferers turn to over-the-counter drugs, like Benadryl. The drugs often work, but they also can make people sleepy. Others just suffer through the parade of pollen.
We can’t stop pollen allergies from blossoming. But we can suggest teas that will help manage those maddening symptoms and improve quality of life when the plants around us begin their courtships.
Allergy Tea: Congestion Tea
All of that sneezing, wheezing, nose-blowing and eye-watering suggests at least two things: the person engaging in the dramatic purging is allergic to pollen; and the allergy is precipitating the build-up of fluids within the body. In short, the victim is awfully congested.
We’ve got a tea for that, aptly named Congestion Tea.
The natural world offers allergy sufferers a wealth of botanical compounds that help get them through the day and achieve restful sleeps. One of the most powerful is eucalyptus. While the allergy section of the market will offer eucalyptus oils, which people use to clear congestion, our Congestion Tea incorporates leaves from the eucalyptus tree, which is native to Australia but now grown around the world. Did you know that eucalyptus leaves comprise the entirety of the diets of koalas?
Eucalyptus improves the lives of allergy sufferers by opening up the sinus and lungs, which improves circulation. It also works as an expectorant — meaning it encourages the release of the gunk clogging our chests and nasal passages — and has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
Our Congestion Tea also includes Elderflower, a well-known allergy-symptom-fighting plant medicine. Like eucalyptus, it is commonly found on store shelves, alongside OTC pills and elixirs.
Elderflower is packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. It also promotes drying, so helps mitigate the spread and build-up of those congestive fluids. It also reduces inflammation in the lungs.
Between eucalyptus and elderflower, our Congestion Tea is custom-blended for your allergy-related needs.
Allergy Tea: Desert Rose
We adore our Organic Desert Rose Blend for many reason, the most powerful one being its transporting flavor. With rose, rosemary, sage, lavender and lemon balm, it’s like a cup of Provence or the Amalfi Coast with every sip. We love it in winter; it delivers us to warmer places.
But two of its ingredients, rosemary and lemon balm, also happen to be excellent allergy fighters.
Research reveals successful treatments with rosemary for allergy symptoms. One study in the Journal of Restorative Medicine, for example, showed that rosemary contains rosmarinic acid, which offers both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. Both of them help the body wrestle with allergies. The study also concluded that rosmarinic acid can suppress the body’s inflammatory responses to invaders, like pollen compounds.
Lemon balm is a natural antihistamine; compounds within the leaf help the body suppress allergic reactions to pollen. The potent plant — tear a fresh lemon balm leaf, and strong lemon aromas immediately fill a room — also helps relieve respiratory symptoms associated with seasonal allergies, such as coughing and asthmatic responses. Finally, naturopaths prescribe lemon balm to manage things like irritability, anxiety and restlessness, all conditions that emerge as we deal with raging allergies.
Allergy Tea: Organic Sunrise Chai
Here’s another tea that simultaneously helps contain allergic reactions while stimulating taste buds. Can’t say that about Benadryl!
This warm, spicy chai thrills with its exotic, pungent flavor. It contains classic chai spices, like ginger, cinnamon, fennel and clove, as well as cayenne pepper. But the key ingredient in Organic Sunrise Chai for allergy relief is turmeric.
Turmeric contains a bounty of a powerful compound called curcumin; the substance is so beneficial that it often is extracted from turmeric and sold on its own, in supplements and powders. Research into the health properties of curcumin is wide-ranging, and it includes allergies. Studies show it can significantly reduce and inhibit allergic responses. One study published by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology demonstrated that allergy sufferers taking curcumin experienced diminished allergy symptoms, like sneezing and congestion, compared to those who took placebos.
Allergy Tea: Organic Throat Elixir
This tea comes to the rescue for many of Ku Cha’s customers once allergy season arrives. It offers two benefits, beyond delicious flavor.
Organic Throat Elixir contains elderflower and eucalyptus, and as already discussed, these plants are immensely valuable allergy warriors.
While the elderflower and eucalyptus are clearing congestion, ingredients like licorice, ginger, anise, fennel, orange peel, marshmallow, cinnamon and chamomile work together to relieve throat pain, a common result of hours of coughing and clearing throats.
In addition, chamomile is widely used around the world to help people drift into deep sleeps. Sleep, unfortunately, is often challenged during allergy season. It’s to drift into la-la land when it’s tough to breathe. This tea helps get rid of the congestion while tip-toeing the sipper into dream land.
What’s here? The season of sneezing, that’s what. As you navigate the months of free-floating pollen, remember that tea is here to help you get through it with ease, if not elan.
