mucus

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, and your symptoms involve nasal and sinus congestion 24-7, you may want to take a look at the dairy in your diet.

Dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream may be making your allergy symptoms worse. Casein, the naturally occurring protein in dairy products, can promote the formation of mucus. It can also make existing mucus thicker in your nose and sinuses, leaving you completely congested. It may also cause a runny nose or the ever annoying post nasal drip.

Of course, conventional doctors may not agree with the notion that dairy promotes mucus (there's no scientific evidence, but maybe because there have been no studies - I don't know), but many people swear that ditching dairy has cured their sinus problems. So if you are curious, you'll have to test the theory yourself. Try eliminating all things dairy for at least 1 to 2 weeks and see how you feel. It's made a world of difference for me, my nose and my sinuses, so I definitely think it's worth a shot.

Here's a cool tidbit of info - casein is also used to make adhesives, like glue, beer bottle labels and wood glue used in furniture. Think about it - if casein can make two objects stick together, imagine what it can do to your sinuses.

Fit's Tips: To help relieve congestion in your nose and sinuses, try using a neti pot. Not only does it get rid of mucus, but it helps to flush dust and allergens out of your nose that can make you stuffy in the first place.

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For a lot of people, seasonal allergies are all about congestion, sneezing, and blowing your nose every 2 minutes. You are breathing in a ton of pollen and if you're allergic, your body creates all that mucus to try and flush it out.

To get rid of the pollen and dust in your nostrils, relieve some of the pressure in your face, and release some of that fluid from you nose and sinuses, you've got to try using a neti pot. Once you try it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Need more specific instructions? Then read more

It is not so much the snot which is green as the phlegm component, and this is only when it is infected. Healthy phlegm is not really green.

The phlegm becomes green in the presence of infection (bacteria) due to the large numbers of white blood cells present, which make their way through the airway walls to combat the infection. White blood cells also give pus a whitish-green color, so you'd think mucus would be white but it's snot. (Get it? Sorry, but I couldn't resist.)

There's more to it. Many of the common bacteria associated with humans have color. Staphylococcus aureus is a golden yellow, and Pseudomonas pyocyanea is a shade of blue. The green color of snot comes from the mixture of the yellow and blue. Interesting, yet gross, and hopefully inspirational to stay vigilant about not catching a cold as this snotty season slowly comes to an end.