If you've suffered the embarrassment of stress-induced hives, you know that they can make an already tense experience even worse. Those itchy red blotches force you to wear your anxiety like a badge of shame. The solution to stress-induced hives is an elusive one, but there is some evidence that quercetin may help. Consult your doctor before taking quercetin supplements.
Hives
Hives are red, itchy and have the tendency to appear at inopportune times. Also called "urticaria," hives are an immune response that occurs when your body releases histamine, a hormone that dilates openings in your blood vessel walls to allow fluids and white blood cells to flow into the surrounding tissue. This accumulation of fluids causes swelling, redness and itching. Hives can result from exposure to hot temperatures, allergens and exercise, in addition to stress.
Quercetin
Quercetin is a water-soluble plant pigment found in a wide range of plant-based foods such as red wine, onions, apples and black tea. It is also a flavonoid -- a type of nutrient with effects similar to those of antioxidants -- at least in laboratory experiments involving cell cultures. Whether flavonoids have antioxidant effects in the human body is still up for scientific debate, according to NYU's Langone Medical Center. Besides its ubiquity in plant-based foods, quercetin is available as a nutritional supplement in pill or tablet form.
Research
Quercetin has been tested on cell cultures and animal subjects to determine whether it is helpful in the treatment of allergic conditions such as hay fever and hives. These studies, according to NYU, found that quercetin suppresses the release of histamine, thus inhibiting the allergic reaction. It is too early to determine whether these effects extend to the treatment of allergic reactions in human subjects. More research is needed and NYU warns that there is no direct evidence supporting the use of quercetin in allergic reactions such as stress-induced hives.
Considerations
It would be premature to extrapolate the results of cell culture studies using quercetin in cell cultures to its effects in humans, but the American Cancer Society states that these studies do suggest potential value in using quercetin in the treatment of other conditions in addition to allergic responses. Quercetin has also been investigated for its effects on colon cancer, prostatitis and heart disease. Until more conclusive evidence is unearthed to support these findings, the ACS suggests eating a diet with plenty of quercetin-rich fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains rather than taking quercetin supplements.
