Unfortunately, allergies are also poorly understood and inadequately treated by conventional medicine. Allergy is the result of your immune system's over-reaction to pollens, grass, airborne fungi and even certain foods and cosmetics. With more than 60,000 chemicals already existing in our environment, and nearly 500 new ones being created annually, we also face biochemical challenges to our immune system. When an allergen is introduced, the body fights back by producing an excess of inflammatory chemicals, such as histamine, from mast cells. No, they do not.
Antihistamines merely block the action of histamine at receptor sites.
In other words, they suppress the appearance of physical symptoms but do nothing to redirect the underlying cause. Antihistamines also often produce undesirable side effects, such as dizziness, drowsiness and even depression. The good news is that there is a better way to treat inflammatory disorders. One of the mechanisms involved in an allergic response is the release of leukotrienes, an agent which can restrict bronchial tubes up to 1,000 times greater than can histamine. The production of leukotrienes is made possible by the presence of arachidonic acid, a fatty acid found exclusively in animal products.