Food allergies

HOW ARE DELAYED FOOD ALLERGIES DIFFERENT THAN "REGULAR" ALLERGIES?

There are two kinds of allergies. The kind of food allergies you have
commonly heard of are an IgE (immunoglobulin E) reaction. As soon as
you eat the food, you might swell up or get hives. Most people know
if they are allergic to a food this way- presumably from a "bad
experience" with it. Or, they have had skin "scratch tests" done to
determine these allergies.

However, delayed food allergies/sensitivities involve a DIFFERENT
antibody- IgG (immunoglobulin G). These will not show up on a
"scratch test", but can be determined through a blood test. IgG
reactions are not immediate. It can take several hours or days to
have symptoms from this reaction. By then, you have usually eaten
many other foods- so you have no idea what caused the symptoms. You
may get headaches all the time, but the times or foods you ate just
before the headache are always different, so you never attribute the
food to the symptom.


WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF DELAYED FOOD ALLERGIES/SENSITIVITIES?

Food allergies are irritation of of tissues or inflammation, caused by
a food allergen. Where an allergen decides to deposit itself and do
its damage is different for everyone. Ten people allergic to milk may
react to it in ten different ways. It may cause headaches in oner
person, diarrhea in another, eczema in another, flu-like symptoms in
another.

Symptoms are usually not sudden reaction, but have probably built up
over time. the insidious aspects of most food allergy reactions is
that most symptoms, at least in the early stages, are mild and seem to
have no direct connection (timewise) to the food that brought them on.
The full flare up of symptoms may be the result of months or years of
cumulative food-allergy damage. It is highly UNLIKELY that we will
connect them to a food allergy and therefore highly LIKELY that we
will continue to ignore them unitl they become intolerable.

Symptoms (Some of these may be associated with other diseases.
However, many if not most are often caused by food allergies):

DIGESTION: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, bloating,
belching, passing gas, stomach pain, cramps, heartburn

EMOTIONS: Mood swings, anxiety, fear, nervousness, anger,
irritability, aggressive behavior, depression, "binge" eating or
drinking, food cravings.

ENERGY & ACTIVITY: Fatigue, sluggishness, lethargy, drowsiness, lack
of energy, apathy, hyperactivity, restlessness

EYES, EARS & NOSE: Waatery/itchy eyes, blurred vision (excluding near
or far sightedness), ear infections, hearing loss, sneezing attacks,
runny/stuffy nose, postnasal drip, hay fever, sinus problems,
excessive mucous formation, dark circles under eyes

HEART AND LUNGS: Irregular heartbeat, rapid heartbeat chest pain and
congestion, asthma, bronchitis, shortness of breath, difficulty
breathing

MIND: Poor memory/concentration, lethargy, speech problems and
learning disabilties.

MUSCLES & JOINTS: General weakness, muscle/joint aches and pains,
arthitis and stiffness.

SKIN: Hives, rashes, dry skin, dandruff, excessive sweating, acne,
hair loss, irritation around eyes.

THROAT & MOUTH: Coughing, sore throat, hoarseness, swelling/pain,
coating on toungue (especially after waking) and sores on tougue, gums
and lips.

OTHER: Excessive weight, dizziness, water retention, insomnia,
headaches, genital/anal itch, frequent urination. worsened PMS.

NOTE: Many health conditions may cause the above symptoms.
Professional medical evaluation is recommended to establish if causes
other than food sensitivities are responsible.

A common sign of allergy is water retention of adema. One of the ways
in which a body can reduce the irritation of allergy is to hold onto a
lot of water, in order to dilute the tissue-bound allergens (water
retention). Because your body will not release these fluids as long as
it is defending against allergic attacks, it is very difficult to keep
one's weight down until allergies are eliminated from your diet.
Excessive thirst is also related to your body's defense against
allergins.

THE ALLERGY-ADDICTION CYCLE

We are often unaware of that we have food allergies because we cover
up symptoms. We cover up symptoms by frequently eating the food that
we are allergic too. If we stopped eating it- we would feel withdrawl
symptoms- pain, nervousness, discomfort. it is like an alcholic who
has a beer in the morning to keep a hangover at bay.

This is not a conscious thing, however. We are not aware of "craving"
the allergic food; we think that we choose to eat it so often because
we like its taste. But conscious or not, we crave foods we are
allergic too because we need to keep them at bay. When we reach the
point that we need to eat the food to keep withdrawl symptoms at bay-
or in order to not feel bad- we are ADDICTED.

It follows that the foods we are allergic to are often likely to be
our favorites- the ones we eat frequently because they make us feel
good (at least we think so). Addiction to food is biochemically and
physiologically identical to the relationship between an alcoholic and
liquor or a junkie and drugs. It causes the same cravings and drives,
and has the same potential for withdrawl symptoms.

This may sound crazy to you. But ask yourself: Do you ever wake up
at night and raid the refridgerator? Do you just have to have ice
cream every day? Or a steak? Do you always eat the same thing for
lunch? Do you just LOVE pasta? Do you find yourself in front of an
open refrigerator without realizing how long you have been there? Do
you have trouble falling asleep without a bedtime snack? Do you ever
feel better after eating a particular food? If you can answer yes to
some or all of these, you may be addicted to foods!!

MY FOOD ALLERGIES

I had the good fortune to discover my allergies 4 years ago (when I
was 21 years old). All through my childhood, I would have chronic
colds and brochitis. It seemed that I would get brochitis 3-4 times a
year, which would then hang on for quite some time. I had headaches
several days a week since I was 12 and acne to boot. Everyone thought
I was just a hypochondriac or trying to get attention. Nothing could
be further from the truth. I went to tons of doctors trying to solve
these chronic problems- I received antibiotics and codeine (for the
headaches). None of it worked.

In college, I became a vegetarian. I was not a "good" vegetarian,
though, I was what I call a bread and cheese vegetarian- not a lot of
vegetables of fruit- just bread and cheese. I had horrible stomach
problems, chronic diarrhea. I went to a GI doctor and had several
blood tests, an ultrasound, an upper GI and a colonoscopy- what an
awful experience. They didn't find anything and I was still sick.

During this time, I can also remember having brochitis for 2 and 1/2
months. I was constantly taking codeine cough medicine to help me
sleep. I had tried antibiotics and birth control for my acne, which
worked, but I didn't like much. My roomates was sure I was crazy- I
wasn't so sure I wasn't. Also, my weight was the highest it had ever
been. I weighed 155 and I was 5'5". Not exactly obese- but I didn't
feel good about myself.

After I graduated from college, in addition to the headaches, GI
problems, acne and colds, I can remember having wierd aches and pains
in my legs and arms and having occassion irregular hearbeats (it felt
like heart hiccups). I thought I was going to die- the heartbeat
thing really scared me. So I went to the doctor and had an EKG- the
doctor told me that my nervous system was just "messing up" and
sending the signal to the heart too early- but not to worry. It was
no big deal. I also had wheezing at times.

My headaches were worse than ever and I decided to take control of my
health. I bought the book Food and Healing by Annemarie Colbin and
began to realize as I read how powerful foods can be. She had
mentioned that dairy could cause skin breakouts. So, I decided to try
to get rid of dairy. I actually had more headaches for the first
month and no improvement in my skin. (I now know that this was my
body cleaning itself out.) But after a month, my headaches were GONE.
It was like a miracle!!! No skin changes, but the headaches
dissappearing was like a dream come true, so I didn't care.

A few months later, when I was shopping at Costco, I saw a book, Dr.
Braly's Food Allergy & Nutrition Revolution by Dr. James Braly, MD.
It described me to a tee. I read about the blood test you could have
done and I decided to do it.

My results told me that I was allergic to milk, cheese, eggs, wheat,
rye, bananas, tuna fish, oysters, asparagus, mushrooms and peanuts.

At first, I was so sad- all my favorite foods. I didn't do very well
on the elimination/rotation diet they suggested. But I still tried to
stick to it and I did see improvements. However, I will say that it
took me about a year to learn how to live and cook without dairy and
wheat. Those were tough. I spent lots of time in the helath food
store, asking questions and reading. Now, after 4 years, it seems
like second nature to me. I still find it difficult to resist my
allergic foods at social events and at restaurants- but a little
usually won't hurt me.

After years of experimentation, I have pretty much attached certain
foods to certain symptoms that I had. FOR ME:

Wheat causes wheezing, little pimples under my nose, oily skin (a
shine on my face)

Dairy causes HEADACHES!!, runny nose, sore throat, moodiness, bad PMS,
horrible periods that are irregular, more cancer sores

Eggs, oysters and asparagus cause stomach problems, diarrhea

Peanuts cause irregular heartbeat and body aches and pains

I am not sure about the others because I have been able to avoid them
pretty well. I have avoided them so long, I may not be reactive to
them any more. I ate some tuna fish this summer- I looked for a
reaction, but never noticed one. Same with bananas.

I am happy to say that as long as I avoid my allergic foods, I am
symptom free. No more headaches, stomach problems, chronic colds,
wierd achy legs and arms and irregular heartbeat. I am now in control
of my food and my food does not control me. Sometimes I indulge in
dairy for a few days in a row and will wind up with a headache.
However, I know that if I stop eating it, the headache will go away
and not come back. I lost all that weight pretty easily- I am now
5"5" and 128 instead of 155. My skin is still a challenge- but almost
ALL of my health problems were completely SOLVED by elimination of
allergic foods.


BOOKS I RECOMMEND

Dr. Braly's Food Allergy & Nutrition Revolution by Dr. James Braly,
Keats Publishing, 1992 ($18)

Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James Balch and Phyllis Balch,
Avery Publishing Group, 1997 ($20)

The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook by Majorie Hurt Jones, RN, Rodale
Press, 1984 ($16)

The All Natural Allergy Cookbook by Jeanne Marie Martin, Harbour
Publishing, 1991 ($12?)

WHERE TO GET ALLERGY TESTING

Immuno Laboratories 1-800-231-9197

CONTACT ME

I have learned a lot over the past 4 years and am still learning more
every day. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail

-Sara