Hay fever, a perennial ailment that affects 1 out of 5 people, hits hard in Spring and ruins the entire Summer. 7.5% of American adults, and 9.0% of children, suffer from hay fever, an allergy to seasonal pollens. There are a number of over-the-counter “cures” that clear our wallets instead of our sinuses.
Right from the early spring tree pollen is what gets us. In the morning, plants pollinate and all the allergens are released up into the air. Later in the day, the pollen comes back to ground-level, so sufferers are usually forced inside all day long.
Say Bye to Hay Fever
Later in the summer, the allergens shift from the trees to the grass – grass pollen goes into the atmosphere and sneaks into our nostrils all day long. Hay fever isn’t just allergy-induced annoyance – it brings stuffed sinuses; red, itchy, watery eyes; inflamed, itchy throats, and sneezing.
Pollen is a common allergy, so common in fact that we just call it Hay Fever. And while there are common defences against Hay Fever, most are just coping mechanisms. Wrap-around sunglasses. Nasal sprays and self-hypnosis.
With all these crazy, out-there ideas, why not try something a little more down-to-Earth?
When over-the-counter doesn’t cut it – and it doesn’t because you don’t want to fill your body with chemicals – make your own medicine. One of the best answers to hay fever is yogurt.
Probiotic Yogurt, to be exact.
The pollen will get up in the air anyway, so reach to our natural provider for the natural cure – make your own natural, probiotic yogurt at home!
A study run by a team at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Tennessee found that, “probiotics have the potential to alter disease severity, symptoms, and quality of life in patients with allergic rhinitis (hay fever).”
Probiotics have also been known to help with symptoms of other inflammatory conditions like dermatitis and irritable bowel syndrome. Although the human response to probiotics is varied 17 out of 23 studies showed it is an effective treatment against the symptoms of hay fever.
Homemade Probiotic Yogurt
Ingredients:
Raw Organic Milk
Starter culture (or additive free active culture plain yogurt)*
Tools:
Thermometer
Small-medium pot
A jar for the yogurt to form in (Probiotic Jars work best)
A dehydrator, if you’ve got one (otherwise, a place to keep the milk/ yogurt warm for several hours)
* Milk needs a starter or active culture to become yogurt. Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and Streptococcus Thermophilus are two bacteria that interact together to help the milk coagulate. They also form the lactic acid that curdles the milk. The coagulation and curdling are what makes the yogurt thick and smooth, as well as giving the yogurt its characteristic taste.
Preparation:
Set stovetop to medium and heat milk in your pot. Use the thermometer to know when the milk reaches 180℉ – when it does, remove the pot from the stove and allow the milk to cool to 115℉ .
When the milk cools mix a small portion of it with the starter culture in the jar. Follow the package directions for how much to use of a powdered culture (use ¼ cup commercial yogurt for each 1 qt of milk).
Fully mix the milk and the starter mixture, adding the rest of the milk until the jar is full. Put the lid on tightly. If you are using a Probiotic Jar put water in the airlock and put that on the jar.
Now you’ve got to keep your milk/ yogurt warm. Set a dehydrator to 95-105℉ or your stovetop to as low as possible. Depending on which jar you’re using the temperature will be different. That is why I suggest a trial run with just water in your jars.
Traditionally yogurt is fermented for 4-8 hours. The longer it ferments the more beneficial bacteria will become. Also the longer it goes the less lactose and more sour it will taste. The health benefits max out at 24 hours – after that the bacteria will run out of food to survive on, and will collapse.
After 4-24 hours of the yogurt culturing, put it into the fridge. Don’t stir or shake it till it is fully chilled (approx. 5-6 hours). If you do disturb it your yogurt will be runny.
That’s the recipe. And it isn’t just a recipe to natural, organic homemade yogurt. It’s a recipe to a happy, sunny summer free of the sinus congestion and itchy eyes that come with hay fever.
Just remember: the health benefits to probiotics are still not fully understood. Probiotics are believed to affect the activity of T cells – a white blood cell crucial to the immune system. The team running the study added: ‘The role of probiotics in the human response remains poorly understood and additional studies will likely be needed to clarify this in the future.’
If you’re looking for more probiotic-rich foods, look no further!
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