Are You Allergic to Hard Work? Support Your Allergies with These Supplements

By Andrea Bartels CNP NNCP RNT Registered Nutritional Therapist 26 Mar 2025

Are You Allergic to Hard Work? Support Your Allergies with These Supplements

Key Takeaways

1. Workplace allergens impact work performance.
2. Protect and strengthen your airways with NAC.
3. Vitamin C enhances immune function.
4. Selenium regulates immune response and inflammation.
5. Take a holistic approach to allergy management.

Exposure to mould, dust, pollen, and chemicals in the workplace can take a significant toll on employees with allergies, often leading to fatigue, congestion, sinus headache and reduced focus. Despite their impact, allergies are frequently overlooked as a factor affecting productivity, energy levels, and overall well-being. While antihistamines are a common solution, they can cause drowsiness and other side effects, making them less than ideal for daily use. Fortunately, certain nutritional supplements can help allergy sufferers manage their symptoms naturally. Here are three effective supplements to consider.

Protect and strengthen your airways with NAC

NAC (also known as n-acetyl-l-cysteine) is a powerful antioxidant that can help improve allergy symptoms in several ways:

NAC can help mitigate signs and symptoms of inflammation during an allergic response that involves redness, itching, swelling, sneezing and congestion.  That’s because NAC is a precursor to glutathione, a critical antioxidant our bodies make to help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.

NAC supports respiratory health by thinning the mucus that accumulates in our airways during an allergic response. This can be especially beneficial for individuals with asthma from allergies that affect their respiratory system.

NAC protects against damaging environmental pollutants that can worsen allergies. These pollutants not only include smoke from forest fires and urban air pollutants like motor vehicle exhaust but also indoor air pollutants such as dust, cooking fumes, chemical air deodorizers and mould spores.  NAC helps protect the lungs when we inhale these substances, and aids in their detoxification by the liver, with the overall effect of reducing the inflammatory response involved in allergies.

Pure Lab’s NAC provides 600 milligrams of NAC per capsule. Start with taking 1 capsule daily, or as directed by your healthcare practitioner. Note that since NAC is a sulfur-containing precursor to the amino acid cysteine, it has a strong odour. Rest assured that this odour tells you the NAC is fresh, not spoiled.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential nutrient that’s famous for its immune-boosting functions, but how does it help allergies?

Vitamin C enhances immune cell function, helping the body respond more effectively to allergens which can reduce the severity of reactions.  Specifically, vitamin C can help reduce levels of histamine---an inflammatory chemical that’s released during an allergy attack and that’s responsible for symptoms like sneezing, itching and congestion.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps lower the inflammatory response by neutralizing free radicals that cause oxidative stress, or tissue damage. The net result? Reduced swelling and irritation of the airways, skin and eyes, if you get enough of it.

Taking a Vitamin C consistently can help keep symptoms in check.  Pure Lab’s Vitamin C is a corn-free, sugar free vitamin C supplement that is made using tapioca starch- -so it’s hypoallergenic. It’s available in 1000 mg capsules, as well as 1000 mg slow-release capsules for longer lasting benefits through your work day. It also comes in a 100% pure powder that’s excipient-free and provides 500 mg of vitamin C per scoop.

Selenium reduces oxidative stress that worsens allergic reactions and inflammation. This is because it’s a key component of glutathione peroxidase. As previously mentioned, maintaining glutathione levels is important for overall immune function.

Selenium helps regulate the inflammatory pathways involved in allergic reactions.  So you may notice reduced severity of allergic responses while using a selenium supplement.

If you’re looking for comprehensive, well-rounded allergy support, you’ll want to consume the essential mineral selenium each day. But this can be challenging as rich food sources are limited. Pure Lab’s Selenomethionine is a yeast-free, biologically active chelated selenium that can be an effective part of your allergy management program. Each capsule contains 200 mcg of the most useful form of selenium available.

Take a holistic approach to allergy management.  Hard work shouldn’t come with the added challenge of battling allergies.  Managing allergies in the workplace doesn’t have to mean you have to choose between suffering and constant reliance on antihistamines. If workplace allergens are taking a toll on your health, consider adding NAC, vitamin C and selenium to your daily routine. Although we’ve highlighted how they benefit people with allergies, remember that each of these nutrients fulfil many other biological functions at the same time. Give your body what it needs to perform at its best and make these nutrients part of the foundation of your allergy support program.

References

Anderson SE, Long C, Dotson GS. OCCUPATIONAL ALLERGY. Eur Med J (Chelmsf). 2017;2(2):65-71.

Ghalibaf MHE, Kianian F, Beigoli S, et al. The effects of vitamin C on respiratory, allergic and immunological diseases: an experimental and clinical-based review. Inflammopharmacology. 2023;31(2):653-672. 

Hunter J, Arentz S, Goldenberg J, et al. Zinc for the prevention or treatment of acute viral respiratory tract infections in adults: a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ Open. 2021;11(11):e047474. Published 2021 Nov 2. 

Lee PH, Hong J, Jang AS. N-acetylcysteine decreases airway inflammation and responsiveness in asthma by modulating claudin 18 expression. Korean J Intern Med. 2020;35(5):1229-1237. 

Sakazaki F, Arakawa T, et al. Allergies are aggravated by mild selenium deficiency and abrogated by supplementation with selenomethionine. Food Agri Immun 2014; 25:477-485.