Don’t let hay fever get you down

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The sun is shining, the sky is blue, off the shoulder dresses are on trend and everyone is happy.

Well, nearly everyone.

With an estimated one in five people suffering with this common allergic condition during their life, summer can be unbearable for many.

In a nutshell, pollen from grass, flowers, plants and trees can cause sneezing, runny or blocked nose and itchy eyes and it can be both painful and frustrating as there is no known cure.

Of course, the most effective way to keep hay fever under control is to avoid pollen exposure. This, however, it’s difficult and impractical, so we have some tips and tricks to help keep it at bay so you can enjoy your summer as much as everyone else.

Medicines
Hay fever can be controlled with conventional, over-the-counter medicines on sale at your chemist. Antihistamines help prevent allergic reactions and corticosteroids ease inflammation and swelling. If you try these and they aren’t helping it is worth speaking to your GP to see if prescription medication is needed.

Diet
Eat organic food where possible as this helps avoid pesticides and additives. Low-allergen foods such as brown rice, quinoa, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, leeks, peas, pears, apples and papaya are all good options and of course will aid general peak health.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms aren’t just for breakfast and can really help regulate the immune response. A good quality organic extract from Reishi mushrooms is a good option and worth investing in if you are serious about dealing with hay fever for once and all.

Drinking
Keep your water drinking up and reduce your alcohol intake. Beer, wine and spirits all contain histamine, which is the chemical that sets off allergy symptoms in your body so as well as making you more sensitive to pollen, alcohol also dehydrates you, making your symptoms seem worse.

Wash your hair
Did you know pollen can stick to your hair? Well it can and when you go to bed it transfers to your pillow and will affect you as you try to sleep. If you have been out for the day, it is a good idea to have a shower and change your clothes before going into your bedroom and sprinkling pollen around and making life harder.

Go for sunglasses
As well as shades protecting your precious peepers, they are also a great way of stopping pollen from getting into your eyes. Go for a decent wrap around pair to create a barrier and to ensure your eyes are less red and itchy.

Housekeeping
We aren’t saying you don’t clean but given that pollen can easily get into your carpets it is a good idea to vacuum regularly and sweep it away. Try not to have the windows open too much and dust with a wet cloth so pollen doesn’t unknowingly spread around your house

Barrier
It is said that applying a little Vaseline (petroleum gel) around your nose can stop pollen getting into your system.

Home comforts
This isn’t going to happen every day but if the pollen count is high (over 50 grains per cubic metre of air) you might want to stay at home or visit a shopping centre, cinema or museum rather than being outdoors and at risk of symptoms getting worse.

Spice up your life
Garlic, ginger, red onions and other spices are all brilliant ways to help clear sinuses and ease congestion. Add them to curries, salads, stir fries and BBQs to keep your pain away.

Honey
Pop some honey on your toast or in your green tea and let the bee pollen in it desensitise your body to the plant pollens that cause the hay fever grief.

We hope you find a way to keep your hay fever under control this summer, and if you have a top tip, would love to know what it is.

Team Pure Beauty

Celebrate the Year of the Rooster

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banana, banana halves, beer, caramel, chilli oil, Chinese, chopsticks, Coconut ice cream, crab meat, creamy, deep fat fryer, dim sum, dulce de leche, eggs, feast, fish sauce, ginger, ginger pork stir-fry, mange-tout, mushrooms, pan, peppers, piping hot, pork tenderloin, ready-made filo pastry, salt, seaweed, sesame oil, simmering, soup, soy sauce, spring onions, sticky rice, stir-fry, sunflower oil, sweet tooth, The Chinese New Year, The Year of the Rooster., toasted sesame seeds, toffee banana spring rolls, totally tasty recipes

Saturday January 28 marked The Chinese New Year and the start of The Year of the Rooster.

While there are celebratory events happening around the country over the next few weeks, if you would rather stay at home in the warm with family and friends, we have some quick and easy, but totally tasty recipes for you to try.

The staples for any Chinese feast are sticky rice, seaweed, beer, chopsticks and dim sum, you can then start with a delicious, spicy crab and sweetcorn soup. To serve six you will need:

• 6 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 2 medium sweetcorns with the kernels removed
• 4 teaspoons of cornflour
• 200g of fresh shredded white crab meat
• ½ thumb of peeled and finely chopped ginger
• 4 finely sliced spring onions
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons of chilli oil
• 1 tablespoon of dry sherry
• 2 lightly beaten egg whites

Fill a pan with water and as you bring to the boil stir in the fish sauce and add a pinch of sail. Then add the corn and simmer gently for five minutes.

Next add several large tablespoons of cold water to the cornflour, blend and pour into the simmering soup, mixing until completely combined and all lumps are dissolved. Continue to simmer until the kernels are soft and the soup has started to slightly thicken. Add the crab meat, ginger, spring onions, soy sauce, sesame oil and season to taste. Finally slowly drizzle the egg white into the soup to create long white strands then serve in bowls and add chilli oil as required.

For a main meal treat, go for ginger pork stir-fry, for which you will need:

• 250g of pork tenderloin
• 1 teaspoon of cornflour
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 150g of sliced mushrooms
• 2 deseeded, sliced red peppers and one yellow one
• 75g of trimmed mange-tout
• A thumb of grated fresh ginger
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 4 thinly sliced spring onions
• Freshly ground black pepper

This is quick to make, so get all the ingredients prepared and when guests are ready to eat mix the corn flour with two tablespoons of cold water until it is a smooth paste, and then gently stir in the soy sauce.

Warm the oil and when hot stir-fry the pork for a couple of minutes until lightly browned but not totally cooked through. Transfer to a plate then reduce the heat and stir-fry the mushrooms and peppers for several minutes together with the mange-tout and cook for a minute.

Add the ginger, garlic and spring onions and add the pork back to the pan and cook for several minutes and serve with rice when piping hot.

For those with a sweet tooth, there is nothing better than delicious than toffee banana spring rolls.

For these you will need:

• 100ml sunflower oil for frying
• 3 sheets of ready-made filo pastry
• 60g dulce de leche (a creamy caramel sauce)
• 3 ripe bananas
• Five-spice powder, for sprinkling
• Coconut ice cream and toasted sesame seeds, to serve

To make the rolls start by heating the sunflower oil in a saucepan, or you can use a deep-fat fryer set to 180C.

As the oil warms, cut the sheets of pasty in half and halve the bananas.

Spread two generous teaspoons of duche de leche over each halved banana; sprinkle over some spice and then place the banana at the bottom of the pastry sheet before creating your roll. Brush a little water across the seam to seal then repeat the process with the rest of the banana halves.

Deep-fry the rolls until crispy and golden, use kitchen paper to drain and serve with the ice cream and if you dare, repeat.

Have fun and if you have a Chinese recipe you love, let us know.

Team Pure-Beauty

The Health Benefits of Drinking Red Wine

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acne, antioxidants, bacteria, beer, decleor, dermalogica, Dermalogica Breakout Control, Eyes, moderate, Red wine, resveratrol, skin, spots, wine

It’s that time of year when most of us like a little tipple with some festive nibbles and everyone is left feeling guilty about leaving their diet on the sidelines. However, if you make the right choices, a treat needn’t be the end of the world and there are actually several health benefits to having a small glass or two of wine in the evening. Read on to find out how wine can have a positive impact on your health (and help absolve yourself of Christmas guilt!)

Increases Longevity

Red wine is packed with antioxidants, and it’s been proven in several long-range studies that people who drink red wine regularly actually live longer. A 29-year study of almost 2500 Finnish men showed that wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate than beer or spirits drinkers. We can’t guarantee that it won’t speed up the ageing process if you indulge too much, though!

Lowers the Risk of Heart Disease

From the outside, it may seem as though the French should be more prone to heart disease, given their love of rich food and drink, but actually their rates of heart disease are much lower than here in the UK. Wines from France are packed with tannins which contain procyanidins, helping to protect against heart disease. Wines from Sardinia and southwest France have more procyanidins than other wines.

Wine Protects the Eyes

For many people, deteriorating eyesight and developing cataracts (you know, where the eyes look milky) is just a fact of life and something which is inevitable with age. However, a study of over a thousand individuals in Iceland showed that moderate drinkers are 32 percent less likely to get cataracts than non-drinkers; those who consume wine are 43 percent less likely to develop cataracts than those drinking mainly beer.

Prevents Spots

Believe it or not, red wine contains something which could help if you suffer with acneic breakouts. Resveratrol is a natural phenol which can kill bacteria, and just so happens to be contained in red wine. Use it alongside Dermalogica Breakout Control for practically perfect skin.

Cut the Risk of Tooth Decay

Red wine contains many bacteria-killing enzymes and when it comes into contact with the nasties which live on your teeth, it neutralises them, cutting your risk of developing tooth decay in the process. Don’t drink too much in one sitting though – purple teeth are a dead giveaway!