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From: libes@nbs-amrf.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Allergies and Treatments Thereof - try Vitamin C
Message-ID: <321@nbs-amrf.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 15-Jun-84 21:14:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: nbs-amrf.321
Posted: Fri Jun 15 21:14:21 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Jun-84 05:20:58 EDT
References: <427@ihu1g.UUCP>
Organization: National Bureau of Standards
Lines: 41

I recommend Vitamin C.  I am no doctor nor can I guarantee that it will help
you.  However, I will take it for the rest of my life.  Right now, (during
allergy season), I take 3 grams a day.  Other times of the year I take .5 to
1 gram.

I have hayfever (for sure) and probably other allergies.  I always used to
sneeze a lot and especially during hayfever season.  It was worst when I was
a student eating a diet of subs, pizza, chocolate, cola and occasionally
antihistamines when I really couldn't stand it.  (I hate taking drugs of any
kind.)  I found a book called the "People's Pharmacy" that recommended
Vitamin C and then asked a friend of mine who studies nutrition (as a
hobby).  After giving me some books by Linus Pauling, she explained how much
to take and that day I took 3 or 4 grams - 500 mg every half hour until I
went to bed.  The next day I woke up with no allergy symptoms whatsoever.
Two weeks later, I stopped taking C (my bottle ran out) and the symptoms
came back the following day.  I quickly went out and bought some more!  As
long as I take C in large amounts, I find I have no allergies.  What more
can I say?

As an aside, I have had colds (sorry Linus - I really can't say if I get
them less frequently) but the severity of the colds is much less.  They last
a day or two and no one (but me) can tell that I have one - I hardly ever
sneeze (so my nose doesn't get raw), my eyes don't water, throat doesn't
hurt, etc.  I'd take the C just for that alone.  Actually, I don't know if
this resistance to colds is due to my diet...its improved 1000% since
school.  In any case, I find the C necessary to avoid the allergies.  (Its
possible I could have even better success with colds if I took 3g year
round.)  But obviously diet (and I take other vitamins and minerals now)
plays an important part in health.  (So does environment - I lost all my
allergy symptoms temporarily when I visited California!)

According to Pauling, 3g is actually a small dose.  He suggests that people
take between 5 and 8g (dependent on the person).  I found that at 5g, I had
diarrhea, an apparently normal reaction by the body attempting to rid itself
of too much of the water-soluble vitamin.

In fairness to equal say, I have to say that a lot of people (i.e. doctors)
don't like Pauling and his theories, especially the AMA.

Don Libes	{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!nbs-amrf!libes