Access to all articles, new health classes, discounts in our store, and more!
Vitamin C and the Allergic State
Letter to the Editor, published in Journal of Advancement in Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 79-80, Spring 1996.
* * *
Editor: It is well known that the allergic state is frequently associated with an increase in blood histamine. Not too well recognized is the fact that blood histamine and blood ascorbic acid are inversely related.1 Consequently, when blood ascorbate rises, the blood histamine declines. This becomes even more relevant when it is recognized that there is a high incidence and prevalence of ascorbic acid deficiency. For example, Schorah has demonstrated clinical and subclinical hypoascorbemia in a sizeable segment of the population.2 Block has indicated that 15 to 25% of elderly men have low blood ascorbate levels.3
This letter is intended to coordinate these aforementioned facts. I hope that it will create a greater interest in use of the powerful antihistaminic effect of vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of the allergic phenomenon.
References Cited:
- Clemetson, C. A. B. “Histamine and Ascorbic Acid in Human Blood.” J. Nutr. 1980; 110: 662-668.
- Schorah, W. “Vitamin C status in population groups.” In: Counsell, J. N. and Hornig, D. H., eds. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid). Englewood: Applied Science Publishers, 1981.
- Block, G. “Vitamin C, cancer and aging.” Age 1993; 16:55-58.