Natural Anti-Histamines We Can Feed to Our Birds
August 18, 2012 § Leave a Comment
“Guava”
There are many anti-histamines that are made by Nature Itself that we can feed to our birds if we believe they are suffering from allergies of any kind, be it from previous diets they have been fed, airborne allergies they have developed, topical allergies they have developed or otherwise. But rarely do we need to go to the extent of giving our birds pharmaceutical based anti-histamines if we know what natural anti-histamines to offer.
That being said, you will find that the flavonvoid “quercetin” is among the natural anti-histamines listed to utilize in the fight against allergies. I must warn you that this particular natural remedy may not be positive in the case of birds that barber, pick, pluck or mutilate. Quercetin is especially high in cherries, all dark berries and apples.
Quercetin is responsible for the dark color in the skin of many fruits and vegetables, and may have a tendency to cause the production of the gas “nitric oxide” once in the system. This dilates the vessels and causes them to quiver, thus causing an itching sensation that leads birds to barber, pick, pluck and mutilate. Therefore I would use in moderation in foods that contain quercetin and if you do feed those foods, be sure to balance them with foods that are high in vitamin C. Cherries, berries and apples contain high doses of vitamin C themselves, but to use them strictly as anti-histamines is not a valid reason for feeding them.
There are however, many foods that contain lower levels of quercetin, but still have anti-histamine properties. The reason they contain this property is because they either contain high levels of vitamin C or because they contain other flavonoids such as bromelain, found in pineapple. But even some living creatures are sensitive to the flavonoids in pineapple, so watch your bird carefully when feeding pineapple to see if the allergy improves or worsens.
I personally find that most allergies improve with the use of foods with high vitamin C contents, but do not contain as high a level of the flavonoids like quercetin and bromelain as other fruits do. Those would be lemons and grapefruits with limes coming in last on the list. Oranges are actually not good choices because they actually contain histamines. Unless eaten with a good dose of salt, oranges will cause a histamine effect, and we really don’t want to give our birds a dose of salt with their serving of oranges.
Which brings up a very valid point, salt is actually the greatest anti-histamine available! This is one reason why salt is important in our diet. So it stands to reason that every living creature must have salt in its diet somewhere. Most foods have some trace amount of sodium (salt) in it. But if you are feeding your bird the CA-Montmorillonite Clay I have suggested you add to your bird’s diet, and then your bird is receiving a sufficient amount of sodium in its diet. Therefore your bird is receiving an anti-histamine. But is it enough anti-histamine for your bird? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the problem your individual bird is experiencing.
One other point I wish to bring up is the use of copper plumbing in your home. If you have copper plumbing it could be that your bird is receiving too much copper in its system via its drinking water. Or, it may be receiving too much copper in its diet through other foods or synthetic vitamins. If too much copper is in the blood level it will cause the body to resist, or inhibit, the absorption of vitamin C, even through natural synthesizing processes. Therefore it could be that any natural anti-histamine action could be nil to none. Under these conditions a living body would need to ingest more vitamin C than normally would be considered necessary to receive adequate and normal benefit.
If I am working with you personally regarding your bird’s nutritional profile we are probably already discussing this aspect of your bird’s diet. If I am not working with you, feel free to email me at AidForTheBirds@yahoo.com and we can discuss this topic. In the meantime, take a look at the list below and begin feeding your bird some of the great natural anti-histamine foods to help curb the allergies your bird may be experiencing: (Please feed only organic) (You may feed skin and seeds too if you are using organic)
Listed from highest to least amount of Vitamin C content.
1) Lemons
2) Guava
3) Strawberries (Use only strawberries due to high amount of pesticides used on conventionally grown.)
4) Papaya
5) Kiwi
6) Red Grapefruit
7) Green Tea Extract (Make sure it is “standardized” to a minimum of 90% polyphenols and 55% EGCG.)
8) Limes
9) Pineapple
10) Lychee
11) Peaches
12) Apricot
13) Mulberries
14) Gooseberries
15) Kumquats
16) Passionfruit
17) Persimmon
18) Grape Seed Extract (make sure it is “standardized” ensuring quality, it can act as a blood thinner, it is high in Omega 6’s which your bird typically gets too many of anyway)
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