Thursday, November 7, 2024

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

EAT WELL / LIVE WELL: A practical guide to food allergies

We certainly may be getting better at diagnosing allergies but, additionally, there are many things about our modern way of life that may make us more vulnerable to them.

Great Barrington — We’ve all heard about the “peanut-free” table in the cafeteria and the nut-free school. The restaurant menus have notations about gluten and nuts. And our friends sometimes make special requests when they are invited for dinner. I am so thrilled when I find recipes on the Internet for all kinds of dishes made without all kinds of ingredients. I find it a food adventure. For some it feels like a real inconvenience but for others it is a life-threatening experience. This is something we all need to appreciate.

images-1Regardless of your personal perspective, these are a few of the questions that commonly arise.

  1. Why is there an increase in peanut allergies? Followed by the comments that “When I went to school, no one had a peanut allergy” and “how careful do we really have to be?”
  2. Is gluten avoidance just a fad?
  3. What about all the other food allergies people are complaining of? Are they real?

Starting with peanut allergies – research says that the number of children in the U.S. with peanut allergy more than tripled between 1997 and 2008. There is also a documented higher incidence of peanut allergies in the UK and Canada. Interestingly, in Israel, where many children are exposed to peanuts before their first birthday, the incidence of peanut allergies is much lower.

So where did these allergies come from?

We certainly may be getting better at diagnosing allergies but, additionally, there are many things about our modern way of life that may make us more vulnerable to them. There is far from a consensus on this subject.

For peanuts, one of the questions is: are we allergic to the food or to what has been done to it? Are we responding to a food that may have been grown in the same soil as a non-food such as cotton so it may have been exposed to chemicals not destined for human consumption? Are we reacting to the molds (aflatoxins) on peanuts? Are we reacting to the pesticides used directly on the peanuts? And, if so, why peanuts more than any other food?

Pertinent to peanuts as well as other foods, we should consider some of the other things that alter the stimulation to our immune system. Here’s the list I have compiled of suggested contributors to the increased incidence of peanut allergies (and other common allergic reactions):

Hygiene theory: This theory maintains that the immune system needs to be stimulated at an early age so it learns to respond to outside stimuli appropriately; as we have become more concerned with cleanliness, we have removed our children and ourselves from exposure to substances that keep the immune system in balance. Unknown copy

The way foods are processed and prepared: Food preparation can change the nature of the proteins in foods, making them more likely to create confusion.

Late introduction of potential allergens: We have been introducing potential allergens such as wheat, dairy, eggs, and peanuts later and later in the hopes of avoiding allergies, but more recent research has propelled the American Academy of Pediatrics to revise its guidelines on introduction of solids to favor earlier introduction.

Less breastfeeding: Breastfeeding helps the immature immune system to learn to modulate.

Quality of the western diet: Excess sugar, antibiotics in meats, food chemicals, pesticides, and lack of nutrients in prepared foods all have an influence on immune response.

Not eating local foods: Our genetics are tied to the places we lived historically and their expression may be linked to where we are now living, causing an incongruity between our genetics and our food intake that may impact some people’s immune systems.

Altered microbiome/gut flora: The microbes in our gut play a large role in modulation of the immune system and when they are altered by foods, drugs, chemicals, and stress, it can affect the immune system.

Intestinal/epidermal permeability: These are the barriers that physically protect us and, when they are breached, the immune system has to start to differentiate friend from foe. This process can confuse the immune system and it may start to protect us from foods that should nourish us.

Hypochlorhydria: When we do not produce enough hydrochloric acid in our stomachs or have artificially decreased our production of it, we do not break down proteins as well and, therefore, these proteins may come into contact with the immune system which will see them as foreign bodies and create an allergic response; this is worse when there is also increased intestinal permeability.

Environmental toxin exposures: We live in a toxic world where we breathe in pollutants and carry them in in our food. These toxins include heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, and cadmium and persistent organic pollutants like PCBs, DDT, and PFOAs, to name a few. These toxins can create additional stress for the immune system, creating greater risk for allergies.

Nutrient deficiencies: When we are not optimally nourished, our bodies are less able to mount an appropriate defense against foreign substances and this can impair our ability to differentiate what should be safe to eat.

Genetic/epigenetic bias: There is a genetic variation that is associated with peanut allergy, but it is not expressed in all those who have it. Epigenetics is about the role that other genes and the environment (food, nutrients, etc.) play in the actual development of the allergy. Simply put, you have to have the genetic pattern to have the reaction, but you don’t have the reaction simply because you have the genetic pattern.

Stress: This decreases our production of hydrochloric acid and impairs digestion; it also has an impact on the immune system.

imagesThese things all affect what I refer to as the terrain, the condition of our bodies that makes us more or less vulnerable to environmental influences.

Next: Gluten, which is a component of wheat, but is also found in rye and barley and the other species of the wheat genus including spelt, farro, einkorn, emmer, and kamut. Wheat allergy, like peanut allergy, can cause symptoms ranging from a runny nose to anaphylaxis. The other species may or may not be problematic for those with a wheat allergy.

Other reactions to gluten are generally not classified as allergies, but rather as sensitivities. The diagnosis of celiac disease refers to an autoimmune response to gluten in the digestive tract; the most common symptoms of this reaction are digestive – usually diarrhea, but also gas, bloating constipation, and abdominal pain, but can become systemic and include fatigue, unexplained iron-deficiency anemia, bone or joint pain, depression or anxiety, tingling numbness in the hands and feet, infertility or recurrent miscarriage, canker sores inside the mouth, or an itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis.

Any other reactions to gluten outside of the diagnosis of celiac disease may hold less credibility with some of the medical establishment, but are gaining in acceptance as testing is being developed and reactions documented. These reactions can be identical to those listed for celiac disease. Because there is not a blood test readily available that tells us whether we have gluten sensitivity, we rely on diagnosis through elimination and challenge and have to trust that people who say that gluten-containing foods make them feel less well are telling the truth. It is important to acknowledge that these reactions are real and that people’s need to avoid gluten or any other food needs to be honored.

top8allergensWhich brings us to the last question, which is all the other allergies. Just as there are eight top allergens considered in conventional allergy diagnosis (with the acceptance that there are individuals with conventional positive allergy testing who react to foods not on this list) there are foods other than gluten that can cause these other kinds of reactions. Some of them are ‘diagnosed’ through non-conventional methods of testing including IgG blood tests and blood tests for ‘cell-mediated’ reactions as well as muscle and pulse testing, and others through elimination and challenge. Some are tested by practitioners and some by individuals in their own homes.

For all the reasons listed above in the discussion of peanut allergies, we are seeing a broader range of reactions to many foods.

 

 

 

 

Leo Galland, MD, starts his introduction to food allergies with the following:

“Do you suffer from:

Weight Gain?
Fatigue?
Depression?
Headaches?
Insomnia?
Stomach Aches?
Brain Fog?

Allergies could be the culprit.”

While there is not universal agreement on this, there is ample research to back up all of these complaints as possibly being a reaction to a food. More to the point, it could be the reaction to any food or a number of foods.

The gold standard for determining these food reactions as well as allergies is the elimination and challenge, with the elimination ranging from a single suspect food to the eight most common allergens to an elimination based on an individual’s eating pattern and symptoms to a comprehensive elimination that cuts out a wider swath of potential irritants in the hopes of achieving well-being before reintroducing (or challenging). With allergic reactions that have shown the potential for being severe, the challenge needs to be done in a doctor’s office with trained staff and equipment to handle a potentially serious reaction. For many of these reactions, the challenge can be done at home and is often very effective. Many people benefit from working with a practitioner experienced in identifying food reactivity. These professionals can guide you through the elimination and challenge safely and also make sure you remain well-nourished on the journey.

UnknownI always like to talk about prevention as the best way to be healthy. Following these guidelines is not a guarantee, but can certainly tip the scales in your favor. Here are the best tools I know of:

  • A clean diet –
    • At least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables – the fewer chemicals used in production, the better
    • Free-range animal protein
    • Ample healthy fats
    • Limited sugar and alcohol
    • Absence of food chemicals and highly processed foods
  • Ample sleep
  • Stress management
  • Healthy social relationships
  • Physical environment without significant mold or chemical fumes

Treatment is not a whole lot different except that it often involves –

  • A significant elimination diet (above)
  • Nutritional supplementation
  • Medical treatment
  • Removal of toxins

The immune system and allergic reactions are a lot more complicated than the information presented here. While there may be individuals who crave the attention associated with having food allergies, these folks are the exceptions. Food allergies are not fun and they are real, even if poorly understood. As we gain a better understanding of the immune system and the role our genes and the environment play in its function, we will be better able to avoid and respond to the development of allergies.

spot_img

The Edge Is Free To Read.

But Not To Produce.

Continue reading

From the kitchen of Kisti Ornellas and Francesco Gallo

A recipe for Apple Chocolate Chip Bread from the kitchen of Kisti Ornellas and Francesco Gallo

From the kitchen of Monica Bliss

A recipe for coconut-curry chili.

The Edge Is Free To Read.

But Not To Produce.