Quercitin
Quercetin is a phytochemical that is part of the coloring found in the skins of apples and red onions.
Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant. It is also a natural anti-histamine, and anti-inflammatory. Research shows that quercetin may help to prevent cancer, especially prostate cancer. Men who are concerned about prostate problems would also benefit from quercetin.
Quercetin’s antihistamine action may help to relieve allergic symptoms and asthma symptoms.
The anti-inflammatory properties may help to reduce pain from disorders such as arthritis and gout.
Quercetin may also help reduce symptoms like fatigue, depression and anxiety.
Taking A Quercetin Supplement
How much Quercetin should you take?
A regular quercetin dose is usually between 200 and 500 mg. A strong dose sometimes suggested is 800 mg. Most supplement manufacturers recommend taking it regularly through the day, so these doses are usually given three times a day in between meals.
There are very few situations where you would benefit from more than 2400 mg a day, so I suggest keeping that as the upper limit. I also suggest beginning with smaller doses to see how your body reacts to it.
You should also consider drug interactions when using quercetin.
Contraindications
Extremely high doses of Quercetin (many times the recommended amounts) may cause diarrhea.
Quercetin may enhance the effects of prescription drugs, and they should not be taken at the same time. A baseline to work with is to avoid taking quercetin with any medication which indicates you shouldn’t consume the following foods while using it: onions, apples, apple juice, grapefruit juice, orange juice, pomegranate juice; white, green & black teas.
Quercetin is contraindicated with antibiotics; it may interact with fluoroquinolones (a type of medicinal antibiotic), as quercetin competitively binds to bacterial DNA gyrase. Whether this inhibits or enhances the effect of fluoroquinolones is not entirely clear.
Because of lack of long-term safety data, Quercetin is not recommended for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
