When confronted with a health issue, most people reach for the medicine cabinet to mask the symptoms and make themselves "feel" better.  But does masking the symptoms really help us in any way long term?? What if we are chronically in pain but we've been masking the discomfort with muscle relaxers, advil, tylenol, pain killers, etc?  Just because we cannot "feel" the issue does that mean that we have been Healed.  

Lets say you're at home and you hear the smoke detector go off.  Does it make sense to hit the button or pull the batteries out or does it make sense to sniff around for smoke or look for a fire?

Lets say, you're like most people and you pull the batteries out (mask the pain with muscle relaxers) and then 30 minutes later the smoke detector up stairs starts going off.  So you run up stairs, you smell the smoke but don't see anything so you decide to pull the batteries out again.  Now you're sitting up stairs watching t.v. and you feel some heat.  You go to open your door and you're trapped in a blazing inferno and you have no way out!  

This is how some people view health.  The word health comes from the root word "heal".  If your body is not in healing mode, you will never be healthy.  The difference between symptom based health care and functional based health care is really simple.  Symptom based masks the symptoms but never heals the body (it never puts the fire out) and functional based understands that symptoms are only a way of your body saying something is going wrong (your smoke detector is going off).  So by prioritizing your function we get your body to "heal" as it's designed to.  

If you or someone you know deals with their symptoms by keeping them silent/masking symptoms and needs someone to put their fire out/get their body back in healing mode then give us a call.

Here are some natural solutions that can take the "pressure" off and won't leave you wondering which you would rather deal with... the allergies or the side-effects of allergy medication. 

1. Nasal Rinses: Available over the counter, and are also safe for children.  Simple saline sprays and Neti pots are most popular. 

2. Quercetin: Is a natural plant-derived antioxidant with anti-histamine qualities found in many foods, such as citrus fruits, onions, apples, parsley, tea, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce and wine.  

3. Vitamin C: Has been shown to enhance the effectiveness of Quercetin and boost your immune system.

4. Probiotics: A great way to help the body combat allergies.  When the body has the proper balance of bacteria for digestion, it is less likely to have hypersensitivity reactions to allergens.

5. Local Honey: Every day consumption of honey from a hive where bees are using local pollen can expose you to small doses of allergens, preventing your body from perceiving them as a threat.