how many of you developed allegies after coming to US

Good topic :thumbsup

I have a family history of allergies, asthma and eczema. I showed only some symptoms of asthma growing up (unlike my siblings, who were diagnosed with asthma), but after I moved here I got full-blown allergies (including food allergies!!) and am really surprised that I developed some eczema too.

 

may be visiting india once in a while will develop immune system
no offense, just kidding. :spin

 

Sujatha,

Allergies are mostly caused by a weak immune system. Lack of certain foods and stress tend to weaken the immune system.

My doctor once suggested to follow indian diet strictly when I asked him if I need to take something like echinacea(immune booster available otc), vitamin c or multivitamins to improve immunity.

A typical indian meal contains all that we need to boost our immune system -Onions, Tomatoes, Cumin, Mustard, Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic, Cilantro, Curry Leaves, Spices, Lentils(protein), Vegetables, Buttermilk/curd and Milk(google for the medicinal value of all these foods and you will be amazed!). Consume atleast 2 to 2.5 litres of water everyday and add some nuts/dates and exercise(nothing hard, just walking will do) to this. Eating healthy and spending time for exercise will also lower the stress level and inturn improve immunity. Feel better soon :thumbsup

 

A very valid point Archana :thumbsup
My friend recently sent her 2 year old to India to stay with his grandparents for 6 months as he had terrible allergies here and to her surprise, he did not suffer from any of the allergies or cold even once while he was there, he was pretty healthy and happy, which made us think, is it the life style here or is it something emotional too?
I also think maybe we are over doing with the hygiene here, nothing wrong in washing hands, but every time we skip the simple soap and go for the alcohol sanitizer, we also kill the good bacteria on the skin. Also, the level of stress and loneliness here might also contribute to a poor immune system. The kid had so many friends over there in India(everyone used to come out and play in the streets) and he was healthy and happy though he was away from his family, but here he mostly sees his family and hardly has any friends to play with :hide: