Food allergies

The topic of food allergies as they are showing to affect the human body is relatively unknown in most health care circles. This paper is in response to my patients’ needs for a communication to educate them on my clinical experiences and education with food allergies. I do have many additional pieces of information, many of which talk in depth about various aspects of these food allergies, but do not exactly give the message I need to address.

The medical community has almost totally disregarded the involvement of the antibody responses from the IgG type. They continue to prefer tests (skin scratch and blood) that are only specific for the IgE category (severe reactions) of food allergies that give the severe reactions of anaphylactic shock and hives. In today’s world of information available, I cannot understand why they continue to miss the boat on this very important health issue.

Much has been written about the affects of the IgG category, and relatively new serum lab tests have been developed to identify not only the IgE responses, but now also the IgG as well. The IgG responses are often called ‘hidden allergies’ because the reactions take hours to days to show, and because of the delayed responses, are very difficult to associate with the potentially offending foods. This category is showing to be a major player in many, if not most, chronic disease.

Symptoms associated with IgG responses are usually relatively subtle compared to the often-severe responses as noted above from the IgE reactions. They can range from general aches and pains of virtually any joint in the body to headaches to sinus congestion and earaches to digestive disturbances. When any patient of mine comes in presenting with any joint pain that is worse in the morning upon first arising, I question them on their exposure to their allergies the day before. I am usually correct that they got into a little bit of this or that.

I perform the vast majority of food allergy testing with Applied Kinesiology manual muscle testing. I have found it’s accuracy to be extremely high. It is also very easy to perform, is not invasive, and the results of testing are immediate. Blood testing is also available to test both the IgE and IgG mediated antibodies for a few hundred dollars.

What are the most common food allergies that are showing up this way?

In a somewhat relative order of frequency seen:

Dairy is possibly the most common of the food allergies. This usually includes all types of dairy products with the exception of fully cultured yogurt, which is processed by bacteria, turning it basically into another product.

Next is the nut family. Many people are showing to react to the various nuts with the exception of walnuts. Sunflower seed kernels are often also ok if they are not cooked in peanut oil. Read labels.

Maybe next are soy and barley. Many people with dairy allergies also react to both groups. Soy is quite commonly used in chips, crackers and salad dressings. People with barley allergies will find that almost all flours and breads have barley as a second ingredient. When barley pop (beer) produces the 3.2 squirts, it is a very strong sign of digestive disturbances from allergy.

Corn is a particularly nasty allergy, both with the reactions from it, and the amount of foods that include it. Many of the worst migraines that exist anywhere involve corn allergies. All the commercially sweetened things have a form of sugar that seems to relate to corn sugar and somehow beet sugar are a problem. This allergy involves the most significant lifestyle change of all the allergies because of all the foods it involves.

Eggs are not an uncommon allergy with sometimes the yolk, and with other people both the white and the yolk being reactive.

Wheat and the glutens are not too common, but can be severe. The nightshade group of foods is not uncommonly seen and includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc. Sulfur can be a problem for some people, but once again is not common.

People can develop additional allergies if they eat a certain group of foods every day. Individuals showing the most severe food allergy reactions often have damage to the wall of the intestines. This is called “Gut Dysbiosis” where overgrowth of pathenogenic bacteria, fungus, yeast parasites and the mycoplasmas damage the lining of the gut and cause “Leaky gut Syndrome”. That is a whole additional topic and is paramount in the big picture of systemic inflammation and chronic disease.

Rotation of foods can be important. Many people who react to environmental dusts/pollens, animals, etc. have primary food allergies. If they get the offending foods out of their bodies, the other things can be much less bothersome.

Anyone who has degenerative joint changes and eventually needs a joint replacement more than likely has food allergies. This food allergy effect is part of a whole system inflammatory reaction where the cartilage in the joints is being attacked by an autoimmune response where the body is attacking itself.

The bottom line of food allergies is that they are very, very common and that relatively few people understand their effects. You will not find the exact viewpoint as I understand it portrayed in this manner very many places. I do have many specific additional articles that are much more in depth available for your reading pleasure.

A good place to look is at the website of Great Smokies Diagnostic Labs in N.C.: www.gsdl.com Just type ‘food allergies’ into the search area and you will see many articles that are based on state of the art research.