"I am the Allower of my own Wellbeing"

A monthly newsletter written by Sherry Dell, PhD, CN

Volume 1, Issue 3
September, 2007

Check out another article I posted on my website this month titled, "The Honey Bees' Contribution."  Learn about the current risk to the honey bee population, their important contribution to our food chain, and get some fun recipes.

Recent research suggests that more than half the US population is now allergic to at least one common allergen. (1)  These allergens include such foods as wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar, corn, and peanuts,  and such non-foods as dust mites, ragweed, and grass. 

Why are we all so allergic?  

In adults, allergy-related problems to non-foods are commonly listed as various kinds of upper respiratory discomfort such as sneezing, itchy eyes, running nose, post nasal drip, etc.; symptoms of food allergies are generally thought of as some kind of digestive impairment such as stomach upset or diarrhea.  I would also include fatigue, general toxicity,  hypersensitivity to prescription drugs, scents, and the environment in general as allergy-related symptoms.  In children, allergy symptoms might also include chronic infections, weakened immunity, acute otitis media (AOM which is inflammation of the middle ear), and attention deficit-type behavior problems.  In fact, when interviewing adults with allergy symptoms, I routinely question them regarding their own childhood health experiences and almost always learn that they also had some number of chronic ear infections, colds, bronchitis, asthma, and/or plenty of antibiotic prescriptions.  

This is no coincidence.  The chain of events that results in adult allergies (and ultimately in even more serious immunity & toxicity problems) begins very early in life.  The symptom picture generally changes from childhood to adulthood.  The ear infections, asthma, and the inability to focus of childhood turn into the seasonal allergies, celiac disease, diabetes, depression/anxiety, or chronic fatigue of adulthood.  But the root causes remain the same.

A bit like the chicken or the egg problem, it is difficult to point to a starting point for this cascade of symptoms, but let's start at birth.  A recent review of 52 studies found that the introduction of certain foods to infants increases the risk of food allergies, as well as diabetes and celiac disease. (2)  The American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and UNICEF all recommend exclusive breast feeding for at least 6 months, followed by gradual introduction of solid foods in the second half of the first year and continued breast feeding for 12 months and beyond.  This means that children who are introduced to formulas and then solid foods too early in life are very likely to put an increased burden on their immune system.  The way this works is that a  food that enters the human body before the digestive system  has developed adequately to process and assimilate it becomes a kind of "foreign invader" that the immune system must react to.  Remember, we're talking about a wee, tiny body and a wee, tiny immune system.  It doesn't take much of a dose or very long for a food that is being seen by the body as an allergen-foreign-invader to begin to burden and tire the immune system.  So a daily dose of cow's milk formula or really any kind of formula is all it takes, and voila, an allergy is born.  You can see this on the faces of even very young children by the dark circles under their eyes.

On to the egg and the chicken again.  Adult women are exposed to various elements in modern living that, in turn, are passed on to their babies.  This may happen during pregnancy and/or breast feeding.  For example,  as adults we are all exposed to an ever-increasing number of environmental pollutants and toxins.  Pesticides.  Industrial waste.  Pharmaceuticals in the water supply and in the food chain.  Preservatives.  Some of these chemicals are harmful to our immune systems.  It is speculated that the "toxin-soup" effect of combinations of chemicals might simply overtax our immune systems, making them much more susceptible to allergy.

Another way the adult immune system is taxed is via the many processed foods that are made from the same small list of ingredients (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar, corn).  As we eat these same foods over and over day after day, they too can become a kind of "foreign invader" that stimulates the immune system.  In other words,  the sheer repetitive nature of our diets can become an immune stressor that over time makes our immune systems weaker and again, more susceptible to allergy.

High fructose corn syrup is added to many, many processed foods.  If you have a sweet tooth and like to eat cookies or scones or breakfast cereal or have a Starbuck's latte, chances are you're eating some high fructose corn syrup every day.  Because fructose is a highly reactive molecule that can change the chemical structure of proteins when they are heated in its presence, it is thought that these altered proteins can be much more allergenic than proteins that haven't been changed molecularly in this way.

Frequency of antibiotic use also plays a role in overall immune function in both children and adults.  Antibiotics, of course, are used to kill bacteria.  This is a good thing when there are pathogenic, harmful bacteria present that are causing illness.  However, antibiotics are not "smart" enough to distinguish between the "bad" bacteria and the "good" bacteria.  The human gastro-intestinal tract has various strains of beneficial bacteria that play a critical role in overall immune function.  Taking antibiotics kills these beneficial bacteria as well as the harmful bacteria.  Over time and repeated doses of antibiotics, particularly in children, the immune system can become stressed and weakened, and more susceptible to allergy.  One recent study (3) found that asthma was significantly more likely to develop in children who had received antibiotics in the fist year of life.  Interestingly, another study (4) found that children with middle ear infections recovered equally well whether antibiotics were prescribed or withheld.  And another study (5) found that osteopathic manipulation, in place of surgery, resulted in significantly fewer episode of middle ear infection in children age 6 months to 6 years.

As the years pass, impaired immune function begins to have an impact on the body's ability to eliminate toxins. In a particularly nasty cycle,  as the body becomes more toxic, the immune system becomes even more susceptible to allergy.  But we'll save the topic of toxicity for its own article another day.

What is clear is that as some or several of these experiences begin to effect a child, their immune system begins to be weakened.  Depending on their genetic gifts or lack of gifts, the day dawns when allergy or other symptoms begin to appear, indicating that the stressors are getting the upper hand on their little immune systems.

The good news is that the sooner a parent (or an individual in adulthood) begins to see what has happened to their immune function, the sooner they can begin to reduce and eliminate these stressors.  In children, I have often seen a few days' worth of the elimination of dairy or wheat greatly reduce or even eliminate all manner of symptoms of allergy.  In adults, the same strategy may be equally important.  And both children and adults can also benefit from an increased variety of foods, the replacement of beneficial bacteria,  and  the elimination of high fructose corn syrup.  Adults may also benefit from liver cleansing and support through the use of medical foods, guided detoxification  programs, and other nutritional supplements as needed.  If you're an adult who suffers with the kinds of symptoms discussed here, find a holistic health practitioner who can guide you.