• Significant improvement in symptoms and signs of a disease linked to food allergy while on an allergy-elimination diet
• Positive test result from an acceptable food allergy test
• Typical signs of allergy:
Dark circles under the eyes (allergic shiners)
Puffiness under the eyes
Horizontal creases in the lower eyelid
Chronic (noncyclic) fluid retention
Chronic swollen glands
A food allergy occurs when there is an adverse reaction to the ingestion of a food. The reaction may or may not be mediated (controlled and influenced) by the immune system. The reaction may be caused by a protein, a starch, or another food component, or by a contaminant found in the food (a coloring, a preservative, etc.).
A classic food allergy occurs when an ingested food molecule acts as an antigen—a substance that can be bound by an antibody. Antibodies are the protein molecules made by white blood cells that bind to foreign substances, in this case various components of foods. The food antigen is bound by antibodies known as IgE (immunoglobulin E) for immediate reactions and IgG and IgM for delayed reactions. The IgE antibodies are specialized immunoglobulins (proteins) that bind to specialized white blood cells known as mast cells and basophils. When the IgE and food antigen bind to a mast cell or basophil, the binding causes a release of histamines, substances that in turn cause swelling and inflammation. The mechanisms that lead to allergy symptoms are further discussed below.
Other terms often used to refer to food allergy include food hypersensitivity, food anaphylaxis, food idiosyncrasy, food intolerance, pharmacological (drug-like) reaction to food, metabolic reaction to food, and food sensitivity.
The recognition of food allergy was first recorded by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who observed that milk could cause gastric upset and hives. He wrote, “To many this has been the commencement of a serious disease when they have merely taken twice in a day the same food which they have been in the custom of taking once.”1
Food allergies have been implicated in a wide range of medical conditions affecting virtually every part of the body—from mildly uncomfortable symptoms such as indigestion and gastritis to severe illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic infection. Allergies have also been linked to numerous disorders of the central nervous system, including depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. The actual symptoms produced during an allergic response depend on the location of the immune system activation, the mediators of inflammation involved, and the sensitivity of the tissues to specific mediators. As is evident in the table opposite, food allergies have been linked to many common symptoms and health conditions.
Scope of the Problem
The frequency of food allergies has increased dramatically in recent times. It is estimated that 6% of children and 4% of adults in America have IgE-mediated food allergies2 and that 20% of the population have altered their diet owing to adverse reactions to foods.3,4 Some physicians believe that food allergies are the leading cause of undiagnosed symptoms and that at least 60% of Americans suffer from symptoms associated with food reactions.
The primary causes of the increased frequency of food allergy appear to be excessive regular consumption of a limited number of foods (often hidden as ingredients in commercially prepared foods) and the high level of preservatives, stabilizers, artificial colorings, and flavorings now added to foods.5 Some researchers and clinicians believe that the increased chemical pollution in our air, water, and food is to blame. For example, foods can easily become contaminated following the use of pesticides in farming.
Other possible reasons for the increased occurrence of food allergy include earlier weaning and earlier introduction of solid foods to infants; genetic manipulation of plants, resulting in food components with greater allergenic properties; and impaired digestion (especially lack of hydrochloric acid and/or pancreatic enzymes). Finally, incomplete digestion and excessive permeability of the intestinal lining significantly contribute to the risk of becoming allergic to foods.
Causes
It is well documented that food allergy is often inherited. When both parents have allergies, there is a 67% chance that the children will also have allergies. When only one parent is allergic, the chance that a child will be prone to allergies is still high but drops from 67 to 33%. The theory is that individuals with a tendency to develop food allergies have abnormalities in the number and ratios of special white blood cells known as T lymphocytes or T cells. Specifically, these individuals have nearly 50% more helper T cells than nonallergic persons. These cells help other white blood cells make antibodies.
Individuals prone to food allergies have a lower allergic set point because they have more helper T cells in circulation. Therefore, the level of insult required to trigger an allergic response is lowered. The actual expression of an allergy can be triggered by a variety of stressors that can disrupt the immune system, such as physical or emotional trauma, excessive use of drugs, immunization reactions, frequent consumption of a specific food, and/or environmental toxins.
Improper digestion and poor integrity of the intestinal barrier are other factors that can lead to the development of food allergy. When properly chewed and digested, 90% of ingested proteins are completely broken down and then absorbed as amino acids and small peptides. However, partially digested dietary proteins can cross the intestinal barrier and be absorbed into the bloodstream. These larger molecules can cause an allergic response that can occur either directly at the intestinal barrier, at distant sites, or throughout the body.
People with food allergies often need supplements of hydrochloric acid and/or pancreatic enzymes (see the chapter “Digestion and Elimination”). Incompletely digested proteins can impair the immune system, leading to long-term allergies and frequent infections.
During stressful times, food allergies tend to develop or become worse. This situation probably results from a stress-induced decrease in secretory IgA levels. IgA plays an important role in the lining of the mucosal membrane of the intestinal tract, where it helps protect against the entrance of foreign substances into the body. In other words, IgA acts as a barricade against the entry of food antigens. When there is a lack of IgA lining the intestines, the absorption of food allergens and microbial antigens increases dramatically. Even a relatively short-term IgA deficiency predisposes a person to the development of food allergy. People with food allergies typically have unusually low levels of IgA, making them particularly susceptible.
Most food allergies are mediated by the immune system as a result of interactions between ingested food, the digestive tract, white blood cells, and food-specific antibodies such as IgE, IgG, and IgM. Food represents the largest antigenic challenge that confronts the human immune system, whether a person suffers from food allergies or not. When food antigens activate the immune system, white blood cells and antibodies cooperate in an immune response that, under certain circumstances, can have negative effects.
There are five major families of antibodies: IgE, IgD, IgG, IgM, and IgA. IgE is involved primarily in the classic immediate reaction, while the others seem to be involved in delayed reactions, such as those seen in the cyclical type of food allergy (one that comes and goes). Although the function of the immune system is to protect a person from infections and cancer, abnormal immune responses can lead to tissue injury and disease; food allergy reactions are just one expression.
There are four distinct types of immune-mediated reactions: type I, immediate hypersensitivity; type II, cytotoxic; type III, immune-complex-mediated; and type IV, T-cell-dependent.
Type I: Immediate Hypersensitivity Reactions
Type I reactions occur less than two hours after consumption of an allergenic food. This quick reaction makes it easy to identify the offending foods—getting hives after eating strawberries makes the connection obvious. Antigens bind to preformed IgE antibodies, which are attached to the surface of the mast cell or the basophil, and cause the release of mediators such as histamines and leukotrienes. A variety of allergic symptoms may result, depending on the location of the mast cell: in the nasal passages, this causes sinus congestion; in the bronchioles, constriction (asthma); in the skin, hives and eczema; in the synovial cells that line the joints, arthritis; in the intestinal mucosa, inflammation with resulting malabsorption and possibly diarrhea; and in the brain, headaches, loss of memory, and “spaciness.” It is estimated that 10 to 15% of all food allergies are type I reactions.
Oral allergy syndrome is an immediate type I reaction in which symptoms are usually limited to the lips and oral cavity. It occurs in sensitive individuals upon ingestion of proteins in pollens and raw fruits, nuts, or vegetables. Symptoms usually occur within five minutes of eating the food and commonly include itching, tingling, redness, and swelling of the lips, mouth, and throat. Cooked foods rarely induce the same response, because the protein shapes are changed when food is heated or digested.
Type II: Cytotoxic Reactions
Cytotoxic reactions involve the binding of either IgG or IgM antibodies to cell-bound antigens. Antigen-antibody binding activates factors that cause the destruction of the cell to which the antigen is bound. Most often this reaction is seen in antibiotic or other drug reactions when IgG antibodies attach to red blood cells, ultimately destroying them (hemolysis); this can lead to anemia. The same process can occur in intestinal cells.
Type III: Immune-Complex-Mediated Reactions
Immune complexes are formed when antigens bind to antibodies. They are usually cleared from the circulation by white blood cells (macrophages) located in the liver and the spleen. However, if there are increased quantities of circulating immune complexes or if histamines and other amines that increase vascular permeability are present, these immune complexes may be deposited in tissues, producing tissue injury.
These responses are of the delayed type, often occurring more than two hours or even days after exposure. This type of allergy has been shown to involve IgG and IgG4 immune complexes. It is estimated that 80% of food allergy reactions involve IgG and IgG4.
Type IV: T-Cell-Dependent Reactions
These delayed reactions are mediated primarily by white blood cells known as T lymphocytes. The reaction results when an allergen comes into contact with the skin, respiratory tract, or gastrointestinal tract, or another body surface, stimulating sensitized T cells and causing inflammation within 36 to 72 hours. Type IV reactions do not involve any antibodies. Examples include poison ivy (contact dermatitis), allergic colitis, and regional ileitis.
Many adverse reactions to foods are not triggered by the immune system. Instead, the reaction is caused by inflammatory mediators (histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, SRS-A, serotonin, platelet-activating factor, kinins, etc.) released by mast cells and other white blood cells. In addition, foods with high histamine content or histamine-releasing effects may produce allergy-like reactions.
From a clinical perspective, naturopathic and other nutrition-oriented physicians recognize two basic types of food allergies: cyclical and fixed.
Cyclical allergies develop slowly through repeated eating of a food. If the allergenic food is avoided for a period of time (typically more than four months), it may be reintroduced and tolerated unless it is again eaten too frequently. Cyclic allergies account for 80 to 90% of food allergies.
Fixed allergies occur whenever a food is eaten, no matter what the time span is between episodes of ingestion. In other words, in fixed allergies the person remains allergic to the food throughout life.
Diagnostic Considerations
There are two basic categories of tests commonly used: (1) food challenge methods and (2) laboratory methods. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Food challenge methods require no additional expense, but they do require a great deal of motivation; also, detection is subjective and thus prone to error and confounding factors like stress or environmental exposure. Laboratory procedures such as blood tests can provide immediate identification of suspected allergens, but they are more expensive and report only on the specific antibodies measured.
Many physicians believe that oral food challenge is the best way to diagnose food sensitivities. There are two broad categories of food challenge testing: (1) an elimination diet (also known as an oligoantigenic diet) followed by food reintroduction, and (2) a water fast followed by food challenge.
WARNING: Food challenge testing should not be used by people who have potentially life-threatening symptoms such as airway constriction or severe allergic reactions.
In the elimination diet method, the patient is put on a limited diet. Commonly eaten foods are eliminated and replaced with either hypoallergenic foods or special hypoallergenic meal-replacement formulas.6–8. The fewer allergenic foods eaten, the greater the ease of establishing a diagnosis using an elimination diet.
The standard elimination diet consists of lamb, chicken, potatoes, rice, bananas, apples, and vegetables in the brassica family (cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc.). There are also other suitable variations of the elimination diet. However, it is extremely important that no allergenic foods be consumed. The individual stays on this limited diet for at least one week, and up to one month. If the symptoms are related to food sensitivity, they will typically disappear by the fifth or sixth day of the diet. If the symptoms do not disappear, it is possible that a reaction to a food in the elimination diet is responsible. In that case, an even more restricted diet must be utilized.
After the elimination diet period, individual foods are reintroduced every two days. Methods range from reintroducing a single food every two days to reintroducing a food every one or two meals. Usually, after the “cleansing” period, the patient will develop an increased sensitivity to offending foods. Reintroduction of allergenic foods will typically produce a more severe or recognizable symptom than appeared before. A careful, detailed record must be maintained, describing when foods were reintroduced and what symptoms appeared upon reintroduction.9
For many people, elimination diets offer the most feasible means of detection. Because the effects of food reactions can be dramatic, motivation to eliminate the food may be high. The downside of this procedure is that it is time-consuming and requires discipline and motivation.
There are two popular types of laboratory test used to diagnose food allergies: the skin-prick test and blood tests that measure the levels of antibodies relative to food antigens.
The Skin-Prick Test
The skin-prick test or skin-scratch test is commonly employed by many allergists but tests only for IgE-mediated allergies. Since just 10 to 15% of all food allergies are mediated by IgE, this test is of little value in diagnosing most food allergies. Nevertheless, skin tests are often performed and can provide good information if the food allergy is mediated by IgE.
In this type of test, a small scratch is made on the patient’s skin and a food extract is applied to the scratched area. If the patient has elevated levels of IgE with regard to the food, a welt will form immediately as the allergen reacts with IgE-sensitized cells in the patient’s skin.
Blood Tests
Most nutritionally oriented physicians now employ blood tests to diagnose food allergies. These tests are convenient, but they can range in cost from a modest $130 to an extravagant $1,200. The ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test appears to be the best and most popular laboratory method currently available, as well as the most reasonably priced. This test can measure IgE, IgG, IgG4, IgM, and IgA antibodies, therefore identifying both immediate and delayed allergic reactions.
One of the key advantages of the ELISA over other laboratory methods is its ability to measure IgG4 antibodies. This subclass of antibody was initially thought to act as a blocking antibody, thereby exerting protective effects against allergy. However, it is now established that IgG4 antibodies are actually involved in producing allergic symptoms.10 For example, in a study of asthmatics it was demonstrated that attacks in these patients could be produced in response to inhaled antigens that did not bind to IgE antibodies but did bind to IgG4.11 These results suggested that IgG4 antibodies act as allergic antibodies, especially to food antigens.12 Nonetheless, the combination of IgE and IgG4 provides the best answers, especially when compared with skin testing.13
Newer ELISA assays—ImmunoCAP (from Phadia), Immulite (from Siemens), and Turbo RAST (from Hycor)—are available and are very sensitive, but as of 2012 they identify only IgE antibodies.14–16
Other Methods
Energetic methods of food sensitivity testing (electroacupuncture according to Voll, Vega testing, Carroll testing, applied kinesiology, electrodermal screening, and bioresonance therapy), cytotoxic food allergy testing, and Nambudripad’s allergy elimination techniques (NAET) are some of the ways alternative medicine practitioners test for food sensitivities or intolerances, but scientific studies either have not been done to verify the clinical relevance of these methods or have shown these methods to be unreliable and clinically questionable.17–24
The simplest and most effective method of treating food allergies is through avoidance of allergenic foods. Elimination of offending antigens from the diet will begin to alleviate associated symptoms after the body has cleared itself of the antigen/antibody complexes and after the intestinal tract has eliminated any remaining food (usually three to five days). Avoidance means avoiding the food not only in its most identifiable state (e.g., eggs in an omelet), but also in its hidden state (e.g., eggs in bread). For severe reactions, it may also be necessary to eliminate closely related foods with similar antigenic components (e.g., rice and millet, for patients with severe wheat allergy). Avoiding allergenic foods may not be simple or practical, for several reasons:
• Common allergenic foods, such as wheat, corn, and soy, are found as components of many processed foods.
• When patients are eating away from home, it is often difficult to determine what ingredients are used in purchased foods and prepared meals.
• There may have been a dramatic increase in the number of foods to which a given individual is allergic.
It is often difficult (psychologically, socially, and nutritionally) to eliminate a large number of common foods from a person’s diet. But it is often the best approach.
Many experts believe that the key to dietary control of food allergies is the rotation diversified diet. The diet was first developed by Dr. Herbert J. Rinkel in 1934.25 The diet consists of a highly varied selection of foods that are eaten in a definite rotation, in order to prevent the formation of new allergies and to control preexisting ones.
Tolerated foods are eaten at regularly spaced intervals of four to seven days. For example, a person who has wheat on Monday will have to wait until Friday to have anything with wheat in it again. This approach is based on the principle that infrequent consumption of tolerated foods is not likely to induce new allergies or exacerbate mild allergies, even in highly sensitized and immune-compromised individuals. As tolerance for eliminated foods returns, they may be added back into the rotation schedule without reactivating the allergy (this, of course, applies only to cyclic food allergies; foods involved in fixed allergies may never be eaten again).
It is not simply a matter of rotating tolerated foods; food families must also be rotated. Foods, whether animal or vegetable, come in families. The reason it is important to rotate food families is that allergenic foods can cross-react with other foods from the same family. In other words, people who are allergic to wheat produce antibodies that can react with other grains in the wheat family. Overconsumption or too frequent consumption of foods from the same family can lead to allergies. Food families need not be as strictly rotated as individual foods, though the usual recommendation for people prone to food allergies is to avoid eating members of the same food family two days in a row.
Insufficient release of pancreatic enzymes as well as low secretion of stomach acid (hypochlorhydria) may play a major role in many cases of food allergies, particularly if a person has multiple allergies. While starch and fat digestion can be carried out satisfactorily without the help of pancreatic enzymes, the enzymes called proteases are critical to proper protein digestion. Incomplete digestion of proteins creates a number of problems for the body, including the development of food allergies.
Edible Plant and Animal Kingdoms Taxonomic List
VEGETABLES
Legume
Bean
Cocoa bean
Lentil
Licorice
Peanut
Pea
Soybean
Tamarind
Mustard
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Mustard
Radish
Turnip
Watercress
Parsley
Anise
Caraway
Carrot
Celery
Coriander
Cumin
Parsley
Potato
Chili
Eggplant
Pepper
Potato
Tomato
Tobacco
Grass
Barley
Corn
Oat
Rice
Rye
Wheat
Lily
Asparagus
Chive
Garlic
Leek
Onion
Laurel
Avocado
Camphor
Cinnamon
Sunflower
Artichoke
Lettuce
Sunflower
Beet
Beet
Chard
Spinach
Buckwheat
Buckwheat
Rhubarb
FRUITS
Gourd
Cantaloupe
Cucumber
Honeydew
Other melon
Pumpkin
Squash
Zucchini
Plum
Almond
Apricot
Cherry
Peach
Plum
Persimmon
Citrus
Grapefruit
Lemon
Lime
Mandarin
Orange
Tangerine
Cashew
Cashew
Mango
Pistachio
Nut
Brazil nut
Pecan
Walnut
Beech
Beechnut
Chestnut
Chinquapin nut
Banana
Arrowroot
Banana
Plantain
Palm
Coconut
Date
Date sugar
Grape
Grape
Raisin
Pineapple
Pineapple
Rose
Blackberry
Loganberry
Raspberry
Rose hip
Strawberry
Birch
Filbert
Hazelnut
Apple
Apple
Pear
Quince
Blueberry
Blueberry
Cranberry
Huckleberry
Pawpaw
Papaya
Pawpaw
Mammal (Meat/Milk)
Beef
Goat
Pig
Rabbit
Sheep
Bird(Meat/Egg)
Chicken
Duck
Goose
Pheasant
Turkey
Fish
Catfish
Cod
Flounder
Halibut
Mackerel
Fish
Salmon
Sardine
Snapper
Trout
Tuna
Crustacean
Crab
Crayfish
Lobster
Prawn
Shrimp
Mollusk
Abalone
Clam
Mussel
Oyster
Scallop
Simplified Four-Day Rotation Diet Plan |
|||||
FOOD FAMILY |
FOOD |
||||
Day 1 |
|
||||
Citrus |
Lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime, tangerine, kumquat, citron |
||||
Banana |
Banana, plantain, arrowroot |
||||
Palm |
Coconut, date, date sugar |
||||
Parsley |
Carrot, parsnip, celery, celery seed, celeriac, anise, dill, fennel, cumin, parsley, coriander, caraway |
||||
Spices |
Black and white pepper, peppercorn, nutmeg, mace |
||||
Subucaya |
Brazil nut |
||||
Bird |
All poultry and game birds (chicken, turkey, duck, goose, guinea, pigeon, quail, pheasant), eggs |
||||
Juices |
Juices (preferably fresh) may be made from any fruits and vegetables listed above, and used in any combination desired, without adding sweeteners |
||||
Day 2 |
|
||||
Grape |
Grape, raisin |
||||
Pineapple |
Packed in juice or water, or fresh |
||||
Rose |
Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, loganberry, rose hip |
||||
Gourd |
Watermelon, cucumber, cantaloupe, pumpkin, squash, other melon, zucchini, pumpkin seed, squash seed |
||||
Beet |
Beet, spinach, chard |
||||
Legume |
Pea, black-eyed pea, dry bean, green bean, carob, soybean, lentil, licorice, peanut, alfalfa |
||||
Cashew |
Cashew, pistachio, mango |
||||
Birch |
Filbert, hazelnut |
||||
Flaxseed |
Flaxseed |
||||
Pork products |
|||||
Mollusks |
Abalone, snail, squid, clam, mussel, oyster, scallop |
||||
Crustaceans |
Crab, crayfish, lobster, prawn, shrimp |
||||
Juices |
Juices (preferably fresh) may be made from any fruits, berries, or vegetables listed above, and used without added sweeteners in any combination desired |
||||
Day 3 |
|
||||
Apple |
Apple, pear, quince |
||||
Gooseberry |
Currant, gooseberry |
||||
Buckwheat |
Buckwheat, rhubarb |
||||
Aster |
Lettuce, chicory, endive, escarole, globe artichoke, dandelion, sunflower seed, tarragon |
||||
Potato |
Potato, tomato, eggplant, bell pepper, chili pepper, paprika, cayenne, ground cherries |
||||
Lily (onion) |
Onion, garlic, asparagus, chive, leek |
||||
Spurge |
Tapioca |
||||
Herb |
Basil, savory, sage, oregano, horehound, catnip, spearmint, peppermint, thyme, marjoram, lemon balm |
||||
Walnut |
English walnut, black walnut, pecan, hickory nut, butternut |
||||
Pedalium |
Sesame |
||||
Beech |
Chestnut |
||||
Saltwater fish |
Herring, anchovy, cod, sea bass, sea trout, mackerel, tuna, swordfish, flounder, sole |
||||
Freshwater fish |
Sturgeon, salmon, whitefish, bass, perch |
||||
Juices |
Juices (preferably fresh) may be made from any fruits and vegetables listed above, and used without added sweeteners in any combination desired |
||||
Day 4 |
|
||||
Plum |
Plum, cherry, peach, apricot, nectarine, almond, wild cherry |
||||
Blueberry |
Blueberry, huckleberry, cranberry, wintergreen |
||||
Pawpaw |
Pawpaw, papaya, papain |
||||
Mustard |
Mustard, turnip, radish, horseradish, watercress, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, rutabaga |
||||
Laurel |
Avocado, cinnamon, bay leaf, sassafras, cassia bud or bark |
||||
Sweet potato |
Sweet potatoes (including those referred to as yams) |
||||
Wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley, rye, wild rice, millet, sorghum, bamboo shoot |
|||||
Orchid |
Vanilla |
||||
Protea |
Macadamia nut |
||||
Conifer |
Pine nut |
||||
Fungus |
Mushrooms and yeast (brewer’s yeast, etc.) |
||||
Bovid |
Milk products: butter, cheese, yogurt, beef and milk products, margarine, lamb |
||||
Juices |
Juices (preferably fresh) may be made from any fruits and vegetables listed above, and used without added sweeteners in any combination desired |
||||
In order for a food molecule to produce an allergic response it must be fairly large. In studies performed in the 1930s and 1940s, pancreatic enzyme supplementation was shown to be quite effective in preventing food allergies.26 In a more recent study, 10 patients with food allergy documented by double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges underwent further double-blind food challenges through a nasogastric tube with a known offending food, with or without the addition of an enteric-coated pancreatic enzyme preparation.27 Compared with no enzymes, administration of pancreatic enzymes markedly reduced the severity of food-induced symptoms in all 10 patients. All 10 patients in the study suffered from postprandial abdominal symptoms, whereas fewer experienced allergic sinusitis (6 did), skin reactions (5 did), or asthma (2 did). Other protein-digesting enzymes may be of benefit as well.
Quercetin
Quercetin consistently demonstrates the greatest antiallergy activity among the flavonoids studied in experimental models, particularly in test tube studies. In particular, it prevents the release of histamine from mast cells and basophils. Unfortunately, regular quercetin is not very well absorbed. Recently a highly bioavailable enzymatically modified form of isoquercitrin (EMIQ) has been developed. This form has shown significant ability to improve some of symptoms of hay fever in double-blind clinical studies and may show some effect in other allergic conditions as well (see the chapter “Hay Fever” for more information).
Apple Polyphenols
As with EMIQ, two double-blind studies showed apple polyphenols (AP) to reduce hay fever symptoms. In animal models AP has also reduced allergic reactions to food.28,29 Similar results may be achieved with other polyphenol-rich extracts such as grape seed, pine bark, or green tea extract.
QUICK REVIEW
• Food allergies have been linked to many common symptoms and health conditions.
• Some physicians believe that at least 60% of the American population suffers from symptoms associated with food reactions.
• When both parents have allergies, there is a 67% chance that the children will also have allergies.
• It is often necessary to support the individual who has food allergies with supplemental levels of hydrochloric acid and/or pancreatic enzymes.
• During stressful times, food allergies tend to develop or become worse.
• Many physicians believe that oral food challenge is the best way to diagnose food sensitivities.
• The skin-prick test or skin-scratch test commonly employed by many allergists is of little value in diagnosing most food allergies.
• There are now effective blood tests to identify food allergies.
• The simplest and most effective method of treating food allergies is through avoidance of allergenic foods.
• Many experts believe that the key to the dietary control of food allergies is the rotation diversified diet.
• Pancreatic enzyme preparations, quercetin, and apple polyphenols may be helpful in lessening food allergy symptoms.
TREATMENT SUMMARY
While there is no known simple cure for food allergies, there are a number of measures that will help avoid and lessen symptoms and correct the underlying causes. First, all allergenic foods should be identified using one of the methods discussed in this chapter. After the problematic foods have been identified, the best approach is clearly avoidance of all major allergens, and rotation of all other foods for at least the first few months. As you begin to see improvement, the dietary restrictions can be relaxed, although some people may require a rotation diet indefinitely. If there is a food to which you are strongly allergic, all members of that food family should be avoided.
• A high-potency multiple vitamin and mineral formula as described in the chapter “Supplementary Measures”
• Vitamin D3: 2,000 to 4,000 IU per day (ideally, measure blood levels and adjust dosage accordingly)
• Fish oils: 1,000 mg EPA + DHA per day
EMIQ: 50 to 100 mg before meals
Apple polyphenols extract: 100 to 250 mg before meals
Grape seed or pine bark extract (>95% procyanidolic oligomers): 50 to 100 mg before meals
• Pancreatin (8–10X USP) or fungal protease formula: 350 to 1,000 mg per day before meals