It’s April, and the ads for hay fever medications are proliferating as the pollen count rises. One especially caught my eye today, for a product called Veramyst Nasal Spray, “a prescription medicine that treats seasonal and year-round allergy symptoms in adults and children age 2 years and older.” It’s a corticosteroid that, according to the side-effects fine print, may cause nosebleed, nasal sores, and nasal fungal infection. It may slow the growth of children, or cause immune system effects that increase the risk of infection. Oh, and you should have regular eye exams, because it can cause glaucoma and cataracts.

I’m sympathetic to the agony of seasonal allergies, because I took prescription medications like Claritin and Zyrtec all summer long starting when I was about sixteen. For more than thirty years, from May until after Labor Day my eyes were red and itchy, and my pockets were full of tissues to manage my endless sneezing fits.

Then suddenly my hay fever went away, the year I switched to whole grains. (Sheesh. I knew even before I wrote that sentence it would sound like one of those hokey miracle-diet testimonials in the back of the Sunday magazine. But that’s what happened.) The first year I didn’t dare believe it. Must just be a low-pollen year. I “knew” my hay fever would be back as bad as ever the next year. But it wasn’t.

Substituting whole grains for refined grains was the biggest change I made that year. Okay, I probably started eating a few more vegetables and legumes at the same time, as an overall effort to eat better. Whole grains were by far the biggest upgrade I made, though.

There’s no study showing that whole grains can conquer hay fever – I’ve searched Pub Med. Research does, however, associate a diet high in refined grains with other respiratory diseases and indicate that inflammation plays a role in seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever to you and me). Since a slew of studies link increased consumption of whole grains with decreased inflammation, it seems reasonable to think that there’s a solid scientific basis for my “miracle cure.” (Go to Pub Med and put “inflammation whole grain” in the search box, and see for yourself.)

Since I can’t prove that whole grains banished my hay fever, I won’t go out on a limb and swear it will do the same for you. But if you’re facing the coming pollen season with dread, would you rather try steroids with risk of immune impairment and cataracts – or a regular dose of healthy whole grains, with “side effects” including weight management and reduced risk of heart disease? Pass the whole grains. It’s worth a try. (Cynthia)