Exaggerated immune reactions to common substances that are swallowed, injected, or inhaled, or that touch the skin or the eyes, allergies can make an otherwise healthy person feel miserable. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, choking, runny nose, sneezing, tearing, and itching. The skin, respiratory system, stomach, intestine, and the eyes are typically affected. Allergic reactions occur when the body startsproducing antibodies to fend off allergens, the substances that provoke such discomfort and irritation.

The most common environmental allergens are grass and tree pollens, mold spores, dust mites, and animal dander. Eating certain foods and food additives and being stung by insects can trigger allergic reactions in sensitive people.Such common disorders as eczema, hives, hay fever and asthma are often attributed to allergic reactions.

Common Sense Care :

Perhaps the best advice is the simplest : avoid the foods, plants, animals, drugs, dust, or other substances that trigger an allergic reaction. If the allergen is airborne, clean living and working spaces frequently. Wear a face mask when doing chores. Get rid of dust, molds and mildew. Discard old rugs, pillows and stuffed animals,which provide breeding grounds for molds and dust mites. Air conditioners can decrease your exposure to pollen and a dehumidifier and an air purifier, cleaned frequently may help.

Certain common foods can trigger allergies. Items like eggs, corn, wheat, yeast, dairy products, citrus fruit, and food additives and preservatives. Foregoing these foods for three weeks, then reintroducing them one by one, may help identify the source of the problem. Smoking exacerbates allergic reactions. Those who are allergic to MSG (MonoSodium Glutamate) should avoid smoking.

What Causes Allergies :


One of the primary causes of allergies is an impaired immune system, which substantially increases the risk of allergic reactions. " This occurs when the immune system becomes stressed due to an overload of toxins, "says C. Gableman, MD, a practitioner of environmental medicine in Encinitas Ca.

Dr Chaitow, in researching allergies, has found that a number of factors negatively impact the immune system. These include increased toxic burden due to pollution in all it's forms; disturbance of infant immune systems through repeated vaccinations and immunizations; and damage to healthy intestinal flora due to over reliance upon antibiotics and steroids ( especially birth control pills).

Though conventional estimates suggests that 35 million Americans are afflicted with allergies James Braly, MD, a medical director of Immuno Labs in Fort Lauderdale Florida places the figure much higher. " Actually the majority of Americans suffer from allergies. This is particularly true of food allergies, which is, along with undernutrition the most commonly undiagnosed condition in the United States today." Dr Royal also agrees that antibiotics can cause allergic reactions and feels that in many cases their use is unnecessary. Antibiotics further add to the confusion the immune system is facing, until the immune system is no longer able to tell friend from foe. When that happens, it starts reacting to all sorts of things which are not foes, that then become treated as allergens : this leads to fatigue and allows viruses, bacteria, and so forth to come in and play havoc."

Other sources responsible for allergies include nutritional deficiencies, a repetitive and monotonous diet, chemicals in the food chain due to pesticides and preservatives, and chronic intestinal yeast overgrowth (candidiasis ), according to allergy specialist John Mansfield, MD of England.

Treatment of Allergies :


"In order for true healing of allergies to occur, it is necessary to address their cause rather than just treat the outward manifestations or symptoms", says Dr Wilkinson. " This involves identifying the substances a person is allergic to and eliminating them from the diet and environment. At the same time, the body needs to be purged of toxins and the immune system needs to be stimulated. Since no two people are exactly alike, therapeutic approaches will vary, and usually a combination of therapies is the best course of action."

Among the therapies which have proven most effective in treating allergies are diet and nutrition, herbal medicine, acupuncture, Ayurvedic medicine and homeopathy.

Diet and Nutrition :


"Proper diet is the foundation from which to deal with allergies of all types," says Dick Thom, N.D.,D.D.S., of Beaverton Oregon. "If the body is continually being stressed by the foods that are meant to nourish it, there will be less reserves left over for the immune system to deal with other 'foreign' substances." One way to ensure that the body is receiving a greater supply of nutrients from food, while at the same time minimizing the risk of exposure to allergenic foods, is to increase the variety of foods eaten and rotate them so that they aren't eaten too frequently. This is known as a "rotation diet".

According to Dr. Braly, a rotation diet is one of the simplest and most effective measures anyone can take to both prevent and deal with the problems of food allergies. "Normally I would rotate the foods every four days," he advises. "This means that you are not eating any one food more often than every four days. You might be able to have the same food more than once in a day, but then you wouldn't have it again until four days later. Some people may need to go longer than that, but usually four days is pretty close to ideal."

Dr. Braly also suggests adopting a lifestyle that includes a wide variety of nonallergenic fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts, and low-fat, nondairy protein in your diet. "Grains are important too," he says, "although I would stick to grains like brown rice, millet, amaranth and corn as examples."

Ray C. Wunderlich,Jr., MD,of St Petersburg Florida, had a patient whose history illustrates the importance of a proper diet in relation to allergies. She was a twenty nine year old mother of a young child, who came to Dr. Wunderlich complaining of chronic exhaustion. She was also suffering from chronic sinus congestion and taking allergy shots for mold, pollen and dust.

The woman's sinus congestion had developed one year after her child was born and worsened once she began taking the allergy shots. "Lab tests revealed that she had extensive nutrient deficiencies combined with food allergies to many of the foods she ate frequently," Dr. Wunderlich recounts. He discontinued her allergy shots and placed her on a diet that avoided all of the foods she was allergic to while still meeting her need for proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates. Nutritional supplementation was also undertaken. "She responded promptly to that treatment regiment," says Dr. Wunderlich, "and experienced a marked increase in energy. And her sinus congestion, which she thought was caused by mold, dust and pollen, but was actually due to the foods she had been eating, cleared up as well."

Vitamin C in high doses can have a dramatic effect in improving allergy symptoms, particularly hay fever and asthma, due to it's ability to counteract the inflamation responses that are part of such conditions. "Vitamin C is one of nature's miracles," Dr. Mandell says. Robert Cathcart MD, who pioneered the technique of taking Vitamin C to bowel tolerance, also recommends it's use for allergies. His own seasonal systom of hay fever were blocked upon taking 16 grams of Vitamin C orally during a 24 hour period, following exposure to pollen. In cases of more severe exposure, he advises that the dose of Vitamin C be increased as well. Dr. Cathcart bases his recommendations on clinical experience with over one thousand patients with allergies, the vast majority of whom gained significant relief from this approach.

The researchists conclude that the digestive system has a link to all allergies and not just those caused by food. Proper digestion aids the body to clear out toxins. When digestion becomes impaired, a greater threshold of toxins have to be dealt with and eventually the body becomes overwhelmed. This is what leads to the allergies. There are many good herbs and spices to help cure allergies; cayenne pepper being one of the most highly recommended, along with ginger, garlic and onions. To further aid the body's journey back to health a program of cleansing and detoxification which consists of full body massage and steam saunas help the toxins to be iliminated as the person perspires. Very often, we see also, programs of fasting being applied using fruit and vegetable juices and at times herbal teas. The duration of the fasts varies depending on the severity of the case, but usually run from two days to a week. It is recommended while fasting to use enemas once per day.

Keys of Healing :


Avoid white sugar, and everything made with it. The process of chemically whitening sugar is toxic. As a substitute use unpasteurized honey, maple syrop or unbleached turbinaro sugar. Sweetening can also be acheived with consentrated natural fruit juice.

Avoid bleached flours, and everything made with it.

Avoid all processed foods, including the frozen pre-packaged types.

Be especially vigilant in your selection of meat products, and avoid the processed varities, as many commercially grown animals are exposed to high levels of perticides, antibiotics, steroids and questionable dietary sources.

Thoroughly wash all fresh fruits and vegetables in warm water adding a few drops of a quality dish soap. Rinse well.

Know your food, and understand the labels. Check out the Food Additives Guide in this site.

Eat whole foods, and prepare your meals at home using fresh, natural products. Concentrate your diet on a large variety of items, avoiding heavy consumption of saturates primarily found in red meats.

Establish an eating schedule. It may be that 3 large meals per day isn't what's best for you; perhaps 4 or 5 smaller ones will be better. Know which combination of food groups go well together.

Regularly practice juice fasting. This will cleanse your system of toxins and residues.

Avoid smoking and heavy alcohol consumption ( research points to having a small amount of red wine per day is actually benefitial, although we suggest that it is hard to limit ones self to just a bit without it becoming a problem so it's best to avoid or only on occasion ). Heavy coffee consumption is to be avoided ( 1 or 2 regular cups per day is not considered harmful )

Avoid fried foods and foods cooked in oil. When oil is heated to cooking temperatures it begins to break down and has been identified as a carcinogen. Sauté your vegetables in broth, beer, water or white wine.

Routinely practice under-eating.

Incorporate into your daily routine a regiment of moderate exercise, such as walking, biking or swimming and strive to live in harmonious surroundings that contribute to inner peace.

Take time to stop and appreciate the beauty around you, and give thanks.

***********

Complimentary Links

Below is a list of related links within this site that will contribute to indentifying and getting rid of alergens from your life.