You might just need all the help you can get this spring. Mitchell Gaynor, MD, and clinical assistant professor of medicine at New York City’s Weill-Cornell Medical College, says that this year’s pollen vortex (yup, that’s a thing) will make allergy season even worse than usual. “We had such a harsh, cold winter and there hasn’t been the slow release of pollen into a gradual spring like we usually have,” says Dr. Gaynor. “I think this will be one of the worst allergy seasons in memory.” (Hoard boxes of Kleenex now?) But there’s actually no need to extend your hibernation straight through until summer, according to Dr. Gaynor’s new book, The Gene Therapy Plan: Taking Control of Your Genetic Destiny with Diet and Lifestyle, out later this month. In it, he explains that even though your maddeningly itchy eyes and runny nose might be genetic, you can get rid of them with vitamins and food.(Check out the 5 nutrients you need at Well+Good!) “You can control allergies with diet,” affirms Dr. Gaynor. “Certain foods work to alter the expression of your genes.” Consider it like the way you alter the expression of your tush with squats.
