I was wondering if anyone here has noticed a decrease in certain "ailments" while following the Zone method of eating. I have been suffering from Chronic urticaria (chronic Hives) ever since I was 19 (I'm now 26). When I get these hives they tend to get extremely large, covering my entire arm for example. At times I also get extreme swelling in the face to the point I avoid public appearances. Something about a lip being five times its normal size gets you some odd looks.... :shock: I guess the scariest moment was my tongue swelling in the middle of the night. I've been to an allergist and no one cause could be determined so it was shrugged off as "stress", which is the answer doctors use when there is no answer. :wink: Long story short, ever since I've started the zone these hives have become less frequent and severe. thoughts? -Susan 8)

[quote:2a5bcfbe9e="Susan"]I was wondering if anyone here has noticed a decrease in certain "ailments" while following the Zone method of eating.[/quote:2a5bcfbe9e] Plenty! [quote:2a5bcfbe9e]Long story short, ever since I've started the zone these hives have become less frequent and severe. thoughts? [/quote:2a5bcfbe9e] Excess Leukotriene production contributes to inflammatory skin conditions. They are much more potent than histamines. Lowering insulin levels and including adequate omega-3s reduces the amount of arachidonic acid (the substrate for the Leukotrienes), and hence reduces (if not eliminates) the severity of the outbreaks.

I developed hives at 42. I started the zone diet at 32 and for the most part stayed with it. But last october I started eating more pizza and red meats (cheeze burgs and big macs)vs. just once a month. I put on about 10 - 12 pounds but still felt good. I also cut back on fish oil (fo) maybe once a week (just got lazy). Thats when the hives started on my wrists and ring finger. All winter long progressivly got worse started to spred to my arms and back with larger and larger welts/hives. At the time I just thought gettin older and got to live with it. Tried antihistamines and hc creams some relief but nothing great. Finally the following March the hives got really bad especially on my feet/soles. Swelling so bad had to take prednisone and had blood work done. The doc thought i may have allergy to something but blood work ok. The prednisone worked great but as soon as i stopped the med surpise HIves. Then I got back on the Zone wagon no red meat and no fatty cheeze and back to liquid fo this time 15mls daily and within 4 days about 60% decrease in hives and after 3 weeks taking 10 mls 7 times a week or so nothing but 1 cm or less hives one or two. And by June I was down to 10 mls fo 4 to 5 times a week and hive free (also,went on vacation ate alot of fresh seafood). What's funny is if I eat pizza or something with bad fat in large meals within 12 hours I will have a small HIve but as long as i take fo it never gets back to being really noticable. My wife as my witness has been amazed seeing the effects fo and good diet. That's my story hope it helps someone.

Thanks Matt

I swear by the fish oil. When we went overseas I didnt take any fish oil and really noticed the difference. As soon as we got back to Australia I started taking it and felt much better - as well as starting the Zone way of eating again!

I tried another fish oil brand, it had the same balance as the Zone fish oil. I felt good with it. Now, I am trying another one, couldn't get back to the store to get the one that I got previously, and it isn't quite the same balance. I don't think that it is as effective, and so next time I will definitely look for the right balance again.

Matt, thanks for sharing your experiences. Glad to hear about your excellent results.