ONE CURE FOR POLLEN ALLERGIES

From the first week of May to the end of September for 12 years or so, allergies to pollen of grass, ragweed, and other plants would cause me deep fatigue. I’d wake up exhausted, dehydrated, with swollen eyes as if I hadn’t slept for days. Some times my eyes would “glue” themselves shut.

Finally, I went to an allergist. At first he prescribed wearing a dust mask 24 hours a day, close all the windows, and avoid fresh cut grass. I never did, so he had me try a new allergy medication at the time. Seldane twice a day worked great, as if I had no pollen allergies. My pollen allergies were so bad that if I forgot to take Seldane for more than a day, shortly after a dream started it would freeze frame until I woke up. I’d take some Seldane, go back to bed, and an hour or so later I’d be able to dream again. Four years later though, it was so expensive, I couldn’t afford it for another allergy season.

About a month before another allergy season set in, I started taking a 50 mg individual supplement of zinc citrate every day to strengthen my immune system, but 50 mg was too much and shortly after stopped for a few days a restarted at 50 mg every other day. I wasn’t taking a multivitamin at the time and never did find one that worked well for me. When the allergy season started, unexpectedly, the deep fatigue symptoms and swollen and “glued shut” eyes” didn’t set in. To be sure, I took the allergy medication several different times during the allergy season and didn’t feel any better. Today, if I develop a zinc deficiency, the deep fatigue and other symptoms don’t come back.

Twenty-five mg a day or 50mg every other day of zinc citrate is plenty. Don’t take more than this because zinc is a core nutrient of the immune system, and too much zinc weakens the immune system, making the body much more susceptible to illness related to the immune system. Too much zinc also keeps blood sugar pushed down making you more weak and moody (or more moody). A telltale sign of zinc deficiency is frequent coughing, and you may notice the cough stems from an itch or irritation in or near your voice box. A long-term zinc deficiency can cause small white marks on fingernails, one form of Leukonychia. When taking zinc you’ll probably notice the curved area colored white at the bottom of your finger nail will become smaller (lower) and can disappear completely.

Vitamin A is also a core nutrient of the immune system. Using zinc, the body (a.k.a. the cells of the body) turns beta carotene into vitamin A as needed. Taking beta carotene instead of vitamin A prevents you from taking too much vitamin A, which can cause a lot of problems, some of them permanent.

Beta carotene is usually sold in 10,000 and 25,000 IU supplements. Keep in mind that zinc supplementing on top of a vitamin A deficiency usually will make the vitamin A deficiency worse. One 10,000 IU supplement a day or one 25,000 IU supplement every other day of beta carotene will help the immune system prevent and fight chest colds, influenza virus (the flu), and the parasites (bacteria, virus) that cause pneumonia and bronchitis. In 2003, the flu and pneumonia caused 65,000 deaths.

One way to see when you’re too low on vitamin A is to look for a circular patch of blood shot on the white of your eye below the iris. If the patch is there, you probably are too low on vitamin A. You can even see the blood shot patch in people on TV and in movies. Once a supplement of beta carotene is taken, the patch will disappear in about 4-6 hours. Pumpkin pie (without filler stock for pumpkin stock) contains a lot of beta carotene compared to other foods and a couple of slices can be enough to make the circular blood shot patch disappear. Having the patch is a good indication that there is a vitamin A deficiency, but this symptom probably doesn’t occur in every one, so no blood shot patch doesn’t necessarily mean no vitamin A deficiency. This useful symptom can be lost when taking a vitamin D supplement.

Most sources will tell you beta carotene is non toxic and you can take all the beta carotene you want and not worry. Those same sources didn’t double check their statement by taking a handful of 25,000 IU of beta carotene supplements to see what happens. A nutrient that is said to be non toxic means that supposedly, no matter how much you take of the nutrient, it won’t kill you. A nutrient may actually be non toxic, but that doesn’t mean a lot of the nutrient won’t cause you symptoms and harm. Too much beta carotene causes fatigue and weakens the immune system. For those taking beta carotene to prevent respiratory infections (bronchitis, the Flu, etc.), too much beta carotene can easily lead to the illnesses you’re trying to prevent.

When taking beta carotene and starting to feel better and then starting too feel worse, this is not an indication that you need more beta carotene and probably means you need to take a day or two off from beta carotene and restart at a lower amount or change to every other day or every third day. Obviously this is more likely to occur with 25,000 IU supplements of beta carotene than 10,000 IU of beta carotene. (But 25,000IU every other day is a money saver.) Of course, if you have a significant zinc deficiency, a normal and safe amount of beta caroten can easily be too much beta carotene. Also from long experience, a deep magnesium deficiency can cause a situation where you find yourself taking much more beta caroten than normal or usual and still feel like you’re not getting enough beta carotene, then when the magnesium deficiency is corrected, the high beta caroten becomes way too much beta carotene, causing significant fatigue to start, making you think the problem is too much magnesium when it’s too much beta carotene (could even be too much of both).

Oak, elm, poplar, and maple trees release pollen in early spring. Bermuda, orchard, and timothy grasses release pollen in late spring and early summer. Ragweed (pictured) is by far the most problematic of pollen. A single ragweed plant makes about a billion pollen grains a season. Because ragweed pollen grains are so light, ragweed grains can be carried as far as 400 miles away. Ragweed plants release pollen from mid-August through October.