What foods can you eat with allergic rhinitis?

There is no universal dietary white list for allergic rhinitis. The core principle is to avoid foods that you are clearly allergic to. Most other regular foods can be eaten normally. Preferring foods with hypoallergenic and anti-inflammatory properties can also help reduce discomfort during the attack.

Two years ago, I met a patient in high school who had allergic rhinitis caused by dust mite allergy. I read a post on the Internet about "10 Foods to Avoid with Rhinitis." He didn't even dare to touch milk and eggs. He lost a lot of weight in half a year, and he still had rhinitis. Later, he went for a food allergen test and found that he was not allergic to eggs and milk at all. After he resumed his diet, he became more energetic and the frequency of attacks did not increase.

Nowadays, there are a lot of controversies about rhinitis diet on the Internet. The most common one is whether you can eat ice or spicy food. Many Chinese medicine practitioners believe that cold and spicy foods will irritate the nasal mucosa and aggravate edema and secretions. It is recommended to avoid them during the attack period. ； The perspective of Western medicine is more individualized - as long as you don't have nasal itching, sneezing, or worsening nasal congestion after eating, there is no need to avoid it at all. I have a patient who was born and raised in Chongqing. He enjoys everything but spicy food. His rhinitis has not been aggravated by eating hot pot for so many years. However, there are also friends who have runny noses as long as they drink iced American food. Of course, it is more comfortable to avoid this situation.

In fact, the dietary choices for allergic rhinitis are like opening a blind box. Everyone's "lightning points" are different. It is especially important to note that patients with rhinitis caused by pollen allergies may have cross-allergies. For example, people who are allergic to wormwood pollen may experience numbness and itching in the mouth when eating peaches and celery. People who are allergic to birch pollen may have similar reactions when eating apples and hazelnuts. Even if they eat it normally, it is safer to eat as little as possible during the pollen season.

If you are really unsure about what you can and cannot eat, go to the hospital for a food-specific IgE test, which is much more reliable than the common taboo list posted on the Internet. After all, building up the body's immunity is the best "specific medicine" for allergic rhinitis.