The spring season is opportunity to refresh, rejuvenate and re-energize. In TCM, spring is a green color of Liver and Gall Bladder in Wood element nature. It is beautiful season to enjoy the color of the flowers and the smell. But unfortunately if you have allergy, you will be miserable.

Here are good hopes for those who suffer with hay fever, allergy and headache. We need to eat well foods in this time. According to the author of Healing with whole foods by Paul Pitchford , spring foods are young plants, fresh greens, sprouts and immature wheat or the other cereal grass. Eat a lot of green foods from spinach, beet greens, chard and common green vegetables. The foods that have salty taste should be limited in the spring time since they have a strong components of sinking energy that clog the liver and resulting spring fits ((colic and cramps) and fever.

I would off course recommend to limit the dairy foods, white color foods such as rice, bread, sugar and lard. Foods can be eaten as raw or simple, short cooking process. He even recommends the expansive, rising quality of sweet pungent flavor foods according to the classics as a means of creating a personal spring within. He gave herbal example and they are honey with mint tea, basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary,caraway, dill and bay leaf. He said "Most of the complex carbohydrates such as grains, legumes, and seeds have a primary sweet flavor which increases with sprouting.

Young beets, carrots and the sweet starchy vegetables, thinned from the spring garden, provide a refreshing sweet flavor. A week -long daily dose of raw onions and garlic acts as a vermifuge to rid the body of parasites. A traditional Japanese parasiticide is the sweet -pungent combination of mochi and mugwort. "It makes sense to have more green food products for allergy complaints. He introduces it as Micro - Algae in the other chapter and stated that " Certain algae , especially the micro algae spirulina, chlorella and wild blue green contain more chlorophyll than any other foods and contributes as a purification, anti-inflammation and renewal effect. Also do not forget to wear the mask and use a nasal Neti Pot.

By DoAnn T. Kaneko, L,Ac..Ph.D., O.M.D.