Fitness
How to exercise when you suffer from hay fever
It’s nature’s cruel joke: from May to July, just when we’re eager to exercise outside, grass pollen counts peak, making exercise sneezy, wheezy work for the one in four adults who experience hay fever.
It might be tempting to lock yourself in a gym or medicate yourself up to the eyeballs, but there are other options. In fact, taking meds might interfere with your workout: a 2021 study found that antihistamines slashed the exercise-induced increase in blood flow to muscles by 35 per cent, which impacted performance and recovery.
No wonder a study by Allergy UK found that 49 per cent of people with hay fever spend less time outside because of their symptoms — causing about a third of them to gain weight.
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