This
time of year in the U.S.A. many people suffer from allergic reactions
to pollen. Are you one of those suffering sneezing; runny nose; and/or
itchy eyes or throat? If so, this message is for you.
There
are various factors that go into allergic reactions in the body.
Perhaps I’ll cover more of them (and natural, drug-free remedies for
them) in another email. But in this message, I’ll quickly cover vitamin
C’s power to dramatically reduce allergies.
Years ago a
coworker of mine mentioned that she was suffering a runny nose and
other allergic reactions from the pollen in the air that time of year. I
gave her a bottle of vitamin C capsules with some simple instructions
like I’ll give you here. I saw her at a later date and what do you know?
She said once she started taking the vitamin C supplement, her allergic
symptoms disappeared.
More recently, while others are
suffering from allergies all around me, I walk around with no allergic
symptoms at all. But one evening I noticed that one side of my nose was a
bit stuffy, which is very unusual for me. When I thought about it, it
dawned on me that I had missed my usual dose of vitamin C that evening…
Yep, vitamin C works, alright.
And you know what’s great
about using vitamin C for this purpose? Some anti-allergy drugs actually
suppress the immune system and leave you more vulnerable to infections.
But not vitamin C. Vitamin C actually strengthens your immune system
and your immunity to infections. And it won’t cause you drowsiness;
headache; constipation; fatigue; dry mouth; or other unpleasant symptoms
like anti-allergy drugs often do.
Yes, you can absolutely
get vitamin C from foods like fruits and vegetables rather than
supplements. I highly recommend a nutritious diet and I don’t think
supplements can or should take the place of a good diet. But here’s the
thing: most of the time we humans have been on this planet we lived a
hunter-gatherer lifestyle. We ate wholesome, unadulterated foods free of
artificial poisons and contaminants. And we ate them the same day we
gathered them, when they were full of vitamin C. Nowadays few of us eat
in that manner or in that environment. We eat foods harvested before
they’re ripe, shipped a long way, and stored for days, weeks, or months
before we consume them. Under those conditions, there is very little
vitamin C in foods. So we tend to get only a tiny fraction of the
vitamin C we need for good health.
Would you like some quick tips for remedying allergies using vitamin C supplements? Here you go:
- Ascorbic acid is vitamin C and it’s a really inexpensive form of vitamin C you can get as supplements.
- Ascorbic
acid is acidic, though. It doesn’t bother my stomach but some people
find it bothers theirs. I recommend taking it with food, which can
improve absorption and reduce stomach upset.
- If you’d like a
vitamin C supplement that’s non-acidic and absorbed better by the body,
go with mineral ascorbates like calcium ascorbate, magnesium ascorbate,
etc. They’re just minerals that are bound to ascorbic acid.
- Vitamin
C is used up by the human body pretty fast. The body does not store it,
unlike other nutrients. So for good results you must take it multiple
times a day, not in one big dose.
- Whatever form of vitamin C you
take as supplements, start off with small doses. The body gradually
learns to absorb and use more of it. If you increase the dose too fast,
you’ll experience gas or loose bowel movements. If that occurs, just
reduce your dosage a bit until those symptoms go away.
- For most
adults, I’d suggest starting off with a daily dose of 1,000 to 2,000
milligrams. Divide that into multiple smaller doses that you take
throughout the day. For example, you might start off by taking 500
milligrams, three times per day.
- Over the course of a month or
two, see if you can gradually build up to taking 10,000 or 15,000
milligrams a day. Most adults would benefit substantially from even
3,000 supplemental milligrams per day. But at 10,000 mg. or higher, not
only would allergies likely be dramatically reduced but you’d experience
a plethora of other wonderful health benefits.
- If you’d like to
go with a really inexpensive but good quality ascorbic acid vitamin C
supplement, you might try NOW Foods’ C-500 tablets. It's available at Amazon here
- I use the ascorbic acid vitamin C tablets called NOW Foods Vitamin C-1000 Sustained Release. They're available via Amazon here.
The tablets release their contents to your digestive system over hours,
rather than immediately. That can help with increasing your daily
intake of vitamin C without having to take it in as many doses. But I
find Amazon tends to be slow to ship supplements that are supposedly in
stock. So I prefer to get my supplements from A1supplements.com,
who not only offer supplements at a deep discount off retail, but they
also tend to ship more promptly than Amazon. So you can get the
Sustained Release tablets from A1 Supplements by clicking here if you like.
- If
you’d like to use the mineral ascorbates version of vitamin C that is
absorbed better by the body and less likely to upset your stomach, you
could go with Solaray’s C.M.Z. Ascorbate C capsules. They provide
calcium and magnesium in the proper 2:1 ratio and are available at Amazon here.
Just bear in mind that because that particular supplement provides
calcium, magnesium, and zinc in addition to vitamin C, most adults
shouldn't take more than about 15 of those capsules per day.
Whew! I hope this was insightful and helpful for you. Perhaps it enables you to reduce your allergies. Let me know if it does!
