Dr. Ingram suggests dietary approach to ease seasonal allergies

William Ingram, M.D.

Runny nose? Itchy, watery eyes? Spring is in the air, literally. And while many turn to over-the-counter and prescription medications for relief, William Ingram, M.D., suggests trying a different approach to ease allergy symptoms.

An ear, nose and throat specialist in the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at UNMC, Dr. Ingram has helped hundreds of patients figure out what triggers their allergies through something he calls “nutritional therapy.”

Along with the usual treatments — environmental controls, pharmaceutical options and immunotherapy, Dr. Ingram also counsels patients to eat or avoid certain foods.

“Think of allergies as a chronic inflammatory condition,” Dr. Ingram said. “There are certain foods that decrease that inflammation, such as fish.”

That’s because the Omega 3 fatty acids in fish are known to suppress the formation of prostaglandin E2, a hormone-like substance that contributes to inflammation.

Other foods can make a patient’s allergies worse, said Barbara Binau-Rowe, lead staff nurse who works with Dr. Ingram.

“Someone with a birch tree allergy may want to avoid apples during the height of birch tree pollination because they may cross react,” Binau-Rowe said.

People who are allergic to ragweed may want to avoid eating any kind of melons during the height of ragweed season as their symptoms may get worse, she said.

And anyone with allergies should avoid milk or milk products when their allergies are acting up, because the milk will make their mucus secretions thicker, which will make their allergy symptoms worse.

“People who have environmental allergies are more likely to have food allergies,” Binau-Rowe said.

Just ask Tracy Plymesser, who has allergy-induced asthma and eczema and has been working with Dr. Ingram for the past three months to determine her food and inhalant triggers.

“Wheat, barley, rye, milk, corn, beans, strawberries, apples, tomatoes, sunflower seeds. … I’m allergic to 90 percent of the foods out there,” Plymesser said.

If she eats green beans, her face breaks out with eczema. If she drinks milk, she notices the secretions in her throat get thicker. And corn aggravates her eczema.

Plymesser said that her allergies have markedly improved since she began seeing Dr. Ingram.

“I had no idea that foods triggered my allergies,” Plymesser said.