Daffodils and Robins are out and about, celebrating the coming of Spring.

Will you celebrate with them?

Or run for cover!

I can tell you this ~ more than 50 million Americans dread Spring.

And no wonder. In the U.S., allergies rank as the 6th leading cause for chronic diseases.

Sneezing and wheezing, runny noses, stuffed up sinuses, burning, itchy eyes ~thousands of people know these miseries well.

But they needn't. Nor need you!

Here's 3 simple things you can do to make this year memorably allergy-free.

The First Way: Protect Your Cilia

You simply must take care of your cilia.

What's that? You're not sure what cilia are, let alone whether or not you have any!

Oh yes, my friend, you have many cilia, and they serve you well as some of your most effective health guardians.

Cilia are tiny hairs found in the nose designed to catch and get rid of any intruders. Spring pollens, viruses, bacteria, all of these are trapped by the hairs and the sticky mucus which act in concert to deny an entrance to the body.

Unfortunately, today's harmful pollutants - cigarette smoke (either personal or passive), diesel fumes, emissions by vehicles and power plants and many other pollutants - put our cilia at great risk.

Cilia moves to a beat. Usually about 8-15 beats a second. This transports the irritant toward the back of the nose where it's automatically swallowed and disposed of in the stomach.

Pollutants can slow or stop the beat. Cilia's partner, mucus, can be dried by too-dry air or not enough water in the body. These conditions allow the bacteria to attach themselves to a cell.

And that's when the problems begin.

Bacteria can't invade our bodies unless they're successful in getting a finger or toe hold onto one of our cells. The part of the cell that they latch onto is a specific sugar or sugar complex.

Which brings me to the 2nd way you can avoid this Spring's allergy attack:

The Second Way: Wash your nose with xylitol nose wash

Meet the new kid on the block ~ Xylitol, spelled with an "x" but pronounced with a "z."

Actually not so new. In the late 1800's, Emil Fischer, a German chemist, discovered and manufactured this healthy 5-carbon sugar. Re-discovered by the Finnish Sugar Co. Ltd. in Finland during the sugar scarcity due to World War II, xylitol now continues to receive more and more attention.

What xylitol nose wash does is:

1. Keep your cilia healthy

2. Bathe your cells in a healthy,

alkaline sugar that bacteria don't like.

Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, xylitol is also being actively promoted by many dental associations.

It's become one of the most popular items in health food stores simply because of its many health benefits.