FOOD ALLERGY

FOOD ALLERGIES HAVE BECOME one of the most common undiagnosed health problems today. Some researchers speculate that more than half of the people in the United States suffer from symptoms brought on by food allergies. When you consider the wide range of symptoms that food allergies can cause and the number of bodily organs and systems they can affect, it’s not hard to believe that every other person you know could have a food allergy.

Why have food allergies become so common today? There are a variety of possible explanations: greater stress on our immune systems caused by pollution of our air, water, and food, a tendency among many people to eat a limited and repetitive diet, the trend toward weaning babies early and putting them on solid foods early, and finally, the fact that some of our food sources, including both plants and animals, have been genetically manipulated causing who-knows-what challenge to our tissues. Why one person develops food allergies while another does not seems to be, for the most part, a question of genetics. Some people are simply more prone to react to foods in a negative way. In addition, children whose mothers” diets are high in allergenic foods during pregnancy or who are weaned early are more likely to develop a reaction to certain foods.

Food allergy is sometimes used as a general term to cover a variety of negative reactions to food. Not all of these reactions are true food allergies. A true food allergy results from a reaction of your immune system to a component or a certain food, often a protein. Food intolerance comes from adverse reactions to foods that don’t involve the immune system. This would include lactose intolerance, which results from an enzyme deficiency . Some people are sensitive to a food, a food additive such as a coloring, or a chemical like monosodium glutamate (MSG) or sulfite or salicylates (pain relievers) including aspirin. For a detailed list of additives that can cause reactions in sensitive people.

Because many reactions to foods are not simple allergies, classic allergy testing will often give negative results. Occasionally doctors are so insistent that food allergies are primarily a myth or psychologically induced that they’ll ignore the fact that a certain food causes a symptom and that when it’s removed the symptom is gone, too. I’ve found with my patients that eliminating symptoms from negative food reactions, whether true allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities, is more important than “proving” a food allergy. Therefore from this point on we will use the term “food reaction” instead of food allergy.”

One difficulty in pinpointing food reactions is that the symptoms they cause are so varied. One person may develop headaches and fatigue from eating corn products while another person could get chronic diarrhea or eczema from eating the same thing. The perplexing fact about food reactions, from the standpoint of a diagnostician, is that any organ, from your brain to your colon, can be a target. Many people are unaware of their food reactions, and I’ve sometimes diagnosed them incidentally-when people came to me with a specific complaint and in the course of investigating its source I realized that food reactions played a role. Certain foods seem to be more reactive than others. The most likely culprits include milk, eggs, and peanuts, followed by wheat, corn, fish, shellfish, berries, nuts, peas and beans, and certain spices.

Here’s a rundown of some of the symptoms that can be caused by food reactions: acne, arrhythmia, arthritis, asthma, anxiety, back pain, bed-wetting, bursitis, chronic infections, chronic diarrhea, chronic bronchitis, chronic bladder infections, eczema, depression, ear infections, fatigue, gas, gastritis, headaches, hives, hyperactivity, hypoglycemia, inability to concentrate, insomnia, irritable colon, itchy nose and/or throat, joint pain, migraines, sinusitis.

As you can see, it’s a pretty exhaustive list. How can you determine whether your symptoms might be caused by a food reaction? This simple list of questions can point you in the right direction.
Do you feel worse after eating?
Do you feel better when you don’t eat?
Is there a history of food reactions in your family?
Did you have allergies when you were younger?
Do you now have recurrent, unexplained symptoms?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you should investigate whether food reactions are causing your symptoms.

There are also some typical physical characteristics of people who have food reactions. They often have dark circles under their eyes (known as “allergic shiners”), their eyes are puffy, they have a few horizontal creases in their lower eyelids, they suffer from irregular fluid retention, and they often suffer from swollen glands.

One way to determine the source of your reactions is to be tested. I have no faith in skin testing. I also don’t think the pure water fast followed by food challenges to be very practical. In my experience, a blood test for antibodies to specific foods is the most convenient testing method. But since many food reactions may not show up on this test or other classic allergy tests, it’s often best to determine what you’re reacting to on your own by means of an elimination diet followed by a “food challenge.” Sometimes this is a very simple process. You may quickly discover that you’re reacting to milk or eggs or fish. But sometimes it’s more difficult, especially if you’re reacting to a food additive. You must be patient and meticulous as you go about the process.

The best way to begin an elimination diet is to start a food diary and keep it for two weeks before beginning the diet. In it you note everything you eat throughout the day, along with any symptoms you might have and precisely when those symptoms occur. This will give you clues as to the foods that could be causing your reactions.

In the elimination diet, you will omit for at least seven days any food that you eat more often than twice weekly, as well as common allergenic foods. You should continue to take any regular prescribed medications while on the diet, but it’s best to eliminate vitamins, minerals, and OTC medications like laxatives. The basic elimination diet for adults and children allows all vegetables save corn and all fruits but citrus fruits, fresh meats (free of preservatives), drinks such as water and juices of the fruits allowed, all nuts but peanuts, honey, pure maple syrup, safflower and sunflower oils, non-iodized salt, rice, and oats.

See the tables listing all foods allowed on an elimination diet as well as foods to be avoided.

ELIMINATION DIET: ACCEPTABLE FOODS

(* = SHOULD BE AVOIDED BY PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HEADACHES)

MEATS & SEAFOOD
Beef
Chicken
Clams
Cornish Hens
Crab
Deer
Dove
Duck
Fish (all)
Frog Legs
Goose
Lamb
Lobster
Oysters
Quail
Pheasant
Pork
Rabbit
Scallops
Shrimp
Squirrel
Turkey
Veal
NUTS & SEEDS
Almonds
Brazil Nuts
Butternuts
Cashews
Chestnuts
Filberts
Hazelnuts
Hickory Nuts
Macadamia Nuts
Pecans
Pistachios
Pumpkin Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Walnuts
VEGETABLES
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocado*
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumber Eggplant
Greens(all)
Jicama
Kale Okra
Olives
Onions (all)
Parsley
Parsnips
Potatoes (all)
Pumpkin
Radish
Rutabaga
Spinach
Squash (all)
Turnips
Watercress
BEVERAGES
Bottled Water
Juices from allowed fruits
Sparkling Water

FRUITS
Apples
Apricots
Bananas*
Berries (all)
Cherries
Coconut
Dates
Figs*(Fresh)
Grapes (Green, Red*)
Kiwi
Mango
Melons(all)
Nectarines
Papaya
Peaches
Pears
Persimmon
Pineapple*
Plums*
Pomegranate
Prunes*
Rhubarb
Raisins*
OILS
Safflower
Sunflower
Olive
MISCELLANEOUS
Amaranth
Buckwheat
Non iodized Salt
Oats
Quinoa
Rice
Vinegar

ELIMINATION DIET: FOODS AND
FOOD PRODUCTS TO AVOID

MILK PRODUCTS
Breads
Butter
Candies
Cheese
Cookies
Ice Cream
Lunch Meats
Margarines
Milk
Processed Foods
Soups
EGG PRODUCTS
Cakes
Cookies
Ice Cream
Macaroni
Noodles
Pancake Mix
Pies
Salad Dressing
WHEAT PRODUCTS
Batters
Bread
Candies
Cereals
Cookies
Crackers
Gravies
Lunch Meats
Processed
Salad dressings
Soups
CORN PRODUCTS
Bacon
Breads
Candies
Cereals
Corn chips
Corn oil
Corn starch
Corn syrup
Ketchup
Pastries
Peanut butter
Popcorn
SUGAR PRODUCTS
Candies
Cookies
Honey
Ketchup
Maple syrup
Salad dressings
Soft drinks
Sucrose and dextrose
CITRUS PRODUCTS
Citrus flavoring
Grapefruits
Lemons
Limes
Orange
Soft Drinks
CHOCOLATE & COLA
Candy
Cereal
Desserts
Snack foods
Soft drinks
ADDED INGREDIENTS
Flavorings
Colorings
Preservatives, including
butylated
hydroxyanisole
(BHA)
butylated
hydroxytoluene
(BHT)
Monosodium
glutamate
(MSG)
Karaya and other gums
Nitrite
Sulfite
DRINKS
All alcoholic beverages
Carbonated beverages
Coffee
Tea (except herbal tea)
OTHER PRODUCTS
Aspartame
Beans
Black pepper
Canned foods
Mustard
Peanuts
Processed and preserved meats
Saccharin
Salt
Soy Products
Spices
Yeast, baker’s and brewer’s

When you have followed the elimination diet for seven to ten days, you should see a reduction in your symptoms if they are food related. To pinpoint which foods are problematic for you, you then need to do a food challenge, introducing foods, one at a time, to see if you react to them. You should keep a detailed food diary when you begin to try the’ food challenges and note any symptoms you experience. These symptoms, of course, indicate which new or challenge foods are causing trouble. Here are the foods to use-one at a time-for a challenge following seven to ten days of the elimination diet.
Wheat: cream of wheat, shredded wheat, or puffed wheat
Corn: corn on the cob or popcorn
Eggs: boiled or scrambled
Milk: as beverage or as shake with allowed fruit
Citrus fruit: as fruit or pure juice
Peanuts: as nut or unadulterated butter
Oils: sauteed with acceptable vegetables
Chocolate: cocoa mixed with honey*
Yeast: mixed in tolerated fruit juice*
Sugar: mixed in tolerated fruit juice*
Food coloring: mixed in tolerated fruit juice*
Monosodium glutamate (MSG): sprinkle Accent on stir-fried vegetables*
Preservatives: frankfurters, ham, or bologna, if tolerated*
Aspartame or saccharine: mixed with juice*

(*these foods are not recommended for daily diet regardless of allergy)

The foods you use for challenges should be in their purest form (such as yeast mixed directly in fruit juice) so that you can more readily pinpoint precise sources of reactions. The foods that you should challenge with last are those most likely to cause symptoms. These usually include those foods eaten most frequently. It’s usually best to add only One challenge food per day, though you can eat that food several times on that day if there is no reaction. Most food reactions occur a few minutes to twenty four hours after the food is eaten; if a reaction does occur, don’t challenge with any other foods until the reaction clears.

If you make a connection between a symptom and a particular food, that food should be eliminated from your diet for six to eight months. You can then reintroduce the food and see if you’re still sensitive. Sometimes reactions will disappear when the foods are eaten infrequently. If you don’t have any symptoms, you can eat the food occasionally. Of course, if symptoms recur, the food should be eliminated.

There’s another reaction you might notice and one that will help you identify troublesome foods: a rapid pulse. In his book The Pulse Test, Arthur Fernandez Coca described how some people would get a high pulse rate after eating foods to which they have a reaction. You might try taking your pulse after meals to see if it’s elevated.

I’ve discovered that one of the reasons for food reactions among my patients is a limited, repetitive diet. Many of my patients are busy, active people with myriad responsibilities and little time. One of the first casualties of these demands is a varied diet. I’ve had patients who claimed to eat a “very healthy” diet who eat the same meals virtually every day: bran cereal with skim milk for breakfast, apples several times a day for snacks, a tuna sandwich on whole wheat for lunch, chicken cutlet and a vegetable for dinner. While this is a fine menu for one day, to repeat it every day can create problems.

Some reactions are really a kind of addiction: When you first eat the offending food, you usually have a strong negative reaction and severe headache or a rash, for instance-but you may never connect it with the food. The next time you eat the food, your reaction is milder and your body gets a bit of a buzz. Eventually your reaction becomes a chronic symptom. If you discontinue the food, you go through a period of withdrawal. That’s why patients often say that when they eliminate a known reactive food from their diet, they go through a period of feeling worse than ever. This can last up to five days. Eventually, they’ll recover and feel much better after their body adjusts.

The point is that repeating the same foods day in and out can make you more vulnerable to developing an allergy and then establishing that allergy as a regular part of your body’s systemic reaction to a certain food. It’s very important to vary your diet. Try not to eat the same things every day. Don’t get into a “same breakfast-same lunch” pattern. My rule of thumb is not to repeat the same foods two days in a row. You’ll help your body to avoid reactions.

NATURAL PRESCRIPTION FOR FOOD REACTIONS

As there is no “cure” for food reactions, elimination of the offending food or substance is critical. Keeping a food diary and following an elimination diet followed by “food challenges” as described above is the most effective way to pinpoint allergenic foods. Once you’ve noticed a connection between a food and a symptom, eliminate the food from your diet for at least six months.

IN ADDITION: If you have no success in pinpointing food reactions with an elimination diet followed by a food challenge, but you still feel that your symptoms are connected with food, you may have to consult a doctor who specializes in nutrition to help you identify your troublesome foods.