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Food Allergies and Sensitivities: Part II

In the last Latest News ( November 12, 2007 ), I left off talking about IgG, food allergies and immune complexes creating havoc and symptoms in your tissues. Let's say the nasty immune complex ends up in your left knee joint because you wonked it skiing when you were twenty-two, and it's been sort of weak ever since. Immune complexes are bullies and like to pick on any weak area of the body. So, for you, it's your injured knee plus your undiagnosed food sensitivities that will ultimately cause you problems.

Food allergies can distress, not just your joints, but every system of the body, including the brain. The brain can't get arthritis or lupus, but it sure can get foggy, distracted, depressed and senile. There is a correlation between food sensitivities and depression, anxiety and dementias, especially with gluten. For example, one hundred percent of schizophrenics have been shown to have severe gluten sensitivity and when gluten foods were removed early in the course of their disease, most experienced a complete recovery.

The gluten and gliaden in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut and sometimes oats and corn can actually cause ataxia, which is a neurological disorder where your balance and coordination are way off and you are tottering about for no reason anyone can find. My father had a diagnosis from the Mayo Clinic of "Ataxia, etiology unknown" and upon his death from a stroke, we did an autopsy which showed a very shriveled cerebellum which is where posture, balance and movement originate. I personally think that his cerebellar dystrophy was partially a result of the undiagnosed gluten sensitivity. That, and his occupation as a chemical engineer which exposed him to a constant barrage of chemicals and heavy metals which tend to hang out in brain tissue.

Of course, one of the most common immune reactions to gluten is celiac disease which is a digestive disorder that interferes with the absorption of food. While most doctors assume that all cases of celiac disease express gut issues, in fact 13% of celiac patients have only brain symptoms (ataxia, schizophrenia, ADHD) and no gut issues at all.

Forty percent of recurrent ear infections in kids are caused by food sensitivities, primarily milk and milk products. (But, our pal gluten can also cause ear trouble.) Most ear infections can be prevented by having your child tested by me or someone like me and then being strict about cleaning up their diet.

Here is the merry-go-round simply explained: Your child gets her first ear infection. She gets antibiotics. Your child has several ear infections. She has several rounds of antibiotics. She gets tubes. (Over 2 million ear tubes are inserted yearly.) The tubes help somewhat, but she still gets ear infections resulting in the usual course of antibiotics. By now she might have become moody and cranky. She actually has a raging yeast problem but you are not aware of it. She craves sugar and is a very picky eater. The probiotic organisms in her gut have vanished and her immune system has gone south. (Remember how 70% of the immune system is in the gut? You need probiotics to regulate that.) By now, maybe your child is wheezing and has been diagnosed with asthma and maybe s/he has eczema, too. She's a mess and you don't know why. You are beside yourself and you don't know what to do.

All because of food. And all preventable. Imagine that!

Then, there are food phenolic compounds - I have 14 phenolic (aromatic) vials available for testing. Phenolics occur naturally in all foods and give foods flavor, color and prevent them from rotting. That's the good part. The bad part is that they can create sensitivities to the foods included in specific phenol groups. Let me give you a couple of examples: 1) The phenol called apiol: It occurs in beef, cheese, chocolate, milk, oranges, peas, black pepper, soy, tomatoes, almonds, carrots, celery, lettuce, parsley, walnut, bay leaf and lemon and is correlated with such symptoms as menopausal flushing, breast tenderness, itching, obesity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and elbow pain.

2) The phenol called pyrrole: It is found in chlorophyll, so it's widely distributed in plants. Symptom correlations include chronic abdominal pain, mood swings, anxiety, depression, MS and skin rashes.

So, what will I do if I find you sensitive to the apiol or the pyrrole vial? I can't ask you to give up all these seemingly disparate foods, but I will give you a handout containing a list of these foods just for your edification. I will sensitize you to the vial and I may find a supplement which negates the vial and suggest you take that until you lose your sensitivity. I believe that knowledge is power and if you know what might be contributing to your ill health, you might be able to do something about it, like avoid many of the foods on your phenol list and take the supplements I give you.

Next time: Food allergies and Sensitivities: Part III. More on symptoms of food sensitivities, then a discussion on prevention and treatment.

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