Quercitin and stomach upset

[Cs1992]

Hello folks.
Been dealing with issues for 2.5 months now all of which wax and wane . Mainly scrotal discomfort, burning urethra, perineum soreness, and urgency.

I ordered Quercetin & Bromelin capsules ( Vitamin Shoppe brand) and have tried 500mg 2x daily. Unfortunately this stuff really irritates my guts with debilitating abdominal issues like gas, pain etc.
I stopped it for a week only to have the same issue next time I took it. Maybe I'm allergic, maybe it's the brand but some reviewers on Amazon note the same gastric issues.

Does anyone feel that any accredited quercetin product or any accredited quercetin product may offer a better experience?

[webslave]

Try plain Quercetin. It leaves out the more irritating ingredients like pollen extract.

[Cs1992]

Thanks Webslave. I really want to get any accredited quercetin product but am fearful of the gastro issues after trying the Vitamin Shoppe brand. Hopefully it's a "source" issue like you mentioned.

In the meantime I'll continue stretching and reading the threads. This issue is beyond frustrating.

[canada604]

Any recommendations on what brand to buy in Canada? I've tried Amazon and a few other places, but I cannot find one that is recommended by academic Urologists.

[webslave]

If in doubt, buy from the biggest brands, e.g. Twinlab, Nature Made, Kirkland, Amazon Elements, etc. At least they have some sort of quality control.

[canada604]

If in doubt, buy from the biggest brands, e.g. Twinlab, Nature Made, Kirkland, Amazon Elements, etc. At least they have some sort of quality control.

Bought a couple bottles. I read on another thread it is best to take for three weeks then take a break for one week before starting over.

Is there a recommended dosage for CPPS? The bottle says 1 pill twice a day (500mg each).

[webslave]

That dose is about right. The stop-start approach seems to work well, gives the body time to clear things out and reset.

[elias]

Regarding Quercetin and stomach upset, there's a phospholipid complex of Quercetin which is sold under name: Quercetin Phytosome. It is supposedly much more absorbable. Approx 20 times more, if memory serves. And has much fewer GI side effects. For me, all GI side effects are now gone with this form of Q. I've seen the medical research showing the greater absorbability. The product I now use is from company named Thorne. But by now, it's likely others are selling it as well. It's much costlier than the usual Quercetin Dihydrate however.

My outstanding question concerning this is as to dosage of this complex for CPPS. It does come in 250mg capsules. But that's counting the lecithin it's complexed with. They recommend 3 capsules a day. But they cannot tell me what dosage of this product roughly corresponds to 1,000 mg quercetin dihydrate generally used. But that their usual recommended dose is 2-3 capsules daily..

So, any suggestions as to how to proceed with corresponding dosage?

Also: They were unaware of any need to take breaks from this particular product, but that's just some "nutritional counselor" from a company, so take it with grain of salt.. I do get anxiety around time of breaks, because Quercetin works wonders for me.

Hope this helps with the GI side effects..

Here's link to PubMed article re Quercetin Phytosome:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30328058/

~elias

[webslave]

That's a very interesting paper and observation. Unfortunately, the authors of that paper are all employees of a quercetin-selling company, Indena:
https://www.indena.com/product/quercefit/

We'll have to wait to see if other papers back this up.

Regarding dosage, if it's 20x more absorbable, then you'd need 20x less. But if you don't know how much quercetin is within the lecithin complex, you are left guessing.

[elias]

Thanks for pointing out this conflict of interest, Webslave. Disappointed, but somehow not surprised.

There's also a form of Quercetin called EMIQ = Enzymatically Modified Isoquercetin, which is supposedly 40 times more absorbable. And "Natural Factors" does lower dose to 167 mg/capsule. Go figure.. It's less expensive than the Quercetin Phytosome, and more has been published on it. I can't locate link to the research on this. So if you happen to know (might well be based on some vitamin company's research too, but....)

While we're on topic of quercetin breaks:

I've been a bit "delinquent" in taking those breaks, especially when symptoms are hardly there. I guess why mess with a good thing is the attitude. When I do get a bout, I will take a break. But I'm not clear for how long.

For example, my last break was February for 2 weeks. Got relapse late May and started break May 31. I'm very eager to go back on it. But does my long break-free period suggest I take a longer break, or would 10-14 days be enough..

(That's the question which led me to come to this forum today, and then I happened to see this thread.. So I offered my 2-cents worth with that Phytosome Quercetin)

Appreciate the input.
Thanks
~elias

[webslave]

Here is the research on EMIQ
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=e ... oquercetin

The 'breaks' in taking quercetin is something I discovered worked for me. If it's not working for you, don't do it.

[elias]

Hi again:
It's very hard for me to tell if those breaks work, because too many factors are involved in provoking relapse, mostly IBS flare-ups, sleep loss, and stress. So when I get relapse, I try lots of things-including Quercetin breaks. Eventually, the symptoms do subside. But the notion of breaks is based only off what I've read on a few sites, along the lines of 3 weeks on, one week off..or 6 weeks on -two weeks off. I havent found anything in the literature supporting it.

It does make intuitive sense to me, in terms of "reset" or a "wash out period" so I do it Seems a good idea for medications in general.. But I do the breaks haphazardly..and when things aren't going well

Whether a longer break is advisable after continuous non-break usage?
I do not know. I fuss over this a lot because quercetin is so far the only supplement that ever did anything for me for any condition. So I stress over it "pooping out" on me

Thanks again
~elias