Flower Crafts For Kids
Feet Painting For Kids
Super Fun Outdoor Activities For Kids
Cat Repellent Plants & Herbs
Cat repellent plants that cats hate really can stop pesky cats from :
- Pooping on gardens
- Digging up beds
- Digging in potted plants
- Squashing flowers & vegetables
- AND attacking birds!!
Some plants can even keep cats away from our garden full stop!!!
But we must use the right cat repellent plants for the right job so I have for your here a big guide to :
- Cat Repellent Perimeter Plants
- Cat Repellent Ground Cover
- Plants Cats Hate Smell Of
- How To Protect Potted Plants
- How To Protect Flower Beds
- How To Protect Vegetable Beds
PLUS key DIY cat repellent tips to use short term whilst your cat repellent plants get established.
There's loads of great info in the guide so do bookmark or save on Pinterest for quick reference.
Table of Contents
Cat Repellent Perimeter Plants To Keep Cats Out
The best cat repellent perimeter plants to keep neighbourhood cats out of your backyard or garden are :
- Thorny climbing plants
- Thorny hedges.
Cuttings from thorny plants can also help keep cats off beds and pots.
Thorny Climbing Plants To Keep Cats Out Of Garden
Thorny climbers on fences and walls make it painful for cats to get up and down fences to get in your garden.
So these stunning or edible climbers make great cat repellent plants :
- Blackberry
- Rambling Rose
- Wild Rose
They can all be grown in pots to ramble over a patio fence or wall.
Blackberry
Blackberries keep cats out and deliver delicious fruit for all your favourite blackberry recipes. They are not pretty plants in winter but grow in some shade so great for hidden spots where cats get in.
Rambling Rose
Rambling roses are gorgeous plants for keeping cats out. These thorny varieties will cover a fence or wall :
- Albertine
- American Pillar
- Bobbie James
- Easlea's Golden
- Helen's
- Kew Rambler
- Kiftsgate
- Leo's Eye
- Rambling Rector
- Sir Cedric Morris
- The Garland
- Wickwar
Wild Rose
Wild rose gives a beautiful cat barrier that actually provides edible rose hips in fall and winter. Try planting :
- Dog rose (Rosa canina)
- Japanese rose (Rosa rugosa)
- Sweet briar (Rosa rubrofilia)
- Apple rose (aka as both Rosa villosa and pomifera)
Vitamin C rich rose hips can be eaten in tea, fire cider, jellies and more. Check out these tips on how to prepare rose hips for eating.
Thorny Hedges To Repel Cats
Beautiful thorny hedges are great plants to keep cats out if you have a bit more space on your perimeter :
- Berberis
- Blackthorn
- Crown of thorns
- Hawthorn
- Holly
- Pyracantha (Firethorn)
- Rosemary
Remember a mixed hedge is always more disease and pest resilient.
Berberis
Berberis aka barbery is a dense berry laden, thorny hedge plant for keeping cats out of gardens.
These varieties are fast growing and make a very effective barrier for cats :
- Darwinii
- Julianae
- Ottawensis
- Stenophylla
You can also plant dwarf varieties like Japanese barberry as cat repellent hedging around vegetable patches and add to borders.
Blackthorn
Blackthorn produces beautiful white blossom in late winter and edible sloes in fall for sloe jelly and gin.
Blackthorn combines well with hawthorn, holly and wild rose as a traditional cat repellent hedge.
Crown Of Thorns
Euphorbia milii is an evergreen thorny shrub with big red flowers.
It can grow to 6 feet but not very quickly so is best used at lower half of wall to help keep cats out.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn is a classic deciduous spiky hedge with pretty May blossom and valuable red berries for birds.
It is not the densest cat repellent hedge so is best combined with blackberries and wild rose.
Holly
Holly isn't a fast growing cat barrier hedge but you can buy 6-8 foot plants that will fill out fairly quickly without taking over the garden.
A holly hedge will also give you free natural Christmas decorations.
Pyracantha (Firethorn)
Pyracantha is a fast growing evergreen flowering hedge that is laden with berries in autumn or winter and an ever popular option for keeping cats out of gardens.
It will grow fast and is super spiky so you need to keep on top of pruning.
Rosemary
Rosemary isn't spiky but can be a good cat repellent hedge as cats don't like the smell and will get covered in it trying to push through.
You can easily grow rosemary from cuttings and it repels mosquitoes.
More Ways To Keep Cat Out Of Gardens & Backyards
You can get a cat repellent hedge growing fast with big hedge plants but that will put the price up.
And there are extra ways to keep cats out of gardens whilst your cat repellent plants get going :
- Cat Scarers
- Cat Spikes
- Water Pistol
- Lion Manure
Cat Scarers
Cat scarers make ultrasonic sounds when they pick up the movement of cats in your garden or backyard.
Some like my cat scarer, light up with "predator eyes" and repel foxes.
Cat scarers work but if you have anything to draw cats - or foxes - to your garden e.g. a bird table, newly dug beds or chickens you also need cat repellent perimeter plants.
Cat Spikes
Cat spikes on fences and walls are a good extra perimeter cat repellent whilst thorny climbing plants grows.
They are basically strips of plastic spikes you can screw to the top of a fence, that cats struggle to walk on.
In my view, they are a deterrent but won't alone keep gardens cat free.
Water Pistol
Water pistols are helpful if like me you have a love-hate relationship with your near neighbours cats!!
They are all adorable and I am super happy to feed them during holidays. I just don't want them pooing in my garden or scaring my chickens!!
A high powered water pistol squirted in their direction does give the message they are not welcome!!
Lion Manure
Lion manure products, like Silent Roar, use fertiliser pellets soaked in the smell of lion dung to repel cats.
Lion manure is by no means fool proof as a cat repellent. It is best combined with other cat repellents.
Cat Repellent Ground Cover
Bare patches of soil - and freshly dug beds - are cat magnets but you can stop digging & pooping with:
- Ground Cover Plants
- DIY Prickle Covers
- Prickle Strips
There are plenty of quick growing cat repellent ground cover plants that can be grown through DIY prickle covers and prickle strips.
Ground Cover Plants
These ground cover plants that are evergreen or don't die right back help stop cats digging and pooping :
- Heather
- Heuchera
- Lesser Periwinkle
- Gaultheria
- Lily Of The Valley
- Thorny Carpet Roses
Heather
Heathers are good ground cover under plants that like low ph soil :
- Blueberries
- Cranberries
- Lingonberries
- Camelia
- Gardenia
- Hibiscus
- Azalea
- Small birch trees
- Small maple trees
Heuchera
Heuchera has striking leaves all year round - unless very cold - and pretty flowers. Happy in shade so good for hidden spots cats use to poop.
Lesser Periwinkle
Lesser periwinkle gives quickly spreading ground cover with purple and white flowers and will grow in shade in bare ground under trees.
Lily Of The Valley
Lily of the valley provides striking ground cover with beautiful white flowers in shady areas of the garden you want to keep cats off.
It will die back in winter but still provide cover with dead foliage.
Gaultheria Procumbens
Gaultheria is a spreading dwarf evergreen with pink and white flowers and berries that will grow in the shady spots cats use as toilets.
Thorny Carpet Roses
Thorny carpet roses are a great cat repellent ground cover plant to keep cats from pooping on bare ground.
They are taller than most ground cover but these are only 1-1.5 feet :
- Centre Stage
- Hampshire
- Hertfordshire
- Snow Carpet
- Suffolk
And these varieties only 2 foot :
- Cheshire
- Flower Carpet
- Grouse 2000
- Scented Carpet
- White Flower Carpet
- Worcestershire
Thorny carpet roses can also be good cat repellent plants at front of flower beds to deter cats wandering in.
DIY Prickle Covers
DIY prickle covers are a great simple way to stop cats pooping when you have unavoidable bare soil.
Simply create a pile of pruning from prickly and spiky plants and whenever you have bare soil put them down in a rough matrix.
If you don't yet have spiky plants to prune, ask amongst neighbours.
They are a great way to stop cats pooping around new fruit bushes.
You can also use them to keep slugs & snails away from vegetable beds.
Prickle Strips
If you can't get hold of spiky plant cuttings you can buy prickle strips to stop cats digging and pooping.
Simply cut sections to cover soil around new plants and peg down.
Prickle strips do help. I have used them lots - especially for potted plants - but they are not fully cat proof and certainly NOT fox proof. So combine with cat repellent plants.
Plants That Cats Really Hate The Smell Of
You can use plants that cats hate the smell of to repel cats throughout your garden by planting them :
- Amongst patio pots
- At the front of flower beds
- Around vegetable & soft fruit beds
- On perimeters as a 2nd line defence to thorny climbers & hedges.
Plants cats hate the smell of include:
- Pelargoniums
- Coleus Canina
- Curry Plant
- Penny Royal
- Rue
- Lavender
- Thyme
- Lemon Balm
- Lemon Grass
Pelargoniums
Pretty pelargoniums come in a wide range of colours including white, pink, red, violet and orange.
They are a lovely addition to flower beds and patio pots and baskets but their fragrance is hated by most cats.
Coleus Canina
Coleus canina is the cat repellent plant often marketed as Scaredy Cat or Cat Shoo in garden centres.
It is a perennial with striking blue-purple flowers and grows about 50 cm high with a 1 metre spread.
The leaves have a pungent, dog-urine like smell that repel most cats!
Curry Plant
Helichrysum Italicum commonly known as the curry plant is another plant that cats hate.
It is a small sun loving shrub about 2 ft high with bright yellow flowers and a fragrance that keeps cats away.
Penny Royal
Penny royal is another plant cats hate which with little lilac flowers is pretty at the front of flower beds.
Known as the mosquito plant, it also repels mosquitoes, wasps and flies.
Penny royal is part of the mint family (mentha pulegium) but should not be grown near or confused with edible mints as it is toxic for humans.
Rue
Rue is a cat repellent plant with yellow flowers that grows to 3 foot.
It also repels stinging wasps and can be grown around fruit trees to repel cat pooping as well as wasps.
Rue can be toxic for humans so do not confuse with other woody herbs.
Lavender
Fragrant lavender is another very useful plant cats hate the smell of.
Easy to grow and bee friendly, its dried flowers are one of the best ways to get rid of moths.
A lavender hedge can help keep cats away from vegetable gardens and repel mosquitos from patios.
Thyme
Thyme is a great plant to repel cats as it can be grown as cat repellent :
- Ground cover
- Vegetable garden hedge
- And in patio pots.
You can easily grow thyme from cuttings and also use it as a :
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is a pretty herbal plant in flower beds that most cats hate.
It grows 2 to 3 feet high and has small white, pink or yellow flowers.
Lemon balm also very handily:
- Repels mosquitoes
- Repels wasps
- Treats cold sores
- Relieves mosquito bites
- And makes a lovely cup of tea!!!
Lemon Grass
Lemon grass is an ornamental plant cats hate that can be planted as a repellent barrier at strategic points all round the garden and patio.
Lemon grass is also a mosquito repellent and wasp repellent plant.
How To Stop Cats Digging Up & Pooping On Potted Plants
Cats can be real pests digging up bulbs etc in patio pots or pooping on gravel cover in big planters.
But again there are simple ways to keep cats - and squirrels - off our potted plants and planters :
- DIY Prickly Mulch
- Mini Windmills
- Scare Stones
- Prickle Strips
DIY Prickly Mulch
Gravel in planters basically says "Come poop here!!" to all the neighbourhood cats.
But they won't put their pretty paws on prickly mulch. Simply gather up any of the following you can find :
- Holly leaves
- Spiky horse chestnut casings
- Sweet chestnut casings
- Pine cones
- Pine needles
- Cut up rose trimmings
- Cut up blackberry trimmings
- Spiky hedge trimmings.
Mix together and apply thickly.
Mini Windmills
Mini windmills are a surprisingly good way to keep cats away from your plant pots and planters.
They are not fool proof but the erratic movement - when the wind blows - does disturb and deter cats.
You can easily make your own mini windmills with scrap paper ...
Scary Stones
Some people swear by scary stones for keeping cats off planters.
You simply paint good sized stones with bright primary colour :
- Scary monster faces
- Zig zag patterns
- Swirls.
Cats won't poop - supposedly - on the scary patterns and can't dig up or move big stones to get at soil.
You could set your kids or grandkids to work creating scary stones with some of these fun ideas ...
Prickle Strips
Plastic prickle strips are a very useful way to keep cats, squirrels, dogs and foxes out of plant pots of all sizes.
You can cut the prickle strips into pieces to fit around larger plants or just cover pots of bulbs completely and let the bulbs grow through.
Protecting Vegetable & Fruit Beds From Cats
Cat poop on fruit and vegetable gardens can cause toxoplasmosis, a serious infection in pregnancy and for the immunocompromised.
You can protect crops with cat repellents we've already covered :
- Prickly hedges
- Cat scarers
- DIY prickle covers
- Prickle strips around soft fruit plants, tomatoes, courgettes etc.
But other good repellents to keep cats off vegetable beds include :
- Rigid Vegetable Covers
- Pea Stick Tripods
- Wind Chimes & Spinners
Rigid Vegetable Covers
If you grow your own food and struggle to keep cats out of the garden, focus initial efforts on making beds safe with covers.
There are all sorts of covers available to keep veggies safe from cat poop.
But I would recommend vegetable cages or rigid top covers as cats will - believe me - jump on and poop on soft hooped vegetable netting.
You can buy flexible vegetable cage kits or make your own vegetable cages to keep cats off crops.
Other cat repellent options are
Pea Stick Tripods
Simple pea stick tripods provide extra cat protection for vegetable beds if you only have soft covers.
Make them extra protective by :
- Using thorny hedge cuttings
- Or attaching chicken wire.
You can also hang DIY wind chimes.
Wind Chimes & Spinners
Basic DIY wind chimes and spinners can help repel cats from pooping on your vegetable and fruit beds.
Simply tie them to frames and supports for tomatoes, raspberries and the like or to tripods over beds.
Old DVDs and CDs make brilliant spinners, with the light keeping cats, birds and chickens off your fruit!!
Or you can make super pretty cat-repellent wind chimes from old jewellery and cutlery ...
How To Protect Flower Beds From Cats
To stop cats sitting on and squashing or digging up your prize specimens grow at the front of your flower beds:
- Thorny ground cover
- And plants cats hate the smell of.
PLUS gorgeous prickly rambling roses at the back of beds to make them as unfriendly as you can.
Combine these cat repellent plants with prickle strips, cat scarers and windmills whilst plants establish themselves and use a water pistol to train your cats to stay away.
If it's your cat doing the damage you can create a hidden away :
- Outdoor litter box
- Surrounded by plants cats love.
Outdoor Litter Box
The outdoor litter box just needs to be a small area of sandy soil that you help your cat keep fairly clean.
Plants Cats Love
Encourage your kitty to use the outdoor litter tray by growing these plants cats love all round it :
- Catnip
- Valerian
- Chamomile
- Licorice Root
- Peppermint
- Cats Claw
- Golden Seal
Cats are of course contrary ...
And you can be sure your cat will love some plants most cats hate, so plant these by the litter box too!
But remember NOT to eat herbs growing by the litter box as these could pass on toxoplasmosis.
And there you go, all sorts of plants cats hate to repel them from your garden. Let me know what works for you.
Do bookmark the guide or save on Pinterest to come back to.
For more simple gardening tips check out my other grow your own posts and follow me on Pinterest.
Original images: 1, 2 used under creative commons licence.Easy Low Carb Side Dish Recipes
Healthy Pregnancy Snacks
Healthy pregnancy snacks we can grab easily on the go truly are a lifeline as our baby bump grows.
Quick healthy snacks can stave off pregnancy nausea in the first trimester and boost energy when we're big and tired in the third.
The right healthy pregnancy snacks can also boost our nutrition going into labour which can in fact help with our newborn's breastfeeding and sleep and even with baby colic!
So I have here a big list of grab-and-go healthy pregnancy snacks including easy snack ideas for :
- 1st Trimester Morning Sickness
- 3rd Trimester Fatigue
- Stashing In The Freezer
I do hope these snack ideas help. Let me know what works best for you.
And do bookmark or save on Pinterest for quick reference.
This is not medical advice. Contact your doctor for any concerns during pregnancy.
Table of Contents
Anti Nausea Snacks For Pregnancy First Trimester
The best pregnancy snacks in our first trimester are super simple as nausea and our strong sense of smell puts us off anything else.
But nutritionally we still need key minerals like B12, iron & magnesium PLUS plenty of protein for us & baby.
Food rich in vitamin B6 can also help ease morning sickness symptoms.
So stock up on these nutrient rich, anti-nausea snack ideas :
- Very Plain Carbs
- Frozen Berries
- Cold Meat
- Super Simple Protein
- Nutrient Rich Nuts
- Pregnancy Nausea Tea
- Pregnancy Nausea Cookies
Very Plain Carbs
Many of us have saturated ourselves with carbs causing blood-sugar issues. But if we have pregnancy nausea in the first trimester they may be all we can keep down :
- Plain oat cakes
- Plain crackers
- Wholemeal, wholegrain toast
- Spelt bread - lower GI
- Sweet potato crisps - lower GI
- Pretzels - you can make your own pretzel bites to flash freeze
- English muffin - less nausea inducing than other bread
- Baked potato - chill it in fridge after cooking then reheat or eat cold to lower GI impact
- Rice crackers - are a handy kids snack so practice making now:
Do check ingredients and avoid stuff with added sugar or artificial ingredients as both inflammatory.
Seek medical advice if you can't keep food down at all. You may have hyperemesis gravidarum like Kate Middleton.
Frozen Berries
Sucking something relieves nausea but frozen fruit are a healthier option than anti-nausea sweets :
Buy bags of mixed berries with e.g. :
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Strawberries.
Or flash freeze garden raspberries and foraged wild blackberries.
Other great nausea relieving snacks to keep handy in the freezer are :
- Grapes
- Peas - which are rich in folic acid
- Red pepper sticks - rich in B6.
Cold Meat
It is easy to end up deficient in protein, iron and B12 during pregnancy if we don't eat meat.
But eating just cooked meat in the first trimester can be challenging!!
So good quality slices of cold meat can be a healthy snack option :
- Beef - a nutrition power house
- Turkey - rich in anti-nausea B6
- Chicken - not as good for iron but sill nutritionally valuable
- Ham - you can freeze cooked to add protein to green soup.
Cold meat is more nutritious sliced off a roast joint than in packets with sugar, weird additives and the risk of listeria. Make sure meat is cooked well - not rare - and stored safely.
Super Simple Protein
Other super simple options for protein rich snacks when feeling nauseous in the first trimester are :
- Cottage cheese - with crackers
- Hard boiled egg - very fresh eggs are less likely to trigger nausea
- Tuna & rice - both are B6 rich
- Hummus with vegetable sticks
- Mashed avocado & egg on toast or with B6 rich red pepper sticks
- Roast chick peas - very easy to make your own roast chick peas :
Nuts
Nut allergies have made us nervous of eating nuts but if you don't have a nut allergy they are safe to eat in pregnancy and are rich in B6, B12 & magnesium for better sleep :
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Brazil nuts.
Pregnancy Nausea Teas
Drinking anti nausea tea can help us keep down other pregnancy snacks if we’ve got morning sickness:
- Ginger
- Lemon
- Peppermint
- Chamomile
You don't need to fork out for fancy pregnancy teas, make your own from from the kitchen cupboard.
If you are not a tea sipper, chill the tea and then combine with sparkling water which also helps with nausea.
Pregnancy Nausea Cookies
High blood sugar in pregnancy can lead to both polyhydramnios and gestational diabetes so we do need to keep an eye on the carbs.
But homemade ginger or lemon cookies can be a healthier option.
Ginger Anti Nausea Cookies
These ginger cookies are made with almond flour, honey and coconut sugar so gentler on the stomach than those made with all-purpose flour ...
Lemon Anti Nausea Cookies
These lemon cookies are made with almond and coconut flour so again gentler on the stomach in the first trimester of pregnancy. If you are cutting right back on sugar you could skip the glaze without losing out on the delicious lemon flavour ...
For more tips to help with morning sickness do check out this big guide to pregnancy nausea remedies.
2. Nutritious High Protein, Low Carb Pregnancy Snacks
We may not need to eat for two in pregnancy but we do need to keep our energy up as baby & bump grow.
So healthy pregnancy snacks that boost energy without sending blood sugar sky high are super valuable in 2nd & 3rd trimesters.
Ideally these snacks also need to :
- Deliver key nutrients
- See off constipation
- Ease inflammation.
And luckily there are a whole load of quick and easy pregnancy snacks that do just that including :
- Simple Keto Snacks
- Super Fruits
- Nuts & Seeds
- Delicious Dairy
- Quick Fish
Simple Keto Snacks
You don't have to be fully signed up to a keto diet to enjoy the low carb energy boosting benefit of these quick Keto snacks including delicious :
Super Fruits
Fruit make great snacks as it is :
- Full of vitamins & antioxidants
- And fibre rich to ease constipation.
But most fruit is high in sugars so try these for a low GI option :
- Raspberries
- Apples
- Dried apricots
- Dried prunes
- Cherries.
Most fruit is also acidic and triggers acid reflux so if you suffer with heartburn try these low acid fruit.
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds make great healthy pregnancy snacks as they are :
Stock up on a range of these to make trail mix or add to other snacks :
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Walnuts
- Pistachios
Nut butters are a great quick protein-rich option with crackers and you don't need to stick to peanut butter as it is now easy to buy :
- Almond Butter
- Cashew Butter
- Hazelnut Butter.
Delicious Dairy
Many of us have ditched dairy but full fat milk from pasture fed cows is :
- Nutrient rich
- Helps us absorb key nutrients
- Balances hormones
- And keeps us full.
So if you enjoy milk combine your other snacks with one of these :
- Glass of full fat milk
- Slices of cheddar
- Natural yoghurt - make sure it has no sugar or additives.
Do remember to avoid blue or unpasteurised cheese.
For a quick pick-me-up pregnancy snack when you're exhausted in the 3rd trimester nothing beats a big bowl of porridge with :
- Full fat milk
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Frozen berries
- Topped with honey or cream!!
A big bowl of porridge is also a real winner when you are breastfeeding.
Quick Fish
Fish is a great easy to digest source of protein and important fats BUT the smell can trigger pregnancy nausea in the first trimester.
Simple no faff options which minimise nausea triggers are :
- Salmon fillets - just shove in oven for 20 minutes at 350f as is.
- Cod fillets - as above, plain mash will help your stomach handle it.
Another great option is to get in the habit of making fish bites for the freezer. They are great kids food :
- Salmon bites - you can bake or air fry these quick salmon nuggets
- Cod fingers - or make your own super healthy fish fingers.
Healthy Pregnancy Snacks For The Freezer
There are all sorts of delicious low-carb, protein-rich pregnancy snacks you can make easily for the freezer from no bake energy bites to :
- Black bean brownies
- Frozen yoghurt berry bites
- Protein popsicles
- Pregnancy muffins
Many of these are also a great freezer stash for when you're breastfeeding and again need energy boosting snacks you can grab and go.
Black Bean Brownies
These black bean brownies are chocolatey but otherwise low GI and protein and fibre rich ...
Frozen Yoghurt Berry Bites
These berry bites make gorgeously delicious healthy freezer treats ...
Protein Popsicles
If you are pregnant over summer protein rich popsicles make a cool, energy boosting pregnancy snack.
This very simple recipe is just yoghurt and berries ...
Whilst these breakfast popsicles have added granola ...
And these pregnancy popsicles have granola with coconut and mango ...
Pregnancy Muffins
Muffins are easy to make and make healthy so again are great snacks to stash in the freezer when pregnant and then when breastfeeding.
These blueberry muffins are packed with oats & yoghurt but sugar free ...
Whilst these oat muffins are full of energy boosting bananas and flaxseed ....
And there you go over 50 super easy, healthy pregnancy snacks to ease nausea in the first trimester and boost energy - without sugar spikes - all the way through pregnancy.
Do bookmark or save on Pinterest for quick reference.
And for more simple tips explore my other pregnancy & baby tips posts and follow me on Pinterest.
Original image sources : Pregnant woman by Raw Pixel and Fresh Blueberries above white background with copy space, Green grape by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0
Natural Antihistamines For Allergy Relief
Foods rich in natural antihistamines really can offer allergy relief and especially so in the summer when our sinuses are suffering with pollen.
So I have for you here a simple guide to natural antihistamines covering :
- Antihistamine Basics
- Allergy Relief Diet
- Antihistamine Ingredients
- PLUS Allergy Relief Extras
Hopefully it will help you include lots of healthy antihistamines in meals easily AND spot surprising issues in your diet that make hay fever worse.
(If you are suffering with an insect bite or sting check out these home remedies for bites & stings).
This post should not be read as medical advice. Always see a doctor regarding new and changing symptoms of allergies.
Table of Contents
Basic Introduction To Natural Antihistamines
In this section I will quickly introduce you to to the basics of :
- Natural Anthistamines
- Flavonoids
- Bromelain
- High Histamine Foods
- Sugar & Histamine Issues
- Gastritis & Histamine Issues
- Histamine & Food Sensitivities
It is all useful but if you're in a rush skip to the Allergy Relief Diet section.
Natural Antihistamines
Many plant foods contain natural antihistamines that balance our body's inflammatory responses and help prevent excess :
- Inflammation
- And mucous production.
They also help our bodies handle foods high in histamines e.g. fermented foods, pickles.
Helpful natural antihistamines include flavonoids that give plants colour plus the enzyme Bromelain.
Flavonoids
Research suggests we can get relief for hay-fever like symptoms from common flavonoids such as :
- Quercetin : capers, dill, kale, watercress, coriander, radicchio.
- Rutin : apples, figs, black tea, green tea, olives, asparagus.
- Luteolin : thyme, beets, celery, spinach, beets, chili peppers.
But it is not clear from research how our body uses flavonoids like Rutin, Quercetin & Luteolin. Gorging loads or taking supplements doesn't help!!
But enjoying a range of flavonoid rich food in our diet makes a difference.
Bromelain
Bromelain is a digestive enzyme, found in pineapples, that can help relieve runny nose symptoms of allergies and hay fever.
You can buy Bromelain supplements but again it is not clear they help.
The secret of these natural antihistamines seems to lie in their interaction with other food including food high in histamines PLUS some other key chemistry in our gut.
High Histamine Foods
Some very nutritional foods like tomatoes are high in histamine or trigger the release of histamine.
They are great in moderation as histamines play a key role in our immune system flagging dangers but many of us saturate our body with e.g. yoghurt and fermented food.
Our sky high histamine levels can then be sent even higher by both :
- Crazy sugar levels
- Gastritis.
Sugar & Histamine Issues
Sugar seems to be a triple whammy for histamine problems as it:
- Causes high inflammation itself.
- Triggers histamine production as it erratically spikes & falls.
- Turns our gut into a gas works that produces even more histamine!!
Slashing sugar is one of the best things we can do for histamine issues as we'll see in the Allergy Relief Diet.
Gastritis & Histamine Issues
The human gut naturally produces the gases methane and hydrogen as part of normal digestion.
But both get out of hand in gastritis causing painful wind and belching.
Excess gas very often goes hand in hand with excess histamine. The hows and whys of this are not totally clear but it is a thing and your sensitivity to high histamine food may actually be too much gas!!
Histamine & Food Sensitivities
Some of us do have genuine food allergies and intolerances but often the problem is not actually the food itself but rather the state of our gut.
I thought I was super sensitive to tomatoes that seemed to cause headaches, itchy skin and sore eyes.
It wasn't the tomatoes.
I just had crazy gas issues and high histamine from a fashionable but silly gut health diet. Sorting out the gas solved the tomato sensitivity.
So if you feel you are sensitive to high histamine food always look at your overall gut & digestive health first.
Allergy Relief Diet
It's very easy to get caught up in crazily obsessive diets but we do NOT need to drive ourselves nuts avoiding all high histamine food and gorging ourselves on antihistamines.
There are four very simple changes we can make to our diet to help ease allergies and hay fever :
- Seriously slash sugar
- Ease up on gassy food
- Stop saturating our bodies with high histamine food
- Enjoy flavonoid rich food
It is also worth testing for :
- Iron deficiency if you eat little red meat as it's tied to allergy issues.
- Magnesium deficiency as it's tied to hormone imbalance which in turn triggers histamine production especially in perimenopause.
Seriously Slash Sugar
Sugar messes with our whole body triggering back pain, dandruff, acid reflux and allergy issues of all sorts!!
So slash as much sugar as you can from your diet, especially leading up to and during hay fever season.
I give sugar up completely every year for Lent and the impact is amazing!!
If you can't go the whole hog do as many of these as you can :
- Avoid all sodas
- Chuck out candy
- Ditch cereals with added sugar
- Halve your breakfast juice
- Don't fall for granola or protein "health" bars that are full of it
- And watch out for sugary yoghurts
- Buy bakers not factory bread
- No cookies between meals
- Save up sugar for dessert - after protein - to stop the spikes.
Ease Up On Gassy Food
If you have excess gas symptoms ease up on gas producing food :
- Fruit Juice
- Pulses & Beans
- Very Gassy Vegetables e.g.
- Onions
- Garlic
- Artichokes
- Broccoli
- Brussel sprouts
- Fermented Food.
This isn't about obsessively avoiding all of this food just easing up.
Stop Histamine Saturation
Obsessive food monitoring can in fact contribute to food sensitivities, so we absolutely don't want to agonise over high histamine foods.
But we need to stop saturating ourselves day in - day out with these common histamine triggers :
- Yoghurt
- Probiotics
- Tomatoes
- Cheese
- Orange juice
- Beans & pulses
- Alcohol.
The easiest way to cut down is the half as much - half as often rule which can get us into the balanced diet ballpark without faff or fuss.
Enjoy Flavonoid Rich Food
The final step in our allergy relief diet could not be easier. It is simply to add a great mix of flavonoid rich food into our daily diet including :
- Berries & Fruit
- Salad Leaves
- Herbs & Spices
- Garnishes
- Leafy Greens
- PLUS antihistamine extras.
The key word here is mix. We want a wide variety of flavonoids and other natural antihistamines so we don't saturate ourselves with anything.
You'll find lots of examples of all of these in the list of antihistamine foods in the next section.
Naturally Antihistamine Foods To Add To Your Diet
Use this big list of 45 naturally antihistamine foods to boost your antihistamine intake day in day out.
Some may look weird and wonderful but are easy to grow simply or forage for free and are higher in nutrients than many mass produced vegetables grown in poor soil.
Remember you are not trying to tick-off all of them and should not saturate yourself with any of them.
Just use the list to widen the range of plants you eat and enjoy regularly.
Also remember, our individual body chemistry is complex. You may be sensitive to food on this list that helps others so always listen to how your body reacts.
Natural Antihistamine Berries & Fruit
Many delicious berries are natural antihistamines including:
- Elderberries
- Blackberries
- Cranberries
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Mulberries
Fresh berries can be expensive but you can pick for free elderberries and blackberries and easily:
Other fruit that can help with histamine levels include :
- Apples
- Pineapple
- Figs
- Juneberry / saskatoon.
Natural Antihistamine Salad Leaves
Many of the slightly less common - but super tasty - salad leaves are rich in natural antihistamines :
- Watercress
- Raddichio
- Asparagus
- Red leaf lettuce
- Wild rocket
- Romaine lettuce
Fancy salad leaves can be expensive but they are super simple and quick to grow for ourself in containers.
Natural Antihistamine Herbs & Spices
Adding a mix of herbs to food helps our body balance histamine levels.
Chuck some of these in cooking or sprinkle on salads or drink in DIY tea:
- Thyme
- Dill
- Parsley
- Cilantro / coriander
- Oregano / marjoram
- Tarragon
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Basil
- Chamomile (part of the ragweed family so if you are sensitive to ragweed you may also be sensitive to chamomile)
- Nettles
- Rosemary
A mini herb garden gives us instant cheap access to natural antibiotics for all sorts of simple remedies. It is easy to get started with :
Natural Antihistamine Garnishes
We never eat huge quantities of garnish but they really pack a punch. Capers for example are incredibly rich in the antihistamine quercetin.
So adding extra flavour to food can help balance our gut and histamine :
- Lovage
- Capers
- Banana peppers
- Fennel leaves
- Okra
- Red onions (raw)
- Ancho peppers
- Serano pepper
- Moringa / drumstick
- Chia seeds
- Green chilli peppers
- Scallions
Natural Antihistamines In Leafy Greens
Eating leafy greens daily is a great way to ease inflammation as they are rich in iron, magnesium and a range of antihistamines.
Old faves like spinach and collards are good but adding in a mix of more unusual quercetin rich green leaves can help build our allergy resilience :
- Dock
- Kale
- Mustard greens
- Turnip leaves - they taste amazing with butter, who knew!!
- Radish leaves - radishes are super easy and quick to grow
- Sow thistle - a kind of dandelion also known as hare's lettuce.
If you are struggling to eat leafy greens daily try making :
- Quick Green Soup
- Blending leafy greens into macaroni cheese or lasagna
- Adding them to berry smoothies :
Or for even more ideas check out these green vegetable recipes.
But do make sure you cook your greens properly to reduce the impact of anti-nutrients that can block key minerals and cause gut issues.
Extra Naturally Antihistamine Foods
I am not a big fan of fancy super foods unless I can grow them easily in my garden or pick for free!!
But these super foods can be worth stocking as they do seem to help with allergy relief and a host of other every day conditions :
- Green tea (*see below)
- Natural honey
- Carob powder - a natural sweetener
- Buckwheat
- Goji berries
The honey is definitely a winner as it is a natural antibiotic that helps with everything from coughs, colds & sore throats to heartburn, sunburn and mosquito bites!!
Green tea, is a little more complex as it has antihistamine effects but may block the DAO enzyme that helps us manage histamine. So only drink in moderation and keep an eye on your personal sensitivity to it.
Allergy Relief Extras
Hay fever and other environmental sensitivities appear to have increased in the last 50 years.
Scientists don't agree on causes and it's easy to fall down rabbit holes finding answers for allergy issues.
But cutting back on chemically intensive cleaning products and toiletries does seem to help.
We don't need to be completely obsessive about removing all "toxic" chemicals but these simple - and very often money saving - changes can make a difference :
- Avoid cleaning with bleach.
- Use natural disinfectants.
- Pick less toxic cleaning products.
- Make quick natural pest control products to get rid of flies & ants.
- Try to wash clothes less.
- Try to wash hair less.
- Simply spend more time outdoors all year round (unless you are in an area with pollution issues).
I do hope these tips help you ease your hay fever and allergy issues.
But remember it is NOT qualified medical advice. See a doctor for new or changing symptoms.
For more simple practical tips check out my other healthy living posts and follow me on Pinterest.
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