I'm laughing to find myself writing this diary because when first I heard about this I laughed and said, "No way flax seed could help with allergies."
But, being of the scientific persuasion, and suffering abysmally from allergies year after year--and getting worse--I thought there was little to lose. It seemed so unlikely that I googled it. There were a few scant references to flax seed and allergy symptoms, enough to think it, "Well, maybe."
And the results were incredible! Within a day or two I experienced nearly complete relief from all my allergy symptoms. It's been almost a year now and my allergies are 90% gone. I found a couple days where they came back, which I attribute to some specific plant, which one I don't know, putting out some especially virulent pollen.
So, I'm writing to see if anyone else would care to experiment.
What I do is take a 1/2 oz or so of whole Bob's Red Mill Golden Flax seed and put it in a coffee grinder. It happens I like chia seed so I put an oz of that in too. And if I have it I add an oz or two of roasted blanched almonds. Grind. I sweeten the mix with some white raisins, and wash it down bite by bite with my morning coffee/milk. I bought some brown flax seed, but didn't seem to get the same relief from that.
Some other natural strategies I employ as required. I use one of those inexpensive Honeywell HEPA air purifiers and let it run all night if I'm feeling allergic symptoms. If I'm congested when I lay down, by morning I'm breathing effortlessly. Also, in a pinch, if I'm outside mowing grass I'll sometimes wear one of those loop-over-ear surgical masks with the idea that the pollen gets stuck in the mask and never makes it to my lungs so I avoid an allergic reaction. And if I do get plugged up, I'll just put on one of those surgical masks and exhale and inhale mightily a few times through the mask and pretty soon the allergy symptoms are greatly reduced.
I'm not happy with any allergy medications I've tried. They all make me feel bad in one way or another. So, I'm happy to find a natural way for allergy relief.
I'm also of the opinion that Americans take WAY too much medication, and miss out on many simple easy ways to enjoy a more healthy life.
(Here's how I think about it. The pollen or allergen enters the lungs and is absorbed; some chemicals get into the blood; they produce the allergic reaction. So if you clear the lungs several times through the mask the airborne pollen goes to zero; no more chemical goes into the blood; and then you keep wearing the mask and as soon as the remaining chemical breaks down in the blood--maybe a minute, maybe 5 minutes, maybe 15 minutes--then the symptoms stop. If you use a mask as soon as the symptoms start, you'll probably find that the symptoms go away quickly. If you suffer them for a while, then perhaps it takes longer for the symptoms to go away. Also, probably different pollens or allergens probably have different chemical pathways and may take more time or less time to dissipate.)
I'd be interested to know if anyone finds this useful. And maybe there's some other great natural tricks for health?