The Seasonal Allergy Strategy Part 1

The Increasing Prevalence of Allergies

An alarming fact is that allergies, intolerances (distinct from true allergies), and autoimmune conditions have dramatically risen in recent decades. The causes of these conditions can be complex, and it would be overly simplistic to point to a single root cause behind the growing prevalence of these immune system challenges. Instead, a constellation of factors has created a tangled situation that we’ll begin to untangle in this post.

These conditions are particularly prevalent in developed countries and are more common in urban areas than rural ones. While the reasons aren’t entirely clear, it appears that the combination of environmental and lifestyle factors contributes to this.

It might seem confusing to see allergies lumped in with autoimmune conditions, but what unites these conditions is that they stem from a broader imbalance in the immune system. While theories abound, again, the truth is that there is no single cause. Instead, we have a complex root system with numerous interconnected components.

Allergy, Intolerance, and Immunity: Contributing Factors

Chronic Stress

While it’s well known that allergies can be inherited genetically, chronic stress is a major contributing factor. It seems like everyone says stress makes everything worse these days, but in this case, there is an actual direct biochemical contribution that stress can play to the development of allergies, intolerances, and even autoimmunity. So, how exactly does stress impact allergies?

Cortisol, a hormone released during stressful situations, plays a key role in your body’s ability to manage and regulate inflammation. It’s important to keep in mind that the term stress isn’t just feeling the pressure of a deadline or being late for work. From a physiological perspective, stress takes many forms beyond the psychological state that many of us associate with the word stress. Generally speaking, when stress levels rise, immune function tends to drop. Conversely, when stress is reduced, the immune system becomes stronger and more resilient, enabling it to respond more effectively.

This means chronic stress can significantly compromise immune function, setting the stage for increased sensitivity and reactivity. It’s common for the onset or worsening of autoimmune conditions to coincide with periods of either heightened physiological or psychological stress. It should also be noted that over prolonged periods of time, under chronic stress, the body becomes less able to secrete and regulate cortisol; thus, our body’s innate inflammation-modulating capacity becomes compromised, laying the groundwork for an unfortunate situation that is ideal for allergies to thrive.

Nutrient Deficiencies

Your immune system relies on specific nutrients to function properly. When those nutrients are lacking, immune function can become compromised and less effective. Unfortunately, the modern diet often falls short—many foods today are depleted of essential nutrients due to factory farming practices, pesticide use, and widespread soil degradation.

In some cases, nutrient deficiencies are also tied to gut health issues. Even a nutrient-rich diet may not provide the full benefit when digestion and absorption are impaired. Addressing these underlying gut issues is essential for supporting proper nutrient uptake and overall immune function. 

From the perspective of allergies, a few specific nutrients are necessary for the stabilization of mast cells, which are the immunological cells that release histamine. This molecule is the primary culprit of those nasty allergy symptoms; thus stabilizing the mast cells to prevent them from degranulating and spreading histamine becomes a key strategy.

Gut Permeability

A significant portion of the immune system resides in the gut, specifically the intestinal tract. When the gut epithelial membrane becomes more permeable—a condition often referred to as “leaky gut”—substances can pass through the gut wall and enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammatory and/or immunological responses. Over time, this can contribute to an imbalanced immune system. Gut permeability is an important factor to consider when addressing immunological patterns in general, and it also plays a significant role in food intolerances, food allergies, seasonal allergies, and autoimmune conditions.

Another important consideration is diet, particularly the presence of pro-inflammatory oils found in ultra-processed foods. Many seed oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and are often rancid by the time they reach your plate, which makes them especially inflammatory. If your diet is high in these oils, it can place ongoing stress on the immune system, increasing susceptibility to inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Chronic Infection

Chronic infection is another significant factor to consider. Conditions such as long COVID, Lyme, or chronic Epstein-Barr virus can place ongoing stress on the immune system, contributing to inflammation and the persistence of low-grade, chronic infections. These types of infections can quietly undermine immune resilience over time.

While there are many additional contributing factors to immunological imbalance, the ones we’ve explored here—chronic stress, nutrient deficiencies, gut permeability, pro-inflammatory diets, and chronic infections—are among the most important to assess and address.

The Esoteric Perspective

When we view these patterns through the lens of alchemy, medical astrology, or constitutional systems, many of the dynamics we’ve discussed correspond to Mars, the planetary ruler of the immune system. Mars also governs the adrenals, stress response, and infection and inflammation, making it central to this conversation.

The Sun, too, holds particular relevance here, as it relates to our vitality. The Sun provides the foundational life force that enables Mars to operate effectively. When vitality is depleted—when the Sun is weak or deficient—Mars can become agitated or overactive. In the context of chronic stress, a weakened Sun leaves the body more susceptible to illness and immune imbalances.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, these patterns are distinctly pitta in nature, characterized by inflammation and a connection to both the immune system and the Fire element. The Sun and Mars could both be considered the pitta planets in Western astrological medicine. 

Allergy vs. Intolerance

It’s essential to distinguish the difference between allergies and intolerances, as these dynamics are often misunderstood. An intolerance is a reaction to a food that, while uncomfortable, does not involve the immune system in the same way an allergy does. Common symptomatic patterns of food intolerance typically present as local gastrointestinal symptoms, including gas, bloating, heartburn, and abdominal irritation. In some cases, psychological or cognitive symptoms like brain fog, depression, anxiety, and irritability may also arise.

Musculoskeletal symptoms are also common, including achy muscles or joints, headaches, and fatigue. These are some of the common expressions of food intolerance. For example, with a casein intolerance, you might eat cheese or drink milk and develop a phlegmy cough or a sensation of mucus in your throat. These symptoms indicate intolerance, not a true allergy. There is general discomfort and symptomatic response, but it doesn’t involve the same immunological mechanism.

On the other hand, the term “allergy” refers to a specific biochemical immune response involving histamine. From an immunological perspective, this is known as type 1 hypersensitivity. This response is mediated by mast cells, a type of immune cell. In the case of an allergy, the immune system reacts to a substance by triggering the degranulation of mast cells, which then release histamine. That histamine release causes the classic symptoms we associate with allergies.

With seasonal allergies, for example, we often see allergic rhinitis—a hallmark of hay fever—characterized by red, itchy, watery eyes, a tingly, itchy, runny nose, and sneezing. This hypersensitivity reaction in the upper respiratory tract is typically triggered by inhaled environmental allergens. Pollen—especially from trees, grasses, and certain plants—is among the most common culprits.

I remember being on a road trip with a friend, driving over the mountains when the Yarrow was in full bloom, and I said, “I need some Yarrow flowers!” So we stopped and harvested a bunch. Back in the car, my friend immediately started reacting—his eyes and nose were running, and he sneezed uncontrollably. “Something about that Yarrow is not good for my system,” he said. Such a response can occur, especially with plants in the Asteraceae family.

Asthma is another form of allergic response. It can be triggered by inhalant allergens or by certain foods. Atopic conditions, like eczema, hives, and skin rashes, are also considered allergic responses.

The most extreme allergic reaction is systemic anaphylaxis—a life-threatening condition. Anaphylaxis can be fatal if not treated immediately. People prone to these reactions often carry an EpiPen, which delivers epinephrine—also known as adrenaline—an adrenal hormone with a powerful anti-inflammatory effect that can help stop the reaction. 

Mast cells and histamine are tied to IgE antibodies. When people undergo allergy testing, clinicians typically look to determine whether their body is producing IgE antibodies in response to specific substances.

Understanding Inflammatory and Immunological Load

One foundational concept that’s key to a preventive allergy strategy is understanding what is known as the inflammatory or immunological load. When I first learned about this, it shifted how I thought about allergies and intolerances—and more importantly, how to work with them preventatively. Here’s how it goes…

Your body has a threshold for inflammation. You have a certain degree of tolerance—a buffer—for substances you may be mildly intolerant to or even allergic to. This tends to apply more to intolerances than true allergies, but the concept is relevant to both. Essentially, your body has the capacity to handle a certain amount of inflammatory stimulus without expressing symptoms. Once that threshold is surpassed, symptoms appear.

Let’s use a metaphor: imagine your body has a bucket with a 100-unit capacity for inflammatory load. As long as your total exposure stays below 100, you’ll likely remain asymptomatic. But if that load spills over, symptoms begin to surface.

Let’s say you’re sensitive to cat dander and live with a cat. That takes up 75 units of your inflammatory load. Your body’s handling it—you’re not showing symptoms, but it’s using up some of your capacity. Then, maybe you have a minor intolerance to gluten or dairy. Let’s say those take up another 20 units. Now you’re at 95 out of 100. You’re still asymptomatic, but the bucket is close to full.

Then springtime comes, and grasses release their pollen. Let’s say this adds another 30 units to your system. Now you’re at 125—your bucket has overflowed—and you start experiencing symptoms: sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose. Your body has reached its capacity for tolerating those inflammatory triggers, and now you become symptomatic.

The general strategy here is to empty the bucket. Reduce the total inflammatory burden in your daily life so that when environmental allergens appear, such as in spring, you can tolerate them without triggering symptoms. Maybe you stop sleeping with your cat in the bed and reduce that exposure from 75 to 30 units. You still eat gluten occasionally, adding 30 units. Now you’re at 60. Then pollen season arrives and adds 30. You’re at 90—still within your capacity and symptom-free.

This is the fundamental principle to remember when approaching and addressing allergies from a preventative perspective. You want to reduce your total inflammatory/immune load so that, when you go outside in the spring and summertime and enjoy yourself in nature, you don’t end up with uncomfortable hay fever-type symptoms.

Of course, these numbers are for illustration—they’re not measurable in blood work. However, this metaphor helps conceptualize your body’s tolerance for inflammatory load and how it can be managed.

This also helps explain a phenomenon I’ve observed in clients and family members: a childhood allergy that disappears for a while and reappears later in life. As a child’s immune system develops, it’s often highly reactive. Maybe they develop a gluten sensitivity or asthma. Over time, that sensitivity seems to disappear—either because the food is removed or the body adapts. The child no longer experiences itchy skin when they eat gluten, or their asthma appears to stabilize slightly. 

One possible explanation is endocrine maturation—specifically, the maturing of the adrenal glands. As the adrenals mature, cortisol production increases. Cortisol has a bad reputation, but it is a vital anti-inflammatory hormone. When inflammation arises, cortisol helps regulate and resolve it. So, as cortisol production stabilizes in adolescence or early adulthood, the body may be better able to tolerate triggers that once caused symptoms. In a way, we can think of adrenal maturation as making the “tolerance bucket” larger in size, and thus, what you couldn’t tolerate when you were a small child can now be tolerated. Hence, the concept of “growing out of an allergy.” You don’t really grow out of it. Rather, you can tolerate it… It’s still not a very good situation, though!

However, if that person continues to eat the same foods and accumulates additional stressors, like a high-stress lifestyle or exposure to more inflammatory inputs, things may shift again. That metaphorical 100-unit bucket might shrink to 60. Chronic stress can disrupt the HPA axis—the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, which governs a portion of the body’s immunological-inflammatory pathways. When HPA function becomes deficient, cortisol output drops, and the body’s ability to handle inflammation is diminished.

So maybe, earlier in your life, you could sleep with your cat and eat gluten without an issue. But now, in your 40s, the same habits suddenly trigger symptoms. What happened? One theory is that your inflammatory tolerance has decreased. The bucket is smaller now.

Over time, if your body is continually exposed to inflammatory triggers and lacks the internal resources to manage them, your immune system can become hyperreactive. This is one possible pathway toward the development of autoimmune conditions. Your immune system can become so overstimulated that it attacks your body’s tissues. Depending on where this occurs, it could manifest as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, or other autoimmune conditions.

The point is that there is a connection between intolerance, allergy, and autoimmunity, and it can be a progression. This is why, in general, for people who have a lot of allergies and intolerances to things, it can be a bit of a canary in the coal mine, so to speak, and it’s important to address these issues.

It’s not just seasonal allergies, which are annoying and uncomfortable. This could indicate that your immune system is under some stress. Perhaps your body has reached its maximum inflammatory capacity, and adjustments to your lifestyle and diet are now necessary. 

A plan can be formulated in the form of herbs, supplements, and nutrients that can prevent these issues from occurring and help correct underlying problems. This can prevent more serious conditions and provide a long-term pathway for a more vital life. 

The key takeaway is that allergies and intolerances can be early warning signs—signals that your immune system is under stress. They aren’t just annoying symptoms to suppress; they are a serious condition that requires attention. They’re invitations to look deeper at what’s happening internally and consider long-term strategies for restoring balance.

To be very clear: this doesn’t mean everyone with seasonal allergies will develop autoimmunity. But in some cases, it is a progression worth being aware of. When the inflammatory bucket consistently overflows, it’s time to ask: What’s filling it up? And how can we lighten the load?

Hopefully, this gives you a deeper context for understanding the allergy strategy. In The Allergy Strategy Part 2, we’ll explore specific strategies and tools for reducing inflammatory load and building long-term resilience, so be sure to check back for the conclusion of this series!