Allergies and Sensitivities

Too many people have to deal with allergies. Allergies refer to a reaction to a foreign protein that the body usually will interpret as harmless. In the case of the allergic response the immune system goes to work to fight of the protein resulting in those allergic symptoms.

The IGE Response

Allergies refer to an IgE response, that is immunoglobulin E. These reactions are fairly fast. People with a nut allergy or seafood allergy usually know what the offending item is as the reaction begins within seconds to minutes after exposure.

Costs of Allergies

Researchers estimate that about 20% of people in the industrialized world have allergy symptoms and the number seems to be increasing. The respiratory system is the most common target of allergy symptoms including allergic rhinitis and asthma. Estimated health costs including missed work or school, physician visits and sometimes hospitalization for these two is about $20 billion a year in the U.S.

So why is the allergic response so pervasive. If talk to 100 doctors, you are likely to get 200 opinions. I think it is a result of the changing nature of our chemical environment including food additives, pesticides and herbicides. I suspect that vaccines may play a role as well. This notion is not popular in modern medicine as vaccines are considered one the pillars of success of the medical model of health.

Learn About Adjuvants

To understand peanut allergies and vaccines it helpful the know the word adjuvant. This a substance that is able to increase the reactivity to the vaccine itself. Guess what is used as an adjuvant to many vaccines-peanut oil. The first study of peanut allergies was in 1973 and shortly thereafter, vaccine manufacturers were no longer required to include the adjuvants. That is now considered proprietary information, so you don't really know what is in the vaccines. Not even the package inserts will give you the full picture.

Knowing this does not make me anti-vaccine. I still get a few vaccines but am careful to take 5,000 mg or so of vitamin C and 2,000 mg of NAC for several days after a vaccine to keep negative effects at a minimum.

Food Allergy vs Food Sensitivity

It is helpful to separate food allergy from food sensitivity. Food sensitivity is usually a delayed reaction and is IgG or IgA or IgM mediated. These are different categories of immunoglobulins. The peak reaction after eating the offending food might take 18 to 24 hours. Sometimes it can take months for the reaction to calm down after eating that food. An example might be gluten. Although it is possible to have a wheat allergy, most of the time we are talking about a gluten sensitivity and that is a different beast entirely.

Strategies for Allergies

I have seen food allergies come and go. By that I mean that in some cases avoiding the allergen food for a couple of years and then reintroducing it can be OK again. Also, I have seen some decent response to treating allergies with energetic methods such as TBM or NAET which is an adaptation of TBM. It has been my experience that these techniques work best with allergies and not as well with sensitivities. Your mileage may vary, however.

Severe Allergic Reactions

If you have a life-threatening reaction to a food such as your throat closing up, you will want to be cautious about putting that food back in your diet. I don't have to tell you that. Everyone I know with a food allergy and has to carry an epi-pen is understandably vigilant.

Elimination and/or Treatment

So, what do you do if you now have a peanut or seafood or some other allergy. The answer is the same for most problems, that is find out what your body wants to be healthier and start giving that to your body and find out what your body doesn't want but is getting and eliminate that. This is the basic recipe for health in general will also apply to allergies.

Find out what foods or other things you might be allergic to like molds, pollens etc. You might try those energetic techniques listed above. Some people do OK with allergy shots but that is not my expertise.

Allergy Testing

For sensitivities we like Cyrex Labs antibody tests. Arrays 3, 4 and 10 are designed to help you understand what your body is reacting too. Elimination and/or energetic treatments can be helpful, but I have seen better results with allergies than sensitivities with energetic treatments.

Experiment with Supplements

Supplements like NuMedica's Seasonal Shield, DaVinci Aller-DMG, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D can help your body modulate these reactions too. Don't forget to support your detox system by taking care of your liver health and supporting glutathione levels. You might explore other products like BetterGenix NAC and Professional Formulas homeopathic products.

Like many conditions your allergy and sensitivity reactions will have some unique qualities. You will have to gather as much information as possible about your particular case and take steps to improve your overall health. Know that as you work to modulate your own symptoms, you are not alone.