Hey, Hay Fever!

Everybody with hay fever: raise your hand. Hmmm, one, two, three, four, five... 1,852,003... 690,407,899... Okay, I see that I'm not alone in this. Allergies are becoming more and more popular with us humans. Hopefully it's just a phase us Homo sapiens are going through—like acne, disco, and the Crusades.

Some foods exacerbate allergic reactions. (Chamomile tea is a big one. If you've got allergies to pollen and flowers, stay away from this stuff. Uck. Flowers make the prettiest headaches.) Last weekend I found out something that surprised me: eating raw apples, pears, and carrots can be a big no-no. According to the magazine insert in my Sunday newspaper, Parade Magazine (go there), these delicious foods "contain a protein that resembles pollen and causes a reaction in people who have pollen allergies." Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's healthy for all people, all the time, I guess.

Here's an allergy-to-food low-down from Allergy UK (go there). If you're allergic to:

     Birch - you may also react to celery, curry spices, raw
     tomato, raw carrot, apples, pears, kiwi

     Grasses - you may also react to oats, rye, wheat, kiwi,
     raw tomato

     Weeds - you may also react to raw carrots, curry spices

     Mold - you may also react to yeast

And, from the peanut gallery, if you've got a terrior dog, chances are good that she suffers from allergies. Instead of sneezing and laying about (like people do), a doggie will rub her snout in the carpet or with her paw, chew her toenails, and/or lose fur. My little Manchester Terrior dog does it all, then some. Bein' all allergic doesn't take away from her toughness—just ask the neighborhood skunk.

T'is the season!

Old pear painting from National Agricultural Library.