Question:
I am thrilled! Every year at about this time I have a sore red nose, I
breathe through my mouth, my eyes water and ooze, my ears itch, my
skin breaks out, I cough, hack and wheeze. I hide in my air
conditioned house with a box of kleenex and little wads of kleenex
stashed every place, in my pockets, my purse, my bathrobe, my jacket.
All this while taking Allegra, Nazonex, Claritin... After 4 months on low carb I am barely even sniffling. No allergy
drugs. All those horrible symptoms are gone! It is amazing. I have
spent the last 4 days cleaning out my (formerly) neglected garden,
dust flying, pollen swirling, weeds scratching. Not even a sneeze.
(And the reason my garden was neglected last year? I was to fat and
tired from eating all that low fat high carb food.)
Is this great or what!
Has anyone else experienced this wonderful side effect?
Answer:
Yes. My husband gets awful allergies (I don't have it so bad) and I have
both noticed a marked reduction in symptoms. For me, a combination low carb/high pH diet helps most. If I eat too much
meat and eggs without lots of greens and other high pH foods, my symptoms
get markedly worse. Not as bad as they would be with a high carb diet,
though.
No, no allergy relief for me (after over 4 years, so it's not gonna
happen), but I'm happy someone else got it. :-)
Right now Claritin plus chlorpheniramine plus pseudoephedrine plus
allergy eye drops aren't doing the trick for me. High pollen counts
have me pretty darn miserable right now. Bloodshot watery eyes
(neighbor asked if I was *crying*!) hives, swollen sinuses that have the
under-eye area swollen too, sneezing, end up mouth breathing, and
everything itches - especially the inside of my throat. As one who practices this WOL for specific health reasons, I am not
surprised by your results. I was amazed to find how many people are
allergic to wheat, especially gluten, to one degree or another.
There has been much written about food allergies and it makes lots
of sense. Unfortunately, we rarely get tested for these allergies unless
the reactions are severe enough to require medical intervention. Even
then, it may not get the consideration until all other avenues are taken.
I am pleased that you are doing so much better! Keep on doin' what
you're doin'!
By the by, the first time I went from San Diego to the UK on a trip, I
also noticed fewer allergies (not on Atkins then). On the second
trip, it wasn't as allergy free, which was bad, I left my meds behind
thinking I wouldn't need them. Ended up drinking a lot of coffee to
replace my rescue inhaler. That was before I restarted low carbing,
though, so who knows what would happen now.
yes - it is great!!!!! i am 45 & from age 6 thru 24, i got allergy shots;
after that, all sorts of inhalents (sp?), anti-histamines, etc. my eyes used
to swell shut as a child. sinus infections 4-6x per year. since lo-carbing,
totally off meds & haven't been sick since mar 02. You and me both. This, in fact, has been a worse year for me,
allergy-wise, than usual. I take about the same mix of medications as you on bad days, except I
take Zyrtec instead of Claritin. Claritin doesn't do a thing for
me...
However, I take year-round daily allergy medication, though I don't
usually need to "stack" except in the fall, so I'm not surprised that
I'm just as bad as ever.
I've been thinking about visiting a chiropractor for allergy relief; I
hear that they can do some manipulations that can help. Unfortumately,
allergy shots did not really help me. On the other hand, my asthma-related problems have been a lot better,
though I'm pretty sure that's just a weight-loss thing. For years one of the first things I do before allergy season starts is
to go low carb. I have found that being allergic to grass that I am
better off if I avoid wheat and all grains,which are basically forms
of grass. I can usually get through the allergy season with very
little medication if I strictly avoid that stuff. But if I don't, I'm
almost disabled. My sinuses become totally blocked, my ears get fluid
in them and my eyes nearly swell shut.
