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Defining food allergies
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Photo: Dan Nicholas
This is the first part of a two-part article on food allergies
Allergies in various forms affect about one out of four people. To some, they are merely a nuisance, but to others they are a very distracting and potentially serious chronic condition. Allergies are the result of the body’s immune system recognizing otherwise harmless substances as threats, and then mounting an attack against those substances, which ends up harming the person themselves. The substance that causes an allergic reaction is often called an allergen. The normal function of the allergy-fighting part of the immune system is to fight parasites in the human body. This may be a main reason why people in developed countries tend to have more allergies than people in developing countries: the environment of developed countries is relatively parasite-free, and thus “too clean”. One of the emerging theories is that: the parasite-fighting parts of the immune system in humans who live in developed countries have nothing to fight against except foreign substances in the body, such as pollen, food, and certain drugs.
Only about 1% of Americans have a true food allergy, but they can be a serious problem for those who have them. As the Roman Lucretius said in 50 B.C. “What is food to one person may be bitter poison to others”. This saying has later evolved into the more current one: One man’s food is another man’s poison. The most common food allergens are: eggs, wheat, and cow’s milk. Yeast and yeast-containing products, pork, beef, and corn are also common allergens.
Allergy to pork and beef may actually be sensitivity instead of a true allergy (although the symptoms may be the same as a real allergy). There could also often be a sensitivity to additives in the foods above, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartate and/or phenylalanine (Nutrasweet), nitrates and nitrites, or sulfates and sulfites. Be sure and read the ingredients of the foods and drinks you buy at the store. In addition, some foods and drinks such as strawberries, chocolate and coffee may not be true allergens, but may contain a good amount of the inflammatory hormone histamine. Foods and drinks like those mentioned above may also contain chemicals that release histamine in the body. Interestingly, alcoholism may be linked with food allergies.
Allergies may also be worsened by incomplete digestion of food, particularly protein. Incomplete digestion in the stomach and small intestine may not be able to break down all food proteins completely. If there is any “leakiness” in the wall of the small intestine, some of the small food particles could enter the bloodstream later. Since the immune system is not trained to recognize these food particles as harmless, it may cause an allergic reaction against them. The above sequence of events is termed the “leaky gut syndrome” by holistic practitioners. Yeast may also contribute to leaky gut syndrome.
The second part of this article will talk about various treatments for food allergies.
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