FOOD
in many allergic reactions, such as asthma. Milk and
wheat contain natural opiates, morphine- like sub-
stances that may affect brain cell activity, influencing
mood and mental activity, and possibly including
fatigue.
HOW TO DETECT CHRONIC FOOD ALLERGY
If you suspect certain foods may disagree with
you, bringing on or exacerbating chronic prob-
lems, such as arthritis, headaches, mood swings,
abdominal pain, diarrhea and other intestinal dis-
tress, you may be able to spot the causes by trial
and error and eliminate them from your diet. Here
are suggestions for doing so from Dr. Nsouli.
* For a week stop eating a suspect food. It makes
sense to start with one of the most common
culprits – milk and dairy products, wheat or corn
products. Be careful to read food labels to de-
tect the presence of the foods. For example, milk
casein, wheat gluten and sweeteners made from
corn (corn syrups) wheat gluten and sweeteners
made from corn (corn syrups) are very common in
processed foods.
* During the week when you are avoiding the
suspect food, keep dose track of whether you feel
better- whether, for example, your diarrhea or
headaches have diminished. If so, you must then
try to confirm your suspicions.
* As proof that specific food is troublesome, do a
“challenge test”. For a week, consume lots of the
same food you have previously eliminated. If it is
dairy products, eat low fat milk, yoghurt and cot-
tage cheese two or three times a day. If it is corn,
eat lots of whole corn kernels, corn flakes, torti-
llas, corn bread and corn chips. If it is wheat, eat
bread, wheat cereals and pasta. Notice whether
you feel worse, whether your symptoms, such as
pain, fatigue r abdominal distress have returned. If
they have, the food may be partly at fault. Re-
member, the symptom may not appear until two
or three days after you eat an offending food.
THE TWISTED-MIND SYNDROME
Can food reactions also trigger psychological ail-
ments? “The mounting evidence is beginning to
suggest that psychological symptoms such as de-
pression and anxiety may be caused and/or exac-
erbated by food sensitivities in certain susceptible
persons,” concluded a recent review by Alan Gettis
of the Columbia university college of physicians and
surgeons. Dr. Talal Nsoli, an allergist on the faculty
of Georgetown university medical school, has found
that chronic fatigue in a surprisingly high percent-
age of cases sterms from delayed food allergies,
especially to wheat, milk and corn. Such newly
discovered links between food intolerances and a
long string of perplexing and seemingly incurable
conditions at long last offer new hope for recovery
to millions of people. Warning: if you have ever had
an acute reaction to a food, or believe you might be
allergic to any foods, such as peanuts or shrimp, do
not, under any circumstances, do a “food challenge
test”. Strictly avoid such foods” eating them could
cause life-threatening reactions, including anaphy-
lactic shock.
• Repeat the process, concentrating on different
high-risk foods ,including wheat, milk, corn, soya and
eggs.
• Of course, you can also consult a physician who is
a qualified specialist in food allergies. Typically, you
will be given routine screening tests, including skin
test and/or a blood test called the RAST test that
detects immune reactions. These tests are helpful in
detecting initial signs of food allergies, but they are
no foolproof. They may miss certain food intoleranc-
es and falsely report others. The only bottom-line
test that really counts, insists Dr Nsouli, is actually
eliminating the food from your diet, then adding it
back to see if it is actually eliminating the food from
your diet, then adding it back to see if it is actual
cause of trouble. That proof is the only real proof,
even for allergists, he says, “If you do have an allergy
or sensitivity to a particular food that is making your
life miserable, avoiding it will bring an instant cure.
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