A Healthy Spring Diet Can Quash The Sniffles

By: Kafi Drexel

To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

One way to control spring allergies can be through diet. NY1's Health reporter Kafi Drexel filed the following report.

Switching up one's diet can be one way to prevent a runny nose this allergy season. Registered dietician Sharon Richter says special food items can save people from watery eyes and extra trips to the drug store.

Richter says a great place to begin is antioxidants, like nutrient-rich berries or tomatoes, or begin to guzzle some açaí juice.

"Each one is going to have different properties, different types of antioxidants which are always good in terms of preventing free radicals and things like that, which are just damaging to our body, whether it's from the sun, pollution, different allergies people might have," says Richter.

Loading up on vitamin C is another good place to start.

"We all know orange juice is good, but actually surprising, kiwi has just as much, if actually more vitamin C as oranges have," says Richter. "There are drinks you can do, like EBOOST, which doesn't have sugar in it, which is nice. Which is not going to be as high in calories."

While all of these foods are considered heart-healthy, especially for spring, they can also be immune boosters too.

With that said, do not forget about foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, nuts and flax seeds. Then there is fiber, which comes from flax seeds, the skins of fruits and vegetables and easily from most breakfast cereals.

For those who are on the go, Richter, who is also an advisor to KIND Healthy Snacks, says to look for brands like offer nutritious food packed into a bar.

"People think a bar is just going to be energy, but it can have a ton of nutrients in it," says Richter. "What's key that I tell people when you are looking at the bar is you want to recognize the ingredients that are in it. You want something that is really going to be kind to your body and give it what it needs, but you don't want it to be all chemical-made."

Even though a healthier diet might not completely save people from the tissue box, it could soften the blow.