From bsandle@southern.co.nz Sun Aug 27 00:21:25 EDT 1995
Article: 1 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: bsandle@southern.co.nz (Brian Sandle)
Newsgroups: sci.bio.technology,alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Re: EPA Proposed Regulation of Transgenic Plants
Date: 26 Aug 1995 19:46:55 GMT
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James E. Thornton (jetsioux@clark.net) wrote:

:EPA, late in 1994, proposed that any and all transgenic 
:plants containing genes that either confer pest or 
:disease resistance be classified as "plant pesticides" 
:and therefore be subject to FIFRA regulation--which, 
:plants containing similar genes obtained through 
:traditional breeding methods, would not be, nor never  
:have been, subject to. 
 
Jim is writing from "Demeter". Interestingly in Christchurch, New
Zealand, "Demeter" is not a biotech company. "Demeter" produce
is that produced by biodynamic agriculture, a further enhanced
step from "organic" and would obviously have no transgenic plants
in cultivation.
 
All plants do of course have natural pesticides. I presume that
in biodynamic agriculture that the plants are more able to
respond with a natural toxin to a pest. That would be because of
better nutrition and environment.
 
Some five or more years ago I handed to the organic farming
section at the local agricultural university a question as to
whether having more natural toxicants in our food plants might
pose a hazard to some of us. Organic agriculture hopes for
natural resistance in plants. I am crossposting this article to
the new newsgroup alt.support.food-allergies as well as 
sci.bio.technology. Perhaps it could stay in both newsgroups initially.
 
An article in "Science" had pointed out that plants under stress
produce natural antioxidants which insects may use to fight
stress themselves. Do humans benefit from eating stressed plants?
That is a further direction for brainstorming in this thinking.
 
Also, any inclusion of such 
:transgenic plants under EPA/FIFRA regulation would almost 
:automatically mean that all 50 states would require 
:similar regulation at their level as well. Therefore, any 
:company pursuing such transformations, which is planning 
:eventually to market such new cultivars, would be faced 
:with obtaining the approval of upwards to 52 individual 
:government regulator agencies. 
 
I would think that there is some merit in this for the consumer.
Note that euthanasia legislation is proceeding at different rates
in different areas in Australia. It is interesting to think about
the societal causes for this. Also if one wishes to feel safe in
an old people's home then one might surely wish to live in a
state not supporting euthanasia. I note that listening to talk
back radio it is often young people supporting euthanasia. The
New Zealand parliament has just rejected a private members bill
on euthanasia. Speakers in the house spoke of the situation in
Holland where doctors may not be prosecuted in many circumstances
for euthanasia and how this has become the thin edge of the wedge
whereby many people are euthanased non voluntarily. Canada has
also rejected voluntary euthanasia and I feel that having one
world law for anything would be terrible if it were a mistake.
In some ways I parallel this to one transgenics plant law for the
whole USA, or the whole world for that matter. Perhaps it might
regulate back the too adventurous. I am still thinking of that.
 
If you are a Monsanto or 
:similar large biotech or ag/chemical company who already 
:has a large in-place regulatory staff, you probably 
:couldn't care less--especially if you thought such new 
:regulation might stop a lot of smaller companies from 
:competing with you (or force them to sell or license 
:their technology to you, since they could not afford such 
:high regulatory  costs).
:
 
I would imagine that a small company might have success in one
adventurous state where it wouldn't in an across the board
situation. I am almost thinking I shouldn't be posting this.
 
:EPA will submit their final recommendations to its 
:Science Advisory Committee probably in December, followed 
:shortly thereafter by submission of their proposed rule 
:to OMB for final approval. 
:
:Congress, in meantime, will likely debate the matter 
:shortly following the Labor Day recess when they take up 
:EPA's appropriation as a part of the VA-HUD, Independent 
:Agency Appropriation bill for next fiscal year. 
:
:USDA has taken strong exception to EPA's proposed rule 
:making in this case and hopefully will continue to do so.
:
:I suggest any of you who share concern about this  absurd 
:intrusion by EPA into this regulatory area contact their 
:Congressional delegation and the White House very soon. I 
:suggest you ask them to support the House passed  "Walsh" 
:amendment to the VA-HUD Independent Agency Appropriation 
:Bill, which if adopted by the Senate, and/or in 
:Conference, would prohibit EPA from using any of its 
:funds to implement such a regulation. 
 
That seems pretty silly to me: have proud legislation which
cannot be enforced. Is it going to be consumer organisations
doing any prosecution then?
 
Current 
:governmental regulations and procedures now in place are 
:generally more than adequate to protect the public 
:regarding such matters. 
 
I note that transgenic "flavr savr" tomatoes (I am not quite sure
what has been done to the names or the genes and their expression
regulation) do not legally have to be labelled as transgenic. It
is said that all suppliers do label them, but how do we know?
 
And how would we eventually know if we were eating a food with
higher function human genes in it?
 
If there are problems of 
:particular concern which differ substantially from those 
:now applicable to plants transformed by traditional 
:methods, then lets address those as such and not bring 
:the whole plant world into EPA's regulatory web, thereby 
:adding tremendous cost, time and loss of technological 
:advantage to this nation.
:
 
This is a very interesting point. Knowledge of natural plant
toxicants is not very good.
 
The function of the EPA should be to protect people in areas
where their senses are insufficient to, or for other reasons they
cannot, protect themselves.
 
New Zealand studies have shown that feeding sheep on the
estrogenic red clover pasture causes genital deformity and birth
troubles. I feel that understanding of natural plant toxicants
has to progress much before certainty of safety in the transgenic
field can even begin to be contemplated.
 
:This amendment, in my judgement, is an extremely serious 
:threat to the future of plant biotechnology--and as I 
:stated earlier--lethal to small biotech companies who are 
:in that business.
:
 
You are not obviously speaking of the last amendment you spoke
of, the "Walsh" amendment, which you support. Though if the
object of that "Independent Agency Appropriation Bill" happens,
wouldn't it mean that EPA is freed from doing police work which
now goes to independent contractors contracting work to an
independent agency authority in the same way as a Crown Health
Enterprise contracts to a Regional Health Authority in New
Zealand? The EPA would in the parallel argument become more like
the New Zealand Core Services Committee which works out policy
for the purchasers of health.
 
There seems to be a lot of confusion here, Jim, and I hope that
such confusion can be avoided when it comes to human safety.
 
You speak of transgenic plants and natural plants containing
"similar" genes, but it is the regulation of the expression of
the genes which is the dominant factor, not their presence. Much
more knowledge is needed before incorporating rotenones into food
plants which may over express them under certain conditions of
stress for example, causing havoc with dermatitis prone people.
Once a crop was widely established it would be an economic
disaster if a threshold level of ultraviolet light which has
perhaps been exceeded in past millennia on the evolutionary paths
of plants and humans, were again to prove fatal and turn back the
clock millennia evolution wise. What studies are being done with
psoralen dermatitis in celery workers? A worker I spoke to had
not even known it was the combination of ultra violet light with
the celery toxin which caused the problem.
 
:Jim Thornton
:Vice President
:Demeter BioTechnologies Ltd
:jetsioux@clark.net                     
     
 
Brian Sandle bsandle@southern.co.nz, formerly
Brian_Sandle@equinox.gen.nz Followers may be led astray.


From lwithers@direct.ca Sun Sep 10 23:22:06 EDT 1995
Article: 16 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: lwithers@direct.ca (larry withers)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: REPOST: Diagnosis... ?  -  diagnos.txt [1/1]
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Extracted from "Nutrition Therapy"
by Stephen J. Gislason MD


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Chapter 7   Diagnosis of Food Allergy 
 
The evidence presented in this review suggests  
that there are a variety of expressions of food  
allergy. Three groups of problems have been  
considered. 
 
*	Common recognized syndromes 
*	Specific diseases  
*	Nonspecific illness 
 
Medical diagnosis is a difficult task that  
combines intellectual and intuitive skills. Well- 
defined nosological entities with structural  
changes in tissues are the easiest diagnose.  
Most medical technology addresses these  
needs. The specification of coronary artery  
disease, for example, can be precise and is a  
tribute to the combined effort of physicians,  
technicians, engineers and equipment  
manufacturers to fully reveal a  
pathophysiological process. The precision of  
these well-defined areas of medical concern  
may mislead the unwary into thinking that all  
areas of medicine are equally well-defined or  
can be well-defined with just a little more  
effort. But  most other pathophysiological  
processes remain obscure and are genuinely  
difficult to characterize and understand.  
Common syndromes are diagnosed on clinical  
grounds often with no objective evidence  
whatsoever.  While the history of migraine  
headaches is distinctive and an astute clinician  
will have no difficulty making the diagnosis on  
history, the emergency room physician will have  
trouble deciding whether patient with a migraine  
story is really suffering or simply wants a  
narcotic drug. The diagnosis of depression is   
another subjective syndrome that requires a  
historical understanding more than positive lab  
tests. The irritable bowel syndrome is a  
diagnosis of exclusion. The patient may suffer a  
great deal but tests are negative repeatedly.  
 
Pragmatic, primary medicine is especially  
difficult because of the wide-range of disorders  
that present in all stages of manifestation. The  
primary physician must deal with patients with  
common syndromes, lacking objective  
specification, with early illness that may  
eventually become well-defined, with in- 
between illnesses, mingled with injuries,   
infections,  addictions, and psychosocial  
problems.  A shift from attempted nosological  
diagnosis to pathophysiological understanding  
may be helpful to understand the patient, but is  
often not acceptable to agencies who pay the  
bills. The insistence of a disease category works  
against progress in understanding disease,  
simply because everyone wants to know what  
this is called and not where it came from and  
how to prevent it from happening. A patient with  
80% coronary artery blockage gets the best  
treatment in our system; a single mother with  
type III pattern illness, living on welfare because  
she is too sick to work gets little understanding  
and no technology is applied to solving her  
health problem. 

Shift From Nosological To   
Pathophysiological Understanding of  
Disease.  
The concept of delayed patterns of immune  
response ("food allergy") to food materials  
provides both a theoretic and  practical basis for   
interpreting symptoms of patients with both  
specific diseases and non-specific syndromes.  
The presence of food allergy ( as a  
pathophysiological mechanism) is concealed in  
a variety of  nosological diagnoses such as  
migraine headaches, asthma, eczema, irritable  
bowel syndrome, depression, panic disorder, and  
arthritis.  Patients with these problems tend to  
have two or more manifestations concurrently in  
a matrix of non-specific symptoms. The grand  
theory of hypersensitivity disease attempts to  
explain these illness complexes as expressions  
of reactive immune networks, responding to  
food and airborne antigens. 
 
The pattern of food-related illness, the sequence  
of symptom production, and the distribution of - 
disturbances in the body can be explained if   
complex causation is assumed.  The temporal  
order of sequential immune responses may be  
appreciated by thinking in terms of simultaneous  
immunologic, physiological and biochemical - 
mechanisms, and followed clinically by careful  
recording of each individual's symptom  
production in response to food challenges.    
Without a well-equipped research laboratory it  
will not be possible to actually measure the  
pathophysiological events. The  patient's  
symptom reports and a general understanding of  
pathophysiology will usually suffice to  
construct an adequate theory (diagnosis) and  
prescribe effective intervention. Often a burst of  
symptoms, emerging over hours or days,  can be  
explained by antigenic material from food   
entering the circulation from GIT and triggering  
a variety of alarm and defense procedures. Food  
allergy is diagnosed by physicians who  
understand the multisystem, polysymptomatic  
patterns of illness involved. These patterns are  
revealed by a careful clinical history, and the  
diagnosis made on clinical grounds.  

Proceed With Diet Revision 
A trial of diet revision is safe, practical and  
effective when the clinical pattern suggests the  
diagnosis of food allergy or when the patient  
believes that food is responsible for causing  
symptoms. Knicker's advice is worth  
repeating:   "To diagnose adverse reactions to  
foodstuffs the clinician chiefly need to be  
satisfied that the ingestion of a food predictably  
and repeatedly causes disease. It is not  
necessary to know the precise triggering  
mechanism or which mediators of inflammation  
are activated. Such information is difficult to  
obtain, often requiring considerable laboratory  
investigation beyond the scope of clinical  
practice." 
 
Gerrard suggested:  " The identification or  
confirmation of IgE-mediated allergy is simple,  
for it correlates well with skin prick tests and  
radio-allergosorbent test results. The  
identification of other adverse reactions to  
foods is more difficult and is sometimes  
hampered by preconceived ideas both on the part  
of the patient and the physician... Foods seem to  
play a part in severe chronic disorders which  
have no recognized aetiology.   To establish the  
role of foods in precipitating these disorders we  
need hospital units where patients can be fasted  
and then tested individual with foods, with  
biochemical and immunological studies if  
required.  Investigations such as these are  
inexpensive and, when foods are implicated, the  
treatment, food avoidance, is cheap.  When food  
avoidance prevents headaches, the irritable  
bowel syndrome, arthralgias, and depression, it  
is more effective and less costly than traditional  
treatment, and the observation also throws light  
on the aetiology of the disorder."     
 
The Core Program, described in the next chapter  
of this review is suggested as both a diagnostic  
and treatment procedure. This standardized  
method of diet revision can be conducted at  
home and spare the patient the inconvenience  
and cost of hospitalization or frequent office  
visits. In the era of cost-containment and  
increased patient responsibility for self-care, a  
well constructed diet revision program  
empowers the patient to resolve health problems  
with a minimum of medical interventions. 

Tests For Food Allergy 
This review addresses, briefly, some of the   
testing and treatment issues and confusions  
about food allergy. The difficulty in diagnosing  
food allergy and other food-related problems in  
clinical medicine and disputes within the   
allergy community have left many  patients  
suffering, frustrated and confused. At the same  
time as physicians default in the diagnosis and  
treatment of food-related illnesses, many non- 
medical practitioners have launched careers in  
the food and chemical "sensitivity" business,  
using diverse, sometimes curious and bizarre  
methods,  dubious tests and questionable  
treatments. Even well-intentioned efforts to  
diagnose and treat allergy are often based on  
faulty premises and fail to deliver proper  
results. The desire for simple, definitive tests  
for food allergy is easy to understand, but  
difficult to fulfill. The idea of a simple office  
"test" for food allergy should seem unlikely if  
you understand the complexity and variability of  
immune responses to food antigens. 
 
The lack of specific tests for food allergy have  
hindered progress in this field. Unfortunately,   
tests have been offered which do not reveal the  
problems in a reliable manner. The proliferation  
of phony tests has made responsible work with  
food allergy all the more difficult. Most  
physicians shy away from the  murky issues  
involved. Naturopaths, for example will "muscle  
test" or will use Vega meters - devices which  
only measure skin resistance, but are held out to  
be reliable indicators of "food sensitivity".  Vega  
meters are also used to determine and monitor  
"desensitizing drops" - usually homeopathic  
dilutions of "active substances". This nonsense  
now extends to other devices including  
computers which print out pages of sensitivity  
information and advise food and chemical  
avoidance. Electrodes are attached with some  
mysterious connection or another to the  
computer.  
 
Also unfortunate, has been the insistence of  
some allergists on the skin test as definitive in  
food allergy. The skin test is  a limited  
exploration of immune reactivity and is most  
useful in the investigation of hay fever and other  
inhalant allergy.  The prescription of  
desensitizing sera in hay fever management  
depends on the skin test. IgE RAST tests  
basically show the same reactivity as skin tests  
and are more expensive to do. American labs  
offer other tests for food allergy, including IgG  
RAST, and  immune complex assays. While  
these tests produce interesting results, they are  
expensive and  do not answer the main question -  
what should the patient eat? 
 
The following questions must be asked about  
every proposed test: 
 
What is the test simulating?  Is the simulation  
related to eating real food in real time, by real  
people, exposed to many other influences? Does  
this test do a credible job of simulating  
digestion and absorption? Are the testing  
substances representative of foods, actually  
eaten?  Are the results reproducible? Are the  
test results just spot samples or do they  
represent the sequential interaction of food with  
body systems? Does the test simulate problem  
with GIT permeability and does it demonstrate  
the different responses to varying doses and  
frequency of food ingestion? 
 
The only test that answers all the simulation  
criteria, is to actually eat the food as meals over  
days to weeks and observe what happens. When  
the simple model of linear IgE-mediated  
reactions dominate thinking, some unreasonable  
demands for "proof of food allergy" are placed  
on physicians and patients alike.  The notion that  
double blind food challenge is essential for the  
diagnosis and before diet revision is prescribed  
is among the most impractical, and sometimes  
refractory ideas. Food allergy research should  
include studies of people who are evaluated by  
double-blind challenge with food materials in a  
variety of circumstances. But, very limited  
conclusions can be drawn from these isolated  
experiments. We should never learn to  discredit  
the evidence that patients bring us during  their  
forays in the real-world. 

Allergy Skin Tests 
Skin tests can reveal some of the immediate- 
type hypersensitivities to food materials and are  
always of interest, when distinctly positive. If a  
food extract produces a wheal > 10 mm,  the  
food  probably should not be eaten. However,  
the skin test does an enormous disservice if it is  
used to deny food allergy. A negative skin test  
for food is meaningless. The entire spectrum of  
delayed pattern food allergy lies beyond the  
predictive abilities of this elementary form of  
immunological testing.  

Provocation Tests: by Injection  
Provocation tests by needle injection of food  
proteins into the skin have also been used. The  
intradermal (ID) injection test will occasionally  
show a delayed, cell-mediated response in 24- 
48 hours. Symptoms may develop as injected  
antigen reacts with skin mast cells, or reaches  
circulating basophils and triggers an amplified,  
immediate alarm-response. There is no question  
that injected antigen can sometimes  
demonstrate symptom-production in the allergic  
patient. Indeed every allergist is concerned  
about triggering life-threatening anaphylactic  
reactions with any injection.  If major symptoms  
do occur to one injected antigen, further testing  
is invalid for several days. Clinical ecologists  
claim to "neutralize" the reaction by injecting  
further doses of antigen at  different  
concentrations, and often test many substances  
in one session, lasting several hours. No  
meaningful conclusions can be drawn from  
these testing marathons. The subject tends to  
have fluctuating, confusing sensations, and is  
extremely vulnerable to suggestion from the  
testing person. The ID provocation test is not  
reliable in predicting responses to foods,  
actually eaten, and should not be used as the   
basis for recommending diet revision.  A small  
study by Jewett and associates in California   
questioned the validity of provocation tests; 18  
patients were tested by this method  and they  
concluded that subjects hard a hard time  
differentiating active from inactive solutions,  
and the neutralizing effect was not related to the  
concentration of the active ingredients. This  
study failed to support the method of  
provocative testing - fair enough but an  
associated editorial in this esteemed journal  
used this result to further prejudice against  
food-sensitive patients;  with the byline,  "Food  
Sensitivity or Self-Deception", the editorial  
hints darkly that patients with food allergy are  
dupes. The mention of food allergy invites   
prejudiced opinions from some  members of the  
medical establishment. The only conclusion we  
can reach about provocation tests and this study  
of it is that if subjects are asked to sit in a room  
for several hours after breakfast or lunch,   
receiving a variety of injections, with a variety  
of distractions and suggestions, explicit or  
implicit, coming from testers and other subjects  
everyone will come to the wrong conclusions  
about what is really going on.  The authors of  
this study did not seem to realize that any group  
of subjects sitting in a room will report  
symptoms, if asked. This is not a mysterious  
"placebo" effect ;  but the "noise" of each  
person's body which becomes apparent to  
everyone who sits quietly and does nothing for a  
few hours. They may be reacting to foods they  
ate before they arrived for the tests - even  
yesterday's foods. The practice of meditation  
will reveal shifting awareness of continuous  
body noise - discomforts of all kinds. 

Cytotoxic Tests  
Cytotoxic tests have been offered  for definitive   
"food sensitivity" determination, and have been  
condemned by the American College of  
Allergists as ineffective. Cytotoxic tests,  
recently marketed, expose blood cells to food  
extracts in a chamber, viewed through a  
microscope; cell counts before and after reveal  
cell damage.. Automation can be applied to cell  
counting and evaluation with computer print- 
outs of test results. While the earlier cytotoxic  
tests have little to offer, more sophisticated  
analysis of food antigen and blood-cell  
interactions is always relevant to understanding  
pathogenic mechanisms. A recent  automated  
test has been offered as the ALCAT diagnostic  
system . The ALCAT brochure repeats the  
understanding that multiple mechanisms are  
involved in food allergy and that responses to  
food antigens  by various blood components  
should be measured in food allergic individuals.  
The predictive significance of these  
measurements remains to be discovered. 

Antibody Tests  
The IgE model of allergy inspired development  
of antibody-measuring laboratory tests. The idea  
was to show the affinity of circulating  
antibodies to different antigens. RAST has been  
used instead of, or in addition to, skin scratch  
tests to assess food allergy. Whenever IgE  
mechanisms dominate the food allergy problem,  
RAST may be a useful test. Variations of the  
RAST bear the acronyms ELIZA, FAST, and  
MAST. Negative RAST results have been used to  
deny food allergy and seemed more  
authoritative, looking official and "scientific" on  
a computer printout from the lab. This  RAST- 
test denial only demonstrates ignorance of the  
many mechanisms of food allergy, not related to  
IgE or not involving the small number of test  
antigens, selected from a much larger number of  
possible antigens in the food supply.  
 
The principles of RAST testing for IgE are now  
applied to the measurement of other antibody  
types. The measurement of IgG is of great  
interest. Current studies suggest frequent IgG  
responses to food antigens. Tests measuring  
food-antigen specific IgG have been offered  
with an impressive computer-report of "food  
sensitivities". The levels of food-specific IgG  
are listed, and avoidance of  foods with  
increased antibody levels  is advised. Helpful  
food lists and food rotation instructions  
accompany some of the lab reports. It would  
appear the problem of food allergy diagnosis is  
solved.  Again, this simplistic approach to food  
allergy diagnosis is bound to mislead. While it  
is possible that avoidance of IgG-positive foods  
will be helpful, we do not know if that avoidance   
will really resolve the illness problem. In my  
experience with the IgG RAST, the predictive  
value for food reaction is  limited. 
 
The measurement of total blood levels of four  
antibody species (immunoglobin  
electrophoresis) is of some interest in the  
complex food allergy patterns. Very often,  
shifts in the distribution of IgG, IgM, IgA, and  
IgE manifest immune activity in response to  
antigen loading through GIT. The most common  
pattern is an elevation of the IgM with a very low  
IgE level.  Depressed levels of IgM, IgG are  
seen in patients who have severe or prolonged  
food allergy; often  white cell counts are also  
depressed. When IgE levels are low, skin testing  
and IgE RAST are of little value. Low IgA  
predisposes to food allergy, and always suggests  
the diagnosis. Occasionally, elevations in IgA  
and IgG are seen in the food allergy complex.  
High IgG is associated with the more serious  
immune-mediated diseases, and reflects  
increased antibody production, often against  
unknown antigens. Normal levels of these  
antibodies do not rule out the diagnosis of food  
allergy. 

Immune Complex Assays  
The detection of circulating immune complexes  
is an important test of the antigen-entry  
mechanisms. Usually this procedure is reserved  
for research, and is not routinely employed in  
patient evaluation. Improvement in techniques  
and automation is currently making CIC  
measurement more practical. The most  
interesting test procedures not only detect  
CIC's, but also determine what food antigens  
have complexed with antibody.  This  
demonstration of    food-antigen-containing  
CIC's is gratifying, since the phenomenon of   
antigen-entry is demonstrated. Unfortunately,   
the uncertainty principle recurs when we attempt  
to interpret the test results in terms of  
dysfunction and disease. Immune complexes  
differ in their size, shape, and biological  
significance; some may be very dangerous,  
others benign. Their dysfunctional results will  
surely depend on the kind, amount, and  
frequency of CIC formation. The amount of  
antigen appearing in the blood, compared with  
the amount of antibody available, determines the  
expression of the immunological response.  
Some CIC's excite reactions, other CIC's  
increase suppressor effects, others probably do  
both. The complexities of the immune-network  
challenge the understanding of even the most  
knowledgeable experts. Antigens which escape  
complexing with circulating antibody may be  
another sort of problem. More research is  
needed before immune complex assays will be  
reliable, predicting reactions to foods actually  
eaten.  
 
The conclusions regarding immunological tests  
for food allergy can be summarized; no single  
antibody measurement will predict the immune  
response to food; and no single type of lab  
measurement should be used as the only  
diagnostic test for food allergy. One reason for  
not pursuing immunological tests as a basis for  
practical problem-solving in the Doctor's office  
is that they will be too expensive.  
 
Permability Measurements 
In Vitro Cell Behavior 
 Knicker Wm. Non-IgE mediated and delayed 
adverse  
reactions to food or additives. 1985 Handbook On  
Food Allergies. J.C. Breneman  ed. Marcel Dekker  
Inc. N.Y. 
 Gerrard, J. W.  Letters to the Editor: Food 
Intolerance.   
The Lancet. Aug 18, 1984. Vol. II.  pp 413. 
 Jewett D.L., Fein G., Greenberg M.H. A Double-
Blind  
Study of Symptom Provocation To Determine Food  
Sensitivity. NEJM;323,7:429-433 1990. 
 ALCAT Diagnostic  Systems. 19100 W. Dixie Hwy,  
Miami, Fl 33180. 
 Learey HL, Halsey JF. An assay to measure antigen- 
specific immune complexes in food-allergy patients.  
Jour Allergy Clin Immun 1984;74:(2)190-195. 




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From lwithers@direct.ca Sun Sep 10 23:22:57 EDT 1995
Article: 17 of alt.support.food-allergies
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Subject: Stesses in our diets (Food Toxins)  -  foodprob.txt [1/1]
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Extracted from "Nutrition Therapy Vol.2"
By Stephen J. Gislason MD

Problems in our Food Supply 
 
There are many complicated issues influencing 
proper food selection. Media reports may  
focus your attention on single issues such as a 
food additive problem. A  TV report ( 60  
Minutes - Nov '91) on MSG suggested that this 
food additive was responsible for a wide  
range of food problems. Many packaged foods 
were shown with ingredients such as  
hydrolysed protein and it was suggested that the 
problem was that MSG was hidden in  
these materials. The reported was very far from 
any recognizable  biochemical truth. In the  
first place, MSG is not that bad. It is a scapegoat 
and a good example of the single- 
ingredient fallacy.  Hydrolysed proteins are 
potentially hazardous materials for a variety  
of reasons discussed in several chapter of this 
book.  Packaged foods have a long list of  
terrifying vices. MSG may be one of the least 
problematic ingredients. There are problems  
inherent in even natural, organic foods. The 
educated reader will need to develop a better  
perspective on food chemistry to make intelligent 
decisions. The remainder of this chapter  
addresses some of the many issues which face us 
when making food choices. While it  
matters what you eat, it matters more how you 
react to what you eat.  
Several chemicals used as food additives are also 
found naturally in many foods. Nitrates  
and nitrites  are ubiquitous in plants. They form 
part of the essential chemistry of soils and  
plants. As every gardener knows, nitrogen is 
essential for plant growth; nitrogen fertilizers,  
containing nitrates, are the most abundant 
agricultural chemicals. Beets, radishes, spinach,  
and lettuce contain the highest levels of nitrates. 
Daily consumption is estimated to be in  
the range of 100 mg/day.  
 
Nitrites are less common in the food supply, but 
are produced in the mouth and intestine by  
bacterial action on protein and nitrates. Daily 
intake is in the range of 2-3 mg/day. Nitrites,  
usually as sodium salts, have been used widely 
as preservatives, especially in bacon and  
other processed meats. Saltpeter is the best 
known nitrite with its undeserved reputation as  
the sex-drive inhibitor. Nitrites also occur 
naturally in foods. The chief concern is the  
ability of nitrites to combine with amino acids in 
GIT to form nitrosamines, potentially  
carcinogenic molecules. Vitamin C inhibits 
nitrosamine formation and is thought to protect  
against GIT cancer. Vitamin C is an antioxidant 
preservative, and can replace less desirable  
preservatives in some foods. Tobacco smoke is 
the major source of human exposure to  
nitrosamines.   
 
Salicylates are common in  vegetables and fruit.  
Medicinal salicylates came from plant  
sources such as willow-bark methylsalicylate. As 
oil of wintergreen, methylsalicylate has  
been rubbed on many cold-stricken chests and 
inhaled by coughing children for many years.  
Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), or aspirin, is one of 
the most popular and useful drugs of all  
times.  ASA is an effective drug, with diverse 
benefits, but it routinely causes GIT  
irritation and bleeding. It is a good allergen and 
causes many rashes and hives. Salicylates  
occasionally trigger asthma. The implication of 
ASA in Reye's Syndrome, a rare but  
sometimes fatal, allergic-type reaction following 
viral illnesses, has led to widespread  
substitution of acetominophen as a pain-reliever, 
which has fever-reducing characteristics.  
Dr. Feingold postulated that salicylates and food 
dyes produced hyperactivity in children,  
popularizong low salicylate diets. Feingold 
recommended avoiding foods that contained  
natural salicylates or chemically similar 
substances. His lists excluded such foods as  
peaches and cucumber, for example, which are 
low in our list of symptom-producing foods. 
 
Food colors and preservatives have been 
suspected of producing allergic reactions, and  
behavioral disturbance. Their exclusion was part 
of Dr. Feingold program for treating  
hyperactive children. Food colors are used 
liberally in all commercial food manufacture  
and have been popular in home use. The yellow 
dye, tartrazine, is definitely associated  
with hives (urticaria), as is the preservative 
benzoate. In the study of hyperactive children  
by Egger et al, tartrazine and benzoate were the 
most common substances to provoke  
abnormal behavior in children, although they 
were never the only cause of behavioral  
problems. Tartrazine is a yellow food color, 
common in a wide variety of manufactured  
food products. Tartrazine produces symptoms 
typically within 90 minutes of eating  
producing a variety of symptoms, including 
asthma, hives, generalized swelling, headache,  
and behavior change, usually hyperactivity. 
Colors derived from natural plant and animal  
sources are usually exempt from FDA control 
and are generally recognized as safe  
(GRAS). Beet pigment, beta-carotene, grape skin 
extract, paprika, saffron, turmeric, and  
vegetable juice are example of GRAS colors. 
While these substances are not known to be  
toxic or carcinogenic, there is no assurance that 
they are not allergenic or otherwise  
troublesome to some people. 
 
Monosodium Glutamate, well-known as MSG, is 
perhaps the most vilified of additives.  
MSG is blamed for almost everything that goes 
wrong in a Chinese restaurant, and many  
people scan food   product labels, rejecting any  
displaying  MSG. However, glutamate is a  
respectable, normal amino acid that is 
continuously present in all our cells and always  
available in the blood.  One possibility for MSG 
to act in a negative fashion would occur  
with the sudden absorption of a large amount. A 
rapid rise in blood glutamate may activate  
receptors which ring alarms, causing the 
headache and shooting pains that are associated  
with MSG. A variety of other symptoms are 
commonly reported, including flushing,  
numbness and tingling, chest pains, fast heart 
action, abdominal pains and behavior changes  
that include irritability, hyperactivity, and angry 
outbursts. In pure form, we would not  
expect MSG to trigger allergic effects. MSG 
products may contain allergenic contaminants  
>from  the vegetable source including corn, beets, 
and wheat.  
 
Often MSG is mixed with an enzyme in 
commercial food enhancers like "Accent". The  
most common enzyme is Papain, derived from 
Papaya. Papain is a protein allergen. It is  
possible that MSG is often blamed for the 
allergenicity of papain. Papain may be injected  
into ruptured intervertebral discs as an alternative 
to back surgery. The injection is  
potentially dangerous if the patient has been 
previously sensitized to papain by ingestion.  

Aspartame 
The popular artificial sweetener, aspartame, 
contains two normal amino acids:    
phenylalanine and aspartic acid. The sweetness 
of this combination was a surprise  
discovery.  Aspartame is well tolerated in 
reasonable doses. The only problem with  
ingesting large amounts might occur in people 
with known phenylalanine intolerance.  
Excess phenylalanine could affect brain function 
adversely by(see chpt. , increasing  
excitability of brain cells and, in the worse case, 
promoting seizures.  Occasional reports of  
"allergic" reactions to aspartame are surprising 
since this molecule should not act as an  
antigen. 
 
Chemical Stressors In Food 
Many non-nutrient natural substances in 
"natural" foods behave badly after we ingest 
them.  
We can think of their activity as chemically 
stressful. Chemical or molecular stressors  
increase chaos and decrease orderly,  sensible  
body function.  A chemical  stressor is a bit  
of nonsense, a substance with no meaningful role 
to play, or with a toxic role that is  
destructive. In this chapter, a brief profile of 
stressors and toxins is developed more to  
illustrate the role of natural chemical stressors 
than to exhaust this vast and complicated  
subject.  
 
Food is full of extra substances that must be 
prosessed in the body and then excreted, but  
which have no nutrient value and may have drug 
and toxic effects. Chemical stressors can  
found in  foods as native ingredients and are not 
necessarily additives or contaminants.  
These substances have exceedingly complex 
chemistry; they include inorganic and organic  
salts, toxic minerals, alcohols, aldehydes, 
alkaloids, polyphenolic compounds, salicylates,  
non-nutrient amino acids and peptides.           
 
A food chemical stressor becomes frankly toxic 
when ingested too often, in too large a  
dose, or when ingested by a person who lacks 
the metabolic machinery to detoxify it.  
Molecular stressors may simply require the body 
to handle and excrete it without harm.  
The metabolic work of this activity is the "cost" 
of  ingesting these substances. When we  
consume stressors in excess, the effect becomes 
toxic. Our capacity to handle chemical  
stressors is limited and varies from individual to 
individual. Chemical "sensitivity" is   
reported when small doses of known chemicals, 
such as cigarette smoke, engine exhaust,  
and even perfumes, household detergents and 
solvents, produce symptoms. Many chemical  
stressors compete for the same metabolic 
pathways for excretion. The liver is responsible  
for removing many toxins. One of its methods is 
to attach acetyl groups to toxic molecules  
which make them more soluble for kidney 
excretion. Some people are "poor acetylators"  
and report intolerance to a wide ranges of drugs, 
foods, and airborne chemicals. If many  
molecules compete for the same excretion 
pathways, it is easy to imagine that overloading  
occurs regularly in modern citizens who are 
exposed to a wide range of chemicals in food,  
water and air. Once overload occurs, even small 
amounts of extra  chemical stressors  
become toxic and produce symptoms and 
dysfunction. 
 
Chemical stressors are inhaled and ingested 
simultaneously. Air pollution will reduce  
tolerance for food pollution and visa versa. A 
typical dinner in a pleasant restaurant may be  
biochemically and metabolically chemically 
stressful, as inhaled  smoke and ingested  
alcohol, coffee, tea, spices, and sugar combine 
with the complex already in the food.  You  
may be  in more trouble if you are also coping 
with the effects of prescription drugs taken  
to relieve your symptoms of chemical overload! 
 
Plants are our most desirable food sources. We 
tend to think of vegetables and fruit as  
entirely friendly and benign; however this is not 
necessarily true. Vegetables, fruits, herbs,  
and spices are chemically complicated, and they 
contain a variety of chemical substances  
which are drug-like, toxic, and allergenic. Plants 
are inherently toxic since they have  
evolved chemical defenses which discourage 
predators from eating them.  

Oxalic Acid 
 There are many molecular substances in foods 
which offer no nutritional benefit, and must  
be processed and excreted. Oxalic acid, for 
example, is excreted in the urine, and its crystals  
are commonly found in microscopic urinalysis. 
Too much oxalic acid in the urine will  
result in kidney or bladder stones. Calcium 
combines with oxalic acid to form the less  
soluble salt, calcium oxalate, which is also found 
in kidney stones. Plant leaves, especially  
rhubarb, cabbage, spinach, and beet tops, contain 
oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is also found in  
potatoes and peas. Vitamin C is metabolized to 
oxalic acid; it contributes to oversaturation  
of the urine with crystals and possibly to stone 
formation.  

Aromatic Substances 
All plants contain molecules which have and  
impact on our chemical senses. They taste and  
smell.  It is often the aromatics that attract us to a 
food. The food industry uses large  
quantities of aromatics, both from natural and 
synthetic sources. The chemistry of these  
substances can be imagined by thinking of the 
shape of their molecular structure. The basic  
ring is a six-sided molecule, benzene. Different 
side chains attached to the ring change its  
color, taste, and smell. If benzene rings are linked 
together, a variety of ring structures give  
rise to different classes of substances. Molecules 
based on the benzene ring structure are  
common in nature. A casual name for many of 
the substances is "Phenolics". This is not a  
very useful family name since changes to the 
basic phenol (benzene) ring by different side  
groups drastically alter the biological 
characteristics of the molecules; there are more  
differences than similarities among these shape-
related chemicals. Molecules with  
aromatic ring structures include the food drugs 
caffeine and salicylic acid; the flavors  
camphor, cinnamic acid, eugenol (nutmeg and 
cloves), safrole, anethole (anise), tannin  
(tea), gallic acid, and vanillin (vanilla); and the 
vitamins ascorbic acid and niacin. 

Terpenes 
Another group of interesting plant chemicals is 
the essential oils of plants, which are also  
aromatic. We prefer the smell of turpenes and 
use them in our perfumes, garnishes, and  
teas. Common aromatic turpenes in food plants 
include complex turpenes, such as  
lanosterol (in lanolin), a second cousin of 
cholesterol, and squalene, found in yeast, wheat  
germ, and olive oil.  Some turpenes are frankly 
toxic but remain in our food supply as  
flavors. Alcohol extracts of plants often contain 
toxic turpenes. (see Chapter 7; absinthe  
poisoning). Other turpenes are positive molecules 
or at least benign. Vitamin A is not one  
substance; it is a family of related turpenes with 
shared biological activity. Beta-carotene is  
the yellow pigment in carrots which can be 
converted into active vitamin A (Retinols) after  
we ingest it.  Lycopene is a similar red turpene 
found in tomatoes. Excessive consumption  
of tomatoes and carrots may induce a colored 
complexion which will alarm friends but  
appears to do little harm.  

Garlic and Onions 
Garlic (Allium Sativum) and onions (Allium 
Cepa) are both members of the Lily family.  
Both contain strong aromatic substances which 
we use as flavoring for food. The medicinal  
properties of these foods have been used for 
centuries. Allicin is the principle aromatic of  
garlic.  Allicin is a sulphur-containing turpene. 
An intact garlic bulb has little odor. The  
strong odor of allicin appears only after a garlic 
bulb is cut or crushed. The trauma of air  
exposure excites an enzyme which changes a 
precursor odorless molecule, Alliin, to  
Allicin.  
 
The medicinal properties of the combined 
chemicals in garlic include antiseptic activity  
and an anticlotting (reduced platelet-stickiness) 
activity. The anticlotting factor has been  
called ajoene (4,5,9-trithiadodeca-1,6,11-triene 9-
oxide!). Garlic enthusiasts should note  
that no ajoene, or anticlotting activity, has been 
found in proprietary garlic preparations,  
including garlic oil or garlic tablets. Ingestion of 
freshly crushed garlic seems necessary for  
this drug effect. The anticlotting effect of ajoene 
is similar to the effect of aspirin (ASA).  
The unpleasant breath-odor following ingestion 
of garlic appears to be the smell of volatile  
sulphur-containing metabolites of allicin. 
 
Onions are famous for their tearing effect. The 
substance which makes us weep is  
propanethial S-oxide. The tearing effect can be 
reduced by chilling the onion prior to  
cutting, or by processing the onion under 
running tap water.  

Nutmeg, Drugs in Spices 
All plants contain a variety of chemical 
substances which act in us when we ingest them.  
Our food-plant selection is very specific, and we 
generally are reluctant to eat non-food  
plants for good reason. Herbs and spices tend to 
be chemically complex and drug-like in  
their activity. We probably get away with herb 
and spice ingestion only in small doses and  
infrequently. Nutmeg, a common spice favored 
in desserts and drinks, yields many  
chemicals and has been recently studied for the 
potential medicinal use of one or more of  
its ingredients. 
 
Nutmeg oil relieves diarrhea induced by 
prostaglandins. Nutmeg contains many  
compounds: eugenol, isoeugenol, safrole, 
myristicin, elemicin, limolene. The effect of  
nutmeg oil on Prostaglandin G synthesis was 
tested in the laboratory.  The experiment  
was designed to observe the inhibition of platelet 
aggregation, triggered by arachidonic  
acid, which is converted to thromboxane B2. 
Eugenol was the most active fraction of the  
complex oil, blocking the platelet stickiness. This 
is a useful effect since thromboxane and  
sticky platelets may contribute to clotting in 
inflamed blood vessels. The therapeutic use of  
eugenol as an antidiarrheal, anticlotting, and anti-
inflammatory agent could be suggested;  
however, if we were to use nutmeg oil as therapy, 
we would face the stressor, drug, and  
toxic effects of the other chemicals in nutmeg. 
We would be most concerned about the  
hallucinogenic effects of the psychotropic, 
myristicin. We would also be concerned about  
the ability of safrole to induce liver cancer in 
mice. The proper pharmaceutical approach  
would be to isolate the medicinal substance, 
eugenol, and to decide, after careful testing of  
its efficacy versus its toxicity, if therapeutic use 
would be wise.  

Legumes 
Legumes are the bean-seeds of related plant. 
While these foods are staples world-wide and  
have desirable nutritional properties, several 
interesting biochemical problems arise with  
their use. Soybeans may be poorly tolerated 
unless well prepared. The process of making  
tofu illustrates the effort required to process a 
raw food to obtain a reliable nutrient source.  
Tofu is the protein curd derived by elaborate 
cooking and curd separation of soybeans.  
Soybeans contain indigestible carbohydrates and 
inhibitors of digestive enzymes (soybean  
trypsin inhibitor). Both problems contribute to 
difficulty digesting beans, excessive gas,  
and, occasionally, abdominal pain and diarrhea. 
 
Lima and kidney beans are toxic uncooked. Both 
beans contain cyanide producing  
compounds (cyanogenic glycosides), which can 
be destroyed by adequate cooking. Small  
amounts of cyanogenic glycosides will be 
detoxified by the liver. Cyanogenic glycosides  
are also found in fruit pits millet, sprouts, yams, 
maize, chick peas, and cassava root.  
Cassava (manioc) is an important vegetable of 
South East Asia, Africa and South America  
and is inherently toxic. These tuber contain 
linamarin which can be converted to  
hydrocyanic acid. They must be processed by 
soaking, boiling, drying, and fermentation to  
reduce toxic cyanide effects. Neurological 
disorders and thyroid enlargement occur in  
African peoples  who eat large amounts of 
inadequately processed cassava. 
 
Fava (broad) beans are toxic or allergenic to 
some people. An unusual genetic condition,  
"favism", makes some people sensitive to vicine, 
a nucleotide in the beans; these people  
develop red blood cell damage (hemolytic 
anemia) after eating the beans. Cooking the  
beans thoroughly can reduce this effect. This is a 
specific example of the cytotoxic  
mechanism of food molecules, and illustrates the 
advantages of cooking foods.  

Deadly Nightshades 
Plants of the nightshade family contain  toxic 
substances. "Deadly"  refers to  the toxicity  
of the leaves of this plant group which includes 
tomato, potato, peppers, egg-plant, and  
tobacco. We can eat tomatoes, potatoes, and 
green pepper, but there may be some  
limitations. Country lore tells us not to eat green 
potatoes and to store potatoes in the dark  
to avoid the greening effect of light. The green 
potato tissue contains toxic compounds  
(glycoalkaloids) similar to those found in the 
leaves. Solanine poisoning from green  
potatoes will produce throat-burning, weakness, 
diarrhea, and even convulsions with  
collapse and coma. Adverse and allergic 
reactions to tomatoes and peppers are common,  
and these vegetables are not on our most favored 
food list. Nightshades have often been  
implicated in arthritis. This connection, while not 
inevitable, has proven to be common. 

Non-Nutrient Amino Acids 
The occurrence of toxic non-nutrient amino acids 
is not unusual in plants who produce  
toxic compounds to deter predators from eating 
them. Over a 150 non-protein amino acids  
derived from plant materials have been 
chemically characterized. One of the problems 
with  
these amino acids is their ability to imitate and 
replace normal amino acids in protein  
synthesis. Canavanine, found in legumes, is one 
such amino acid which may replace alanine  
and cause trouble. The toxic agent in inky cap 
mushrooms (coprinus atramentarius)  
produces alcohol intolerance and is the amino 
acid, Coprine.  The toxic amino acids BMAA  
in cycad seeds, described in Chapter 7, resembles 
BOAA in the grass pea, lathyrus sativa.  
(BMAA). Carnosine and its methylated form, 
Anersine, in skeletal muscle, and brain.   
High levels of carnosine in plasma is associated 
with seizures and carnosinemia may lead to  
mental retardation.   

Fungi in Food 
Some vegetables also become undesirable when 
they are damaged or diseased. Fungal  
growth is the best recognized biological  
alteration of plant tissue. Sweet potato, for  
example, supports a fungal growth (Fusarium 
solani), especially when the tuber's surface is  
damaged. The fungus alters the potatoes' 
metabolism, and toxic stressors are produced.  
Ipomeanol is one such chemical which is liver 
and lung toxic. Lung disease in cattle is  
known to be caused by infected sweet potatoes. 
No similar human syndrome is described,  
probably because we are not looking for it on an 
individual level. 
 
A variety of fungi (Fusaria, Trichothecium, 
Cephalosporium, etc.) may contaminate grains,  
in particular, and produce illness with symptoms 
such as vomiting, diarrhea, headaches,  
chills, dizziness, and blurred vision. Aflatoxins 
are produced by molds which favor nuts,  
corn, millet, and figs. These toxins may produce 
symptoms like loss of appetite and  
jaundice (hepatitis) immediately, but they are 
also carcinogenic.  Some of these fungal  
metabolites are also neurotoxins which produce 
tremors as a conspicuous symptom. The  
same fungi which produce aflatoxin produce a 
tremorgen, known to cause "staggers" in  
sheep and cattle. The common fungi which grow 
on our food, even in the refrigerator and  
cupboard, are Penicillium, Aspergillus, and 
Claviceps. Over 15 tremorgenic mycotoxins  
have been isolated from these fungi. We do not 
know the role of these mycotoxins in  
human brain dysfunction, but we should assume 
its relevance. Aspergillus is a ubiquitous  
fungus that can fatally infect  patients with 
reduced immunity.   
 
Brassicas 
The common and popular cabbage or Brassica 
family is not without  problems. The gas- 
producing properties of Brassica vegetables are 
well-known. Some Brassica (broccoli) have  
high vitamin K content, which is not always 
beneficial. The therapeutic effect of  
anticoagulant drugs which interfere with the 
conversion of vitamin K to prothrombin may  
be reduced by brassica ingestion. Brassicas also 
contain high levels of chemicals which may  
interfere with thyroid function, promoting 
thyroid enlargement (goitre). Cabbage, brussels  
sprouts, and kohlrabi contain progoitrin (in the 
range of 65-140 mg per 100 gram of fresh  
vegetable). Cooking reduces the  goitre effect of 
these vegetables. Goitrogens are also  
found in turnips, soybeans, radishes, rapeseed, 
and mustard. On the plus side of the Brassica  
profile, there is some evidence that regular 
ingestion of Brassicas may offer protection  
against bowel cancer. 

Fish-Odor Syndrome 
The fish-odor syndrome illustrates another 
interesting facet of the interaction of food with  
intestinal microorganisms and body chemistry. 
An unpleasant fishy breath and body odor  
manifest the presence of a metabolite 
Trimethylamine (TMA). TMA is usually 
produced  
by gut bacteria acting on food, like choline, eggs, 
and legumes. A liver enzyme (TMA  
Oxidase) usually oxididizes TMA, eliminating its 
odor. Liver disease, or any other cause of  
deficiency of this enzyme, will produce the fishy 
odor. The progoitrins in the Brassica  
vegetables may inhibit this enzyme and promote 
TMA production. The dietary solution to  
the fish-odor syndrome is to eliminate eggs, 
legumes, fish, and probably Brassica  
vegetables from the diet. 

Herbs and Teas 
Many patients enquire about the use of herbal 
teas and herbal treatments. From a medical  
point of view, all plant materials are potentially 
allergenic. From a biochemist's point of  
view, plant materials contain many active 
substances in complex combinations whose  
body-effects are generally not well-known. 
Beneficial effects of plant materials are likely  
to be associated with negative metabolic and 
toxic effects which need to be considered  
when any plant is used with increasing intensity, 
especially on a daily basis. 
 
Medicinal herbs are drug-containing plants which 
should not be used everyday. Like other  
drugs, medicinal herbs have side effects, toxic 
effects, and allergenic effects, and they may  
not be helpful. The problem with whole-plant 
medicines is that the active ingredients are  
mixed with everything else in the plant. This 
means that the control over the drug effect  
which is achieved with purified substances is not 
possible with plant preparations.  The  
sudden appearance on the market of many 
"natural" and "herbal" teas is unprecedented. The  
safety of these products is in question.    A quick 
review of toxicity reported to occur  
with popular tea-plants follows. 
 
Cathartic teas, including those with senna leaves, 
flowers and bark, buckthorn bark, dock  
roots, or aloe leaves, do cause diarrhea. If used 
continuously, these herbs may induce  
laxative-dependence, often with abdominal 
discomfort, bowel dysfunction, and  
malabsorption of nutrients. Laxatives, herbal 
allergenic teas, such as those from camomile,  
goldenrod, marigold, and yarrow, can cause 
allergic reactions in persons that are sensitive  
to ragweed, asters, chrysanthemums, and other 
related plants. Delayed allergic reactions  
and sun sensitivity can follow consumption of 
tea from the leaves of many plant products.  
St. John's Wort is known to be photosensitizing. 
Tannins in tea, including ordinary tea and  
peppermint tea, are surface irritants to the 
gastrointestinal tract and have been linked to  
cancer of the esophagus and stomach. Adding 
milk to the tea binds the plant tannins and  
may protect the digestive tract from irritant 
effect. 
 
Diuretics are present in teas made from buchu, 
quack grass, and dandelion. Diuretics  
increase urine production with water and mineral 
losses. Coffee and tea are potent  
diuretics; the other plant teas are similar in their 
stressful diuretic effects. 
 
A variety of brain-active chemicals are also found 
in catnip, juniper, hydrangea, jimson  
weed, lobelia, and wormwood. Teas made from 
the petals of flowering plants (rose,  
hibiscus, hydrangea) are also neurotoxic and 
cause headaches, thinking disturbances,  
irritability, and depression. Alfalfa tea contains 
saponins which can disrupt digestion and  
respiration. While the saponins of alfalfa have 
been found experimentally to clear the  
arteries of fatty plaques in monkeys, the 
ingestion of  alfalfa teas  may have adverse 
effects. 
 
Liver toxicity has been linked with a number of 
herbal teas. Comfrey is a popular herb that  
is potentially hepatotoxic because of 
pyrrolizidine alkaloids, known to cause 
hepatocellular  
adenomas and increased incidence of bladder 
tumors in rats. Sassafras contains safrole (as  
in nutmeg), another potentially hepatotoxic 
substance.  
Ginseng has caused breast enlargement in men 
(gynecomastia), due to the presence of an  
estrogen-like substance. Licorice has been found 
to have substances that aid healing of  
stomach ulcers; however, it also causes sodium 
and water retention and loss of potassium.  
High blood pressure may result from excessive 
consumption of licorice. Mistletoe contains  
alkaloids, small proteins (viscotoxins), and lectins 
(which collectively have hypotensive,  
diuretic, and antispasmodic properties).  
Mistletoe has been used by some herbal 
therapists  as an anti-cancer drug. The 
complex of alkaloids may be cytotoxic.
 As well, hepatitis has been reported with 
mistletoe ingestion. Pennyroyal extract has 
long been recommended to produce 
abortions, a doubtful effect, but death 
due to liver damage has been blamed on  
regular pennyroyal ingestion.  
 
There are many possible interactions of herbal 
medicines and prescription drugs. Lily of  
the Valley, for example, contains cardiac 
glycosides and may lead to digitalis toxicity in a  
person taking adequate doses of the prescription 
drug. Horse chestnut contains natural  
anticoagulants and may increase the effect of 
coumarin anticoagulants. Ink Cap is a natural  
source of disulfiram, with the risk of an 
"Antabuse" reaction with alcohol. Disulfiram  
interferes with the metabolism of alcohol and 
increases the accumulation of a toxic  
metabolite, acetaldehyde. 
 
Because of the complex and often unknown 
chemistry of herbs, herbal teas, plant  
medicines, and even spices, we routinely make 
the following recommendations to patients: 
 
Coffee and tea are the prototypes of plant brews 
with toxic and allergenic effects.  
Removing the caffeine is not an adequate 
measure to reduce their toxicity. When  
discontinuing the use of these plant brews, it is 
not advisable to substitute other plant  
materials without due consideration. New non-
caffeine teas are not recommended. Use  
herbal teas and medicines with caution.  

Nucleotides and Gout 
The non-nutrient cell components probably 
should have their own molecular classification  
or be a well-recognized sub-group of C. If we 
look at nutritional literature, the problem of  
the non-nutrient cell component is not directly 
addressed. Nucleotides, the components of  
cell nuclei, are examples of this surplus. The 
metabolic fate of some ingested nucleotides is  
to be metabolized into uric acid and excreted by 
the kidneys. Increased uric acid production  
leads to gout, a  painful arthritis which occurs 
when uric acid crystalizes inside joints. The  
big toe is the favorite spot for this to occur. 
Reducing the ingestion of high nucleotide  
(purine) foods is the dietary treatment of gout. 
Uric acid production can be correlated with  
total protein intake; 10 grams of food protein 
result in 7 mg of uric acid excretion in the  
urine. Alcoholic beverages tend to increase uric 
acid by direct metabolic interference.  
Several amino acids will increase kidney 
clearance and reduce serum levels of uric acid;  
these include glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid 
and orotic acid. The sugars, sucrose and  
fructose, may increase uric acid levels.  
 
Reduced protein consumption, especially meat, 
and abstention from alcoholic beverages  
will reduce uric acid production. Increased uric 
acid and gout may occur with internal  
overproduction, and diet restriction of meat, 
alcoholic beverages, sugar, and yeast may not  
control the problem completely. The addition of 
glycine and/or orotic acid to the diet may  
be helpful. Drugs to control gout include 
allopurinol, a designer drug which inhibits the  
enzyme hypoxanthine oxidase and limits the 
amount of uric acid produced; this  prevents  
gouty attacks, and also protects the kidney from 
damage by crystallization of uric acid. 
 
 
The diagnosis of  food-related illness always 
raises the question of food contaminants. The  
problem is that we never know what role 
contaminants play, and we have no technology  
readily available to find out. The postulate that 
Agent X in the food supply is causing the  
problem, or promoting the problem, is always 
viable. The neglect of imponderable factors  
in our food supply is surely one of the 
contributors to ignorance about, and denial of, ill- 
defined illnesses in contemporary populations. 
 
Surveillance may detect chemical contamination 
before the food reaches consumers, but it  
is unrealistic to expect that government 
monitoring alone can assure an uncontaminated  
food supply. It is also unrealistic to believe 
official reports that the incidence of  
contamination-related illness is very low, since 
the majority of the potential problem is  
concealed from official view. Systematic 
population studies relating illness patterns to  
food selection as well as to tissue levels of 
different environmental contaminants are  
needed to assess the prevalence of contaminant 
illness.  
 
The major contaminants in our food supply are:  
 
*Pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides 
*Antibiotics and hormones in animal tissues 
*Environmental contaminants 
*Metals - lead and mercury  
*Radioactive isotopes  
*Organic acids, 
*Hydrocarbon residues  
*Processing chemicals 
*Bleaches, solvent residues, waxes, dyes 
* Biological contaminants - endotoxins 
* Insect and parasite eggs, rodent feces 
* Bacteria, fungi, and viruses 
* Contaminants from shipping and storage  
   Chemicals  
 
There are several groups of pesticides in use.  
Their effect on our health is unknown, but it  
is certainly not beneficial. It is sad to think that 
the chemical extravaganza of the 20th  
century has done much harm but little good. The 
National Academy of Sciences suggests  
1/5th of  USA crops were lost to pests before 
chemicals and 1/5 of the crops are lost to  
pests after spraying. In their study, Alternative 
Agriculture,  they show that  farmers   
can reduce their reliance on chemicals while 
maintaining crop yields, and profitability too. 
 
Ill-defined illness and possibly cancer causation 
is  linked to dioxins  Dioxins are highly  
toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons, originating in 
agricultural and industrial chemicals, and  
persisting in the environment for many years. 
PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls) are one   
source of dioxins.  
 
 
David Steinman reviewed pesticide 
contamination of in his book Diet For A 
Poisoned  Planet .  He rated foods by their 
content of  pesticide residues in green, orange and red  
categories, basing his ratings on 1982-86 
measurements carried out by the USA FDA. In  
the FDA "Total Diet Study", food samples from  
four geographic regions in the U.S.A.  
were analyzed for up to 100 chemical 
contaminant.18 Steinman's best vegetables and 
fruit ("green light") are Core Program food choices, 
although they are distributed through the  
four phases of the program because of other 
considerations. Steinman points out that  
pesticide contamination of fresh fruits is often 
alarmingly high. Canned produce is often  
less contaminated than fresh! Canned peaches 
and pears have low pesticide residues and  
have been the best tolerated fruits in our 
experience;  fresh peaches  did not do as well in  
the FDA analysis with up to 97 chemicals 
residues; fresh pears had 79.  Phase 1 vegetables  
on Steinman's  moderately contaminated food 
list include  broccoli, parsley, sweet potato,  
and winter squash. You should buy these 
vegetables from an organic source if possible.  
Washing with hot water and complete cooking 
are essential safety measures. Phase 2 foods  
on the moderate list include blueberries, 
cantaloupe, celery, cucumbers, lettuce,  plums,  
spinach, turnips, and strawberries. Steinman 
recommends avoiding peanuts and raisins.  
 
Rice receives high marks with low concentrations 
of chemicals. Malathion is the most  
likely contaminant.  Cereal grains have more 
contaminants; pesticide residues in breakfast  
cereals and bread were in the 30-50 range. Wheat 
and other grains were contaminated  
during the 80's with ethylene bromide, a 
fumigant used to retard grain spoilage in storage  
and transport.  This chemical may have 
contributed substantially to the apparent increase 
in  wheat disease in the past decade. Ironically, 
fungal contamination of grains is an equal  
threat to the chemicals used to control it. 
Aflatoxins  may be produced by fungi, and the  
ergot fungi  produce a host of neurotoxic 
alkaloids closely related to LSD. 
 
These contamination values are out of date (pre 
'86 measurements) but give us an idea of  
the problems in the food supply. Measurements 
of food need to be routine, both to inform  
us about best food choices and, more 
importantly, to encourage food producers to 
make  
changes in their methods to reduce our exposure. 
Contact your local health department and  
ask for up-to-date information on pesticide levels 
in the food you buy. If this information  
is not available, begin political action to get better 
information and better protection. 
 
What does the presence of industrial and 
agricultural chemicals in our tissues mean? If you  
have a toxin in your body, which should not be 
there, what assumption are you going to  
make? These chemicals are good metabolic 
poisons, and so you are going to assume that  
they will in some way alter the way your body 
works. Agricultural chemical residues in the  
body mean increased risk of illness until proven 
otherwise. The people who deny the  
problem (until proven otherwise) are not 
credible. Pesticides have a special proclivity to  
alter the way our brain works and, therefore, the 
way we think, feel, remember, and act.   
The same chemicals may be carcinogen and you 
are going to assume that you  have a higher  
risk of cancer. Rather than despairing, there are 
practical steps to be taken individually and  
collectively to reduce the pollution hazard. 
 
Alar is a chemical (daminozide) sprayed on apple 
orchards to keep ripening apples on the  
trees and to improve appearance of the apple 
after picking. The U.S. Environmental  
Protection Agency proposed a ban on Alar which 
was subsequently withdrawn - they had  
evidence of a cancer-causing effect of a 
breakdown product UDMH. Apple juice was  
especially suspect because the heat used in juice 
production created UDMH. Shortly after  
Consumer Reports published an article on Alar,  
its manufacturer, Uniroyal, withdrew it  
>from  the market. The article states: "Consumers, 
especially parents, should not accept Alar  
in the apple juice and should not be required to 
rely on industry promises that aren't always  
kept...it's the governments job to protect all 
consumers. The EPA should ban daminozide  
sooner rather than later." 

Shopping and Food Preparation 
The avoidance of most food additives is a good 
idea. The avoidance of only specific  
additives, like food dyes, sulphites, and 
salicylates, has been advocated by some authors.  
This avoidance turns into a game which requires 
the player to carry rather long lists of  
foods and food ingredients to stores, where 
elaborate list-reading and screening procedures  
are carried out. The Core Program policy is less 
entertaining but more practical. You are  
advised to avoid manufactured, boxed, bottled, 
packaged, preserved, and processed foods.  
Packaged and processed meats are given an "X" 
rating. If this rule is followed, most  
additives are gone, and the sugar, fat, and salt 
load is dramatically reduced.  
 
Shopping strategy is simple; avoid the middle 
aisles in supermarkets.  Most stores place   
vegetables, fruits around the perimeter of the 
store, and these are the foods we want the  
most. Frozen vegetables, fruits, poultry and fish 
are also desirable. You are allowed one or  
two dashes into the middle aisles for toilet paper 
and soap. 
 
You seldom read labels because you seldom buy 
labelled food.  Some canned foods such as  
peaches and pears have the least chemical 
contaminants and are preferred over fresh fruit,  
unless the fruit is organically grown, transported 
and sold without chemical spays 
 
Frozen foods tend to be of high quality and can 
be ecologically sound. Frozen food values  
are well-preserved, spoilage is reduced, and year-
round availability is assured. Improved  
refrigeration technology, more efficient and 
without Freon, will make frozen food options  
even more attractive.  
 
The problem of contaminants can be reduced by 
two simple kitchen procedures, washing  
and peeling. All fruit and vegetables should be 
thoroughly washed with clean, hot water,  
then double-rinsed, first in hot, then cold water. 
If the food has a skin, peel it and throw  
away the peel. If anyone says that you are 
throwing away precious nutrients, tell them that  
it is okay; you are happy to throw out the 
nutrients with the waxes, dyes, fungicides,  
pesticides, insect eggs, fungi, radioactive 
isotopes, bacteria, and viruses.  
 
Bacterial contamination of poultry, other meat, 
and fish is a concern.  Food poisoning is  
usually caused by bacteria from 3 groups; 
salmonella, campylobacter, and E.coli. These  
bacteria actively infect  after an  incubation 
period of 1-3 days with acute diarrhea,  
abdominal pain, and fever as the chief 
symptoms. This acute gastroenteritis may alter 
the immune reactivity of the GIT surface, leaving 
new food allergy in its wake. Many patients  
report an acute "food poisoning" episode at the 
onset of a long bout of digestive symptoms,  
often with typical food allergy downstream 
(fatigue, aching, headache, difficulty  
concentrating, memory loss.) Other bacteria 
incubate in improperly stored food and  
produce toxins in the food before it is eaten.  
 
Staphylococci contaminate the food from the 
skin or secretions of food handlers and   
produce a potent toxin which triggers explosive 
vomiting, crampy pain, and diarrhea; these  
bacteria especially like cream puffs stored at 
room temperature.  
 
Botulism is a life-threatening food poisoning 
produced by a potent toxin usually found in  
home-canned foods; the botulinus bacteria are 
found widely in soils and easily contaminate  
canned fruit and vegetables. The toxin is 
destroyed by heat so that often the mother is the  
victim, sampling pickled beets out of the bottle, 
for example, before cooking them for her  
family. Botulinus spores are found in honey and  
may incubate in the intestines of infants,  
less than one year old; older GITs usually can 
destroy the spores. The list of  food-borne  
infections is very long. The following food-
selection and kitchen strategies are always  
indicated: limited use of poultry meat is 
recommended, with skinned,  breast meat as the  
preferred portion. With all animal products, avoid 
cooking the bones and never use organ  
meat.   
 
Proper handling of food can reduce the risk of 
bacterial food poisoning. Adequate cooking  
destroys the bacteria. Proper refrigeration retards 
the growth of bacteria. Bacteria grow  
best at room temperature; therefore raw foods 
should be kept refrigerated (or frozen) until  
used. Wash hands well before and after handling 
meat, poultry and fish. Keep raw flesh  
away from other food and especially away from 
cooked food, ready to serve. Clean kitchen  
counters and utensils. To kill bacteria you must 
remove all food residues, wash surfaces  
with hot, soapy water, and disinfect with chlorine 
bleach. Many people with allergic  
disease will want to avoid the chlorine, but 
thorough washing with hot water and detergents  
will  suffice. Cook fish, poultry and meat well to 
an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.  
Ensure that hot foods are hot and cold foods are 
cold, when served.  
 
 Gilchrist A. Foodborne disease & food safety. 
Monroe, WI: Am Med Ass'n, 1981.  
 Freydberg N, Gortner WA. The food additives 
book. New York: Bantam Books, 1982. 
 Tannenbaum SR. N-nitroso compounds: a 
perspective on human exposure. Lancet  
1983;629-632 
  Committee on Food Protection. National 
Research Council. Toxicants occurring  
naturally in foods. National Academy of 
Sciences, 1973. 
 American Academy of Allergy and Immunology 
Committee on Adverse reactions to  
Foods. Adverse reactions to foods. NIH 
publication, 1984;84-2442.  
 Wurtman RJ and Wurtman JJ, Ed's. Toxic 
effects of food constituents on the brain.  
Nutrition and the brain. New York: Raven Press, 
1979:4.   
 Gilchrist A. Foodborne disease & food safety. 
American Medical Ass'n Publ, 1981 
 Rosenthal  GA. The chemical defenses of higher 
plants. Scientific American   
1986;254(1):94-99.  
  Block E. The chemistry of garlic and onions. 
Scientific American 1985;252(3):114-119.  
 Rasheed A et al. Eugenol and prostaglandin 
biosynthesis. NEJM 1984;310:50-51. 
 Penn RG. Adverse reactions to herbal 
medicines. Adverse Drug Reaction Bulletin  
1983;102:376-379 
  Rechcigl M. Naturally occurring food toxicants. 
Florida: CIC Press, 1983. 
 National Research Council.  Alternative 
Agriculture. 1989  Nat. Academy Press,  
Washington,  D.C. 
 Halbert F., Halbert S. Bitter Harvest 1978  Wm 
Eedermans Publ. Michigan USA. 
 McGuire R. Dioxin shock hits home. Medical 
Post November 1986;22(39):1,12. 
 Holloway,M. A Great Poison; Dioxin helps 
elucidate the function of genes . Sc. Am.  
Nov.1990;16-20. 
 Steinman D. Diet for a Poisoned Planet. 
Harmony Books. NY 1990. 
 Anon. Bad apples. Consumer Reports May 
1989; 288-292. 



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Subject: Gluten Intolerance  -  gluten.txt [1/1]
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Foods derived from cereal grains (wheat, rye, barley, 
oats) are popular staples in our diet. In  
the past decade especially, a renewed enthusiasm for 
"whole grains", and increased dietary  
fibre, has lead to increased consumption of these 
cereals in relatively unrefined form, and  
often in combination, as with granola cereals, and 
whole wheat breads fortified with bran,  
coarse flours, and other additives. The argument in 
favour of whole grains is based on two  
considerations:  
  
The nutrient content of whole grains and their 
unrefined flours is greater than refined flours.   
White flour has been considered by some an inferior 
food since it is missing some  
micronutrients. However white flours and light white 
bread are sometimes better tolerated  
than the whole grain foods.    
 
The undigestible fibre in whole grains contributes to 
stool bulk, reduces the opportunity for  
constipation, and absorbs toxic or harmful 
molecules, which, escorted from the bowel by  
fibre, have less opportunity to do harm.  The 
regulating and binding actions of grain fibre, it  
is argued, would reduce the incidence of bowel 
cancer, if eaten over a lifetime.  The  
favourable fibres are probably better found in 
vegetables and fruit. While there favourable  
arguments for a high cereal grain intake there are 
major problems with these foods. Craving  
and compulsive eating of flour-based foods is 
common, especially the reward an dessert  
foods, containing sugar. These high-carbohydrate 
foods contribute the major caloric input to  
obese persons. 
 
The diseases clearly associated with Cereal grains or 
"Gluten intolerance" are the bowel  
disorders bearing the names,"celiac Disease", "Non-
Tropical- Sprue", or "Gluten- 
enteropathy", and the skin disorder, Dermatitis 
Herpetiformis. 
 
The clinical presentations of cereal-grain 
intolerance, which can be recognized from the  
history or pattern of illness alone include:   Diarrhea, 
chronic with malabsorption, weight  
loss, micronutrient deficiencies, blood loss and 
anemia. Abdominal pain may be recurrent  
and associated with flutulence, distention, and 
intermittent bowel motility disturbance.  
Minor gluten-enteropathy may not involve diarrhea, 
and malabsorption may be  
inconspicuous or inconsistent.  A nutritional anemia 
may be the presenting problem,  
although the patient will have an associated history 
of intermittent abdominal pain and  
distension.  The anemia results from malabsorption 
iron, folic acid and/or vitamin B12. 
 
Arthritic or Fibrositic Syndromes: Aching, stiffness, 
and fatigue are three common  
symptoms which occur together in a variety of 
disorders, and occasionally remit completely  
on an elimination diet which excludes cereal-grains 
and other allergenic foods.   
 
Brain Disturbances: symptoms include deep, burning 
sensations in arms and legs, restless  
legs, numbness and tingling which comes on rapidly 
with sitting, squatting, and lying in bed;  
brain effects are manifest by a sense of confusion or 
"fuzzy-head, disorganization,  
irritability, and memory impairment. 
 
The occurence of resting pain in joints, particularly 
the hands with slight swelling, and  
stiffness is the early presention of rheumatoid 
athritis; it can occur strictly as a  
manifestation of wheat (and other food) allergy.  The 
activity of rheumatoid arthritis may be  
reduced in some patients by cereal grain and other 
allergenic food restriction. 
 
There are at least four mechanisms involved at the 
bowel level for gluten intolerance:   
 
Lack of the digestive enzyme, intestinal glutaminase.  
 
Antibody production to the prolamine, or a fragment 
of it. 
 
Increased permeability of the bowel to 
macromolecules including the antigenic protein and  
its fragments. 
 
Increased production and release of mediators such 
as histamine, serotonin, kinins,  
prostaglandins, and interleukins. 
 
A wheat gluten-triggered mechanism has been 
studied in rheumatoid arthritis patients.  The  
clinical observation is that wheat ingestion is 
followed within hours by increased joint  
swelling and pain. Little and his colleagues studied 
the mechanism, as it developed  
sequentially, following gluten ingestion.  Platelet 
Serotonin Release in Rheumatoid   
Arthritis: A study in Food Intolerant Patients.  Little 
C.  Stewart A.G., Fennesy M.R.   
Lancet 1983.297-9 
 
THE GLUTEN PROTEINS 
 
Gluten is a mixture of individual proteins, classified 
in two groups, the Prolamines and the  
Glutelins. The most troublesome component of 
Gluten is the prolamine, Gliadin. It is  
Gliadin in wheat that causes the major problem in 
celiac disease, and gliadin antibodies are  
most commonly found in the immune complexes, 
associated with major systemic disease.  
Unsworth DJ, et al IgA anti-gliadin antibodies in 
Celiac disease.Clin Exp Immunol. 1981:  
46:286-93 
 
Keiffer M, et al Wheat gliadin fractions and other 
cereal antigens reactive with antibodies in  
the sera of of celiac patients. Clin Exp Immunol. 
1982;50:651-60 
 
We eat the seeds of the grain plants.  The seed has a 
bran casing, a starchy endosperm which  
contains 90 % of the protein, and a small germ 
nucleus which is the plant embryo, waiting to  
grow.  Any flour made from the starchy endosperm 
contains prolamines and is potentially  
toxic to the grain intolerant person. 
 
If we look at the different grains we find that each 
has its own prolamine: 
 
Grain type          Prolamine        %Total protein 
          -------------------------------------------------- 
    	    Wheat	        Gliadin            69 
	    Rye	                Secalinin          30-50 
	    Oats		Avenin             16 
  	    Barley              Hordein            46-52 
	    Millet		Panicin            40 
	    Corn		Zien               55 
	    Rice		Orzenin            5   
            Sorgum		Kafirin            52 
 
Celiac disease may serve as a model of wheat 
allergy.  No-one should make the mistake of  
assuming this is the only form of wheat allergy.  
When wheat is the principle problem food,  
there is a concensus that barley, oats, and rye must 
be excluded as well.  Millet, is  
intermediate in the list of offenders; corn and rice 
are usually tolerated when gluten  
prolamines are the chief and only food intolerance, 
although corn is a major food-allergen in  
its own right.  Triticale is a new hybrid grain with 
the properties of wheat and rye, and is  
excluded on a gluten-free diet.   
 
[Bell L. Hoffer M. Recommendations for foods of 
questionable acceptance for patients with  
celiac disease. J.Can. Dietetic Ass'n: 1981; 42:2; 
143-15] The identity and the amount of the  
prolamine decides the kind of reaction that is likely 
to occur.  It should be noted that there is  
considerable variability in the prolamine content of 
various foods made from cereal grains,  
and this variability is one of the many reasons why 
food reactions are not consistent. 
 
The usual definition of celiac disease links chronic 
diarrhea, with evidence of malabsorption,  
and changes in the surface of the small bowel. Most 
medical textbooks dogmatically  state  
that an intestinal biopsy must be taken and must 
show typical changes before the diagnosis is  
made.  The biopsy allows a pathologist to examine 
microscopically the surface of the small  
intestine.  The surface of the small intestine is 
covered by a dense mat of projecting nipples  
called villi which shed cells containing digestive 
enzymes, and absorb food molecules.  In  
long-standing celiac disease one expects the villi to 
be blunted and the surface to be  
smoothed out.  While the biopsy is a useful 
procedure it has several drawbacks;  
 
It is a procedure with a small incidence of dangerous 
complication, especially bowel  
perforation. 
 
It is a small sample and may miss patchy or irregular 
bowel changes. 
 
Significant protein intolerance, and increased bowel 
porosity may exist despite normal  
appearance of the bowel lining under the 
microscope.   
 
Patients in remission or with intermittent symptoms 
may have normal biopsy results but  
remain exquisitely sensitive to some prolamine, or 
peptide fragment challenges.  @Note[  
Bjarnson I et al. Intestinal permeability defect in 
celiac disease.  Lancet. 1983 1284-85. 
 
The most significant test of gluten intolerance is 
remission of symptoms when grains are  
eliminated for a trial period of 3-6 weeks.  I have 
often reviewed the history of patients with  
chronic diarrhea, and associated abnormalities, who 
have been "thoroughly investigated" in  
an academic centre and left untreated because their 
biopsy result was normal.  Physicians,  
who make therapeutic decisions soley on the basis of 
biopsy results are being dogmatic, not  
scientific, and certainly not serving the best interests 
of their patients who simply want to be  
better.  Investigations which do not lead to effective 
therapy are of no value to patients. 
 
Diagnosis of gluten-sensitivity in all disorders may 
be facilitated in the near future by better  
immunological laboratory tests, including 
measurement of circulating serum antibodies  
directed against these proteins, and of circulating 
immune complexes which contain food  
antigens.  @Note[O'Farrelly etal. Alpha-Gliadin 
Antibody Levels: a serological test for  
celiac disease. 1983 Lancet; 286:2007-2010].  Better 
tests would permit the demonstration  
of increased GITPERM, and the entrance of 
abnormal macromolecules after test meals.   
Eventually the path through the body of such 
molecules may be studied by labelling them  
with isotopes, and tracking them with scanning 
methods like positron emission tomography. 
 
 Subsection[IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME   
Irritable bowel syndrome   
 
An unexplained bowel disturbance, characterized by 
abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, often  
alternating with constipation, is diagnosed as the 
"Irritable Bowel Syndrome" and too often  
attributed to "psychogenic Causes".  We recognize 
right away that the label "psychogenic  
causes" describes the lack of biological 
understanding more than it describes the patient's  
problem.  The treatment usually offered includes 
bulk laxatives, tranquilizers mixed with  
antispasmodic drugs, and not infrequently, a trip to 
the psychiatrist, who is not likely to do a  
dietary history.  The success rate with these methods 
in one study was only 12%!    
@Note[Prognosis in Irritable Bowel  Syndrome.  
Waller SL Misiewicsz: Lancet 1969  
ii:753-6] Food studies are seldom undertaken in the 
assessment of  patients with irritable  
bowel syndrome.  Not a single patient  whom I have 
seen with this disorder has had a food   
diary examined, nor any trial of exclusion diets.  
Dietary  advice commonly-given includes  
"high-fibre" diets, usually increased cereal grains, 
which are contraindicated. Studies which  
allege to rule out food intolerance are poorly 
conducted, often basing negative results on  
limited, selected food challenges. Proper studies 
would utilize the complete methodology of  
diet revision therapy, and would observe patients in 
real-life conditions, ingesting real food  
over a significant period of time. 
 
The irritable bowel syndrome is at least in part a 
food-intolerance disorder, and the program  
outlined in this book will generally be helpful.  In a 
recent study by V. Alum Jones et al,  
food intolerance was shown to be a major factor in 
causing the irritable bowel syndrome in  
25 patients.  This study is of particular interest 
because it was arranged to reveal something  
of the mechanism of this disorder.  The results 
indicate that this particular presention of  
food intolerance was not the result of immune 
events, was not associated with high blood- 
histamine levels, nor circulating immune complexes.  
Rather the disturbance seemed to be  
related to increased levels of Prostaglandin E2 
(PGE2), synthesized and secreted by the  
bowel itself. Prostaglandin production is inhibited by 
ASA, and all of the other anti-arthritic  
medications, and may prevent the irritable bowel 
effect if taken before meals.  The foods  
causing the irritable-bowel symptoms were (in order 
of frequency) 
                 Wheat...9 
		Corn....5 
                Milk....4 
                Coffee..4 
                Tea.....3 
                Citrus..2 
 
All the patients found to be intolerant of wheat had 
normal results of intestinal biopsy.  Not  
all wheat-induced bowel disorders are celiac disease!  
The important point, once again, is  
that the mechanisms of food intolerance are multiple 
and complex!  The only practical way  
to study food intolerance is by trials of dietary 
revision, and challenges with real food.  One  
interesting observation made by several of my 
patients is that they always got somewhat  
better while in hospital, having multiple tests done.  
Psychological factors?  No.  Hospital  
tests for gastrointestinal disorders always involve 
days of fasting. If you stop eating foods  
that are hurting you, your symptoms improve!  
Proper NP may avoid the waste, in terms of  
dollars and disappointment, that inappropriate 
medical investigation and treatment incurs,  
when a trial  of appropriate DRT will often cure the 
"disease" under investigation. 
 
This not to deny that emotions influence bowel 
function, since this is clearly the case.  The  
"Gut Brain Axis" has become a subject of specialized 
study because of the complexity of  
interaction of these two life-determining organ 
systems.   Food selection, emotional  
experiences, and eating behaviors interact 
complexly.  Anger, frustration, fear will  
profoundly influence food selection, appetite, 
digestion, and metabolism; while food  
selection, digestion and metabolism will determine 
your emotional reactivity.  There is a  
continuous loop of causal relationships, not a one-
way vector.  When patients are told they  
have bowel dysfunction because of stress, tension, or 
anxiety, this is only a half truth.  The  
other half of the truth is that patients have stress, 
tension, and anxiety because of bowel  
dysfunction. 
 
The more subjective mood-related symptoms are 
difficult to assess, and are attributed to  
"psychiatric causes" although no authority seems to 
know what that means!  The brain  
effects are an expression of disorderly molecular 
flow through the brain. Specific  
neuroactive effects of grains include the circulating 
peptides, which have been described  
earlier in the book, as WMOD, and are further 
discussed in the last section of this chapter.   
INDICATIONS FOR TRIAL OF GLUTEN 
RESTRICTION 
 
NP advocates liberal gluten restrictions in a variety 
of circumstances, simply because the  
results are surprisingly good. The core diet 
developed by clinical trials, and described in  
subsequent chapters is intially free of cereal grains, 
since they are frequent offenders in food  
intolerance problems.  Not only patients with bowel 
disorders benefit, but also people whose  
bowels function apparently well but suffer, fatigue, 
aching, swelling, and brain disturbances,  
expressed as mental and emotional unheavals. 
 
The specific patterns of disturbance which should 
invite a trial of the food-testing plan, and  
gluten restriction specifically are:  
Diarrhea, prolonged over three weeks, not associated 
with infections, or evidence of  
parasites or pathogenic bacteria in stool samples. 
 
Abdominal pain, especially if frequently recurrent, 
and associated with excess gas, and  
abdominal distensio (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). 
 
Anemia from iron, folic acid, or nutrient deficiency 
which is unexplained by blood loss, or  
dietary inadequacy, especially if associated with 
abdominal symptoms. 
 
Aching disorder, especially if the aching is 
generalized, associated with stiffness with  
inactivity, and dysethesiae ( odd burning, tingling 
sensations), and tender muscles. Any  
arthritic pattern, associated with diarrhea should be 
vigorously managed with gluten, milk,  
and egg restriction with careful testing of other foods 
for possible reactions. 
 
Fatigue, especially if associated with irritability, 
confusion or fuzzy-headedness, headache,  
and abdominal discomforts. 
 
Chronic asthma and rhinitis. 
 
Neurological symptoms which are unexplained by 
recognized abnormalities in physical  
examination and laboratory investigations.  These 
symptoms include the above mentioned,  
memory disturbances, sleep disturbances, visual 
distortions, muscle weakness, and  
fasiculations (wiggly, jerking movements within 
muscles).  A trial of gluten restriction is  
also appropriate in children with learning disability, 
schizophrenics, alcoholics, and patients  
with refractory mood disorders. 
 
TREATMENT OF GRAIN INTOLERANCE 
Exclusion of wheat, rye, barley, oats, and millet are 
the  initial steps when gluten intolerance  
is suspected.  The  exclusion includes all the foods 
made with the flours of these common  
grains - durham flour, triticale, and bulgar are all 
excluded.  The bran of these cereals is also  
excluded.  A trial of an elimination diet lasting 3-6 
weeks is sufficient to experience  
siginicant improvement in most bowel conditions.   
Longer periods of exclusion are required  
in conditions with chronic tissue inflamation, 
especially arthritis, and the skin disorders,  
eczema, and dermatitis herpetiformis, which 
sometimes requires an exclusion of several  
months before the skin condition remits completely. 
 
It is important to realize that multiple food 
intolerances are common and should be assumed,  
rather than assuming that single food intolerances 
are the problem. NP does not consider it  
adequate therapy for a single food group to be 
eliminated, on the assumption that every other  
food will be well tolerated.  Gluten restriction should 
be part of a more comprehensive  
dietary study, preferably in the form outlined in the 
food-testing plan.  The best dietary  
plans are based on what is good to eat, more than 
what is bad to eat!  No-one wants to be  
confronted with long lists of foods they must avoid.  
It is better to build a diet from scratch,  
emphasizing the positive.  There is an entire 
universe of foods not related to milk, gluten- 
cereals, and eggs, the commonest problem foods! 
 
If improvement occurs, gluten restriction is 
maintained for many months at least before any  
effort is made to rechallenge with gluten foods.  
There are two exceptions, millet and oats.   
Millet is occassionally acceptible, early in an 
exclusion program although few people find it  
an attractive food, and it is potentially a trouble-
maker. 
 
Oats is probably the best cereal to be re-introduced, 
and is often tolerated when wheat, rye,  
millet and barley are not.  If gluten restriction is 
beneficial, oats may be tried after 2-3  
months of abstinence. Some people, however, have 
specific and dramatic allergic reactions  
to oats, and acceptibility must not be assumed.  
The major substitute for cereal grains is Rice The 
rice prolamine, orzenin, is different  
enough from gliadin to avoid immunologic cross-
reaction. 
 
RICE: DESIRABLE STAPLE FOOD  
 
Rice is the staple food chosen for the core diet 
because it has low allergenicity, is versatile,  
widely available, and provides a carbohydrate caloric 
base to the diet.  Rice comes in many  
varieties some of which are sufficiently different to 
be treated almost as separate foods. 
 
Converted white rice is preferred at the start of a 
core-diet program. Brown rice does  
contain more nutrients, and some prefer it by taste 
and texture; however, the husk also  
contains more potential problems.  Rice-eating 
peoples generally polish their rice, removing  
the husk, because empirically the result is better.  
Again the nutritional arguments based on  
the nutrient content of foods outside of the body may 
be misleading!  Brown rice may be  
well-tolerated, but should be introduced after 
tolerance for converted white rice is  
established. There are definite excpetions to this 
rule, as with all rules, since some patients  
do report better tolerance of selected varieties of 
brown rice. 
 
Rice can be utilized in a variety of forms, including 
rice cereals, rice pablum, puffed rice,  
rice-cakes, rice noodles, rice vermicelli, and rice 
flour (starch).  Different rices vary  
sufficiently in taste, and texture to maintain culinary 
interest. Rice may be boiled with  
sunflower seeds, buckwheat, wild rice, other seeds, 
and legumes for added nutritional and  
culinary 
variety. 
 
All foods, including rice have the potential to be 
allergenic, however, and are not exempt  
>from  suspicion when adverse food reactions continue 
on a substitution diet.  The most  
typical symptoms of rice intolerance are heavy 
fatigue, and chilliness.  Rice may also  
produce the total grain syndrome, although this is 
uncommon in my experience.  Following  
the core hypoallergenic diet plan, you will simply not 
miss cereal grains for a while, and  
find the variety and diversity of other vegetables, 
sufficient to sustain your interest and  
nutrition.  The biggest challenge is to make the effort 
to choose different foods, and to  
prepare them attractively. 
 
Corn is less well tolerated than rice, and is 
implicated in non-immunological bowel  
disorders.  Corn should be introduced cautiously in 
the third or fourth week of a food re- 
introduction program, in limited amounts.  Corn 
appears in a multitude of products  
including snack foods, oils, margarine, cereals, and 
it is easy to overdose on this food. 
 
Our packaged, fast-food, and restaurant-food 
industries rely heavily on wheat flour to  
produce their products.  The person on a gluten-free 
diet must make an extra effort to avoid  
these products, and to eat instead primary foods, 
including fresh produce, meats, fish, and  
rice. 
 
Most of my patients crave a carbohydrate food, if not 
a sugar food, then bread, buns,  
crackers, chips, nuts and so-on.  Rice is a good 
alternative, being a starchy vegetable which  
turns sweet if you chew it for a while.  Having rice 
available in a bowel in the refrigerator,  
mixed with vegetables, herbs, meats or fish offers an 
alternative to gluten-laden snack foods.   
Pasta is made with high gluten flour and is off our 
list of core diet foods. Again Rice is good  
alternative to pastas. 
 
BUCKWHEAT)  
Buckwheat is an interesting grain-like food to add to 
your diet, especially if Rice is not  
acceptable because of an adverse response to it. 
Buckwheat is not a grain, but belongs to the  
Polygonaceae family which includes sorrel, rhubarb 
and dock.  Buckwheat  is a seed,  
however, and resembles the grains in having a 
starchy endosperm, and can be ground into a  
flour, or cooked as a cereal, or prepared as rice.  
Buckwheat is not toxic to the celiac bowel,  
although some people react adversely to it. 
Buckwheat flour is disappointing for baking  
since it lacks gluten, the elastic, chewy component of 
bread.  
OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO CEREAL GRAINS 
 
Other starchy vegetables may stand in for grains. 
The potato is a  starchy tuber, and potato  
starch can be used as a weak imitation of flour. 
Other roots  are available, including Cassava  
an african vegetable which produces Arrowroot flour 
Tapoica is made by heating and  
moistening arrowroot. Flour is also made from Taro, 
a japanese tuber, which is common in  
Hawaii where POI is a staple paste made from Taro 
roots. Soya beans are versatile and  
highly nutritious seeds which can be utilized as a 
flour as well.  Tofu is the protein fraction  
of soya beans, and is an inexpensive, nutritious food, 
used widely in the orient as a protein  
staple.  It must be mixed with corn or another 
legume to produce a full complement of  
essential amino acids.  The main problem with tofu 
is learning how to cook with it.  Other  
legumes including, chick peas, lentils, peanuts are 
useful foods, on a gluten restricted diet,  
but have their own problems which must be 
considered before regular use of these foods is  
entertained.   
 
Each recommended food is still subject to testing, 
however, for each food may produce  
allergens or cause other problems.  As with all foods 
in a sensitive person, the basic rule is -   
Find out how the food works in your body!  
Gluten-free diets specify food exclusions, including a 
variety of manufactured foods which  
contain Gluten.  One generally can figure out what is 
not desirable by thinking of the  
probable origins of the food in question.  Gluten 
exclusion does include malt, a barley  
product, and malt containing beverages (Postum, 
Ovaltine); beer and ale.  Alcohol is usually  
excluded, although some tolerance may be found to 
selected wines, and distilled beverages.   
@Note[Food for celiacs; Campbell JA : Journal of 
the Canadian Dietetic Ass'n.  Jan '82 ;  
43:1; 20-24] @Note[Gluten Free Cookbook:  Leicht 
L; RR#1 Box 54, Pender Island B.C.  
VON 2MO]@Note[ Club House Foods 316 Rectory 
St. PO Box 788 London Ont. N6A 4Z2] 
 
The focus of a gluten-free cookery is often on 
replacing gluten flour in baked goods with  
starches made from rice, arrowroot, potato, soya 
beans, other legumes like chickpeas,and  
wheat starch (all the protein has been carefully 
removed).  While baking can be done with  
these non-gluten "flours", the results are never as 
satisfying as with wheat flour.  Gluten is  
the most desirable ingredient in flour for producing 
bread, and baked goods, and its absence  
is conspicuous.  In many respects it is easier, kinder, 
and nutritionally wiser to forgo the  
baked goods in large measure and eat other foods.  
The task of changing your diet is very  
much like moving to another country and culture.  
You may try to bring all your old habits  
with you, and struggle to get all of the ingredients 
that you are used to forming into meals,  
or you can gracefully, and with a sense of adventure 
try the new cuisine.  Certainly bakery  
foods are delicious and tempting, but so are 
creatively prepared rice, vegetable, fruit, fish,  
and meat meals.  Even with multiple exclusions, an 
appealing, varied diet is within reach if  
you are willing to change your eating style.  A book 
of recipes which de-emphasizes, cereal- 
grains, eggs, and milk is a great asset. The cookbook 
"Oriental Food Feasts" is full of recipe  
ideas from China, Japan, Indonesia, and India.  One 
has to select recipes that utilize foods,  
appropriate to your dietary needs.  The main thing is 
to be inspired to create and enjoy a new  
cuisine that will diminish your disturbances, sustain 
your interest in food, and provide  
balanced nutrition.  @Note[Oriental Food Feasts; 
Shepard SM; Arco Publishing, Inc. New  
York 1979] Vegetable selection and preparation is 
one of the prerequisites of succeful diet  
revision. The Tassajara cookbook is my favorite 
introduction to the subject.  
@Note[Tassajara Cooking; 1973 Zen Centre; San 
Francisco; Shambala Publications, Inc.  
Boulder, CO.]    NEUROPSYCHIATRY & 
GLUTEN INTOLERANCE 
 
We have recognized that Gluten intolerance may 
involve the absorption of complete proteins  
like gliadin, or its peptide- fragments; anti-protein 
antibodies circulating in the blood, which  
form immune-complexes with the food protein, and 
provoke the release of mediators which  
may cause multiple disturbances in all body systems, 
and even tissue damage.  These  
circulating problems may also influence brain 
function in a variety of undesirable ways.     
There is vague circumstantial evidence of an adverse 
grain effect on metal status.  A family  
history of psychiatric problems is more common in 
patients with celiac disease.  Celiac  
disease is genetically determined involving two or 
more concurrent genes.  The genes  
involved are part of the immune-recognition 
complex, which determine the "Self" identity  
markers, protecting one's own cells from attack by 
the immune system.  Celiac patients have  
an increased frequency of the serum 
histocomptability antigens (self-markers) of the 
HLA- 
B8 and HLA-Dw3 types.  This genetic marker may 
indicate a predisposition for bowel  
absorption abnormalities or immunologic 
propensities, which result not only in celiac  
disease itself but other contigent abnormalities as 
well.  
 
Schizophrenia has been associated with gluten 
intolerance.   The diagnosis, schizophrenia,  
describes a variety of differing inviduals who belong 
to complex group of brain-disordered  
people. The schizophrenic brain distorts sensing, 
feeling, remembering, deciding, and acting.   
It is unlikely that schizophrenia is a single disease 
with a single cause.  The milder, but  
similar brain dysfunctions which I observe 
commonly with gluten and other food  
intolerances, suggests that food allergy may play a 
role in schizophrenia, with gluten as a  
frequent triggering antigen. Dr.  F.C.Dohan has 
consistently advocated a gluten- 
schizophrenia link for 20 years.  @Note[Dohan FC 
Cereals and Schizophrenia: Data and  
hypothesis.  1966 Acta Psychiatr. Scand 42:125-42] 
@Note[Dohan FC More on Celiac  
Disease as a model for schizophrenia. 1983 Biol. 
Psychiatry 18:561-4] 
  
Dr. Dohan states: 
 
[" Many diseases are caused by genetically-deficient 
utilization of specific food  
substances.  Perhaps the best studied expample is 
phenyketonuria...  far more common  
disorders, for example, atherosclerosis, and coronary 
heart disease, are strongly suspected of  
being due to genetically defective utilization of 
certain food constituents.  " Similarly,  
considerable evidence indicates that the major cause 
of schizophrenia is the inborn inability  
to process certain digestion products of some food 
proteins, especially cereal grain  
glutens..."] 
 
Among Dr. Dohan's interesting an relevant 
recommendations is the idea of a "Gluten  
tolerance test".  Such a test has not yet been 
developed, but is the sort of evaluation method  
that NP advocates in general.  A gluten tolerance test 
could be intiated with routine  
evaluations before and after ingestion of grain foods. 
More sophisticated versions would  
measure gluten proteins and derived peptides in the 
blood, and would track the path of these  
molecules into organs, especially the brain.  Finally 
the impact of these molecules would be  
evaluated by monitoring the function of the target 
organ in real time.  I have been eager to  
do real-time monitoring of brain activity, 
topologically-computed in gluten-sensitive  
patients.  These patients report changes in their 
PSYE, cognitive abilities, and emotional  
state which no researcher to date has documented 
objectively.  The problem of adverse brain  
effects of molecules derived from food is a major 
under-recognized phenomenon of  
nutrition and molecular pathophysiology.  Research 
in the next 10-20 years will, I am  
convinced, reveal a great deal about the extent, 
mechanisms, and importance of this  
consequence of eating to our mental status.   


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Subject: Asthma  -  asthma.txt [1/1]
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Asthma 
Asthma is an allergic response to materials in  
the air and food supply.  Food allergy is a  
neglected cause of  Asthma. 
 Diet revision is often helpful especially if  
asthma is severe and prolonged. 
 
Asthma is increasing world-wide and higher  
numbers of deaths from asthma in affluent  
countries worry authorities. The Center for  
Disease Control in Canada reported a threefold  
increase of asthmatic deaths over 20 years, mostly  
in teenagers and young adults. Asthma has been  
treated with drugs, both inhaled and taken orally.  
World-wide about 400 million prescriptions a  
year, costing up  5 billion dollars are used to  
combat the disease.      
 
In the past, medical textbooks divided asthma into  
inside and outside forms. Extrinsic (outside)  
asthma tended to occur in sudden attacks triggered  
by exposure to airborne materials. Intrinsic  
(inside) asthma seemed to occur continuously or  
in prolonged episodes for no apparent reason. The  
spring or summer wheezing attacks of pollen  
sensitive patients is a form of extrinsic asthma,  
usually obvious to patients and allergists alike.  
Indoor allergens often play a role in maintaining  
year-round asthma and may present as "intrinsic"  
asthma. Allergy to house dust mites is a leading  
cause of winter asthma. Cigarette smoke is always  
a major problem for asthmatics. Air pollution is a  
growing concern.  
 
Bonchodilator drugs are commonly used to treat  
asthma but may worsen the disease in the long  
run. These drugs dilate the small tubes in the lung  
which constrict during an asthma attack and  
usually the drugs relieve the wheezing and  
shortness of breath quickly. This is symptomatic  
therapy which does not address the cause or  
mechanisms of the asthma. Many patients are  
instructed to inhale these drugs continuously and  
rely on them completely to control their asthma.  
Newer, better treatment strategies emphasize  
other drugs which prevent the allergic response or  
treat the inflammation that keeps asthma going.  
An even better strategy would be to prevent the  
asthma by removing the original cause. Other  
causes of asthma must be considered. Often,  
asthma is treated only as an airborne allergy  
problem or as a problem unrelated to allergic  
processes and the possible role of food allergy is  
neglected! Dr. Wraith stated:   
 
"Food allergy is a very important cause of asthma but 
is often overlooked. It is important because it may 
cause severe symptoms and asthma still has a high 
mortality despite improvements in drug therapy. It is 
overlooked because the usual skin tests are often 
negative and the history is often not  
helpful as symptoms appear gradually hours or days 
after ingestion of the food." 
 
Drs. Pelikan and Pelikan-Filipek demonstrated  
asthmatic responses to food ingestion  and  
suggested: 
 
"The role of food allergy in patients with bronchial  
complaints is still underestimated by clinicians 
because 
(1) of the dearth of information in this area. 
(2) The involvement of foods in patients with allergic 
disorders is very complex and has various forms...
(3) The diagnostic procedures and confirmation of the 
involvement of adverse reactions to foods...is a 
difficult problem."  
 
Chronic coughs may mean allergic bronchitis  
with or without asthma. Food allergy patients are  
often given antibiotics repeatedly, since allergic  
symptoms and infection symptoms are similar.  
Antibiotics may offer no benefits and may  
increase the risk of further allergic reactions.  
Many patients report long-term deterioration  
after repeated or prolonged antibiotic use. This  
apparent adverse effect of antibiotics has been  
blamed on yeast overgrowth in GIT, but the real  
reason is probably more complex.  
 
Food allergens travel from the digestive tract  
to the lungs. Food allergens may be found in the  
blood stream in circulating immune complexes  
which trigger the release of immune mediators in  
the bloodstream. These chemicals cause a variety  
of symptoms, including constriction of the  
bronchial smooth muscle in the lungs; this is the  
first event of an asthmatic attack. Airflow is  
reduced in the narrowed tubes. Air has a harder  
time leaving the lungs than entering_the result is  
prolonged noisy expiration. Later, the small tubes  
in the lung swell and plug with increased mucus  
secretion, making the obstruction to airflow  
worse. This inflammatory, obstructive phase is  
the most important mechanism of chronic  
asthmatic bronchitis.  
 
The good news is that complete diet revision may  
significantly relieve symptoms. Asthma that  
seems to originate inside the body (intrinsic  
asthma) should be treated as food allergy until  
proven otherwise. This assumption should lead to  
careful diet revision, using the Core Program. A  
trial of clearing on ENFood (en elemental  
nutrient formula) for up to 14 days may be  
beneficial.    
 
Asthma is often associated with other symptoms  
which suggest a whole-body food allergy  
problem. Asthma is one of the 3  manifestations  
of a pattern of allergy, called Atopy. The  
associated disorders are eczema and hay fever.  
Often patients have positive skin tests to inhalant  
allergens  which cause hay fever, but may not  
show skin reactions to foods which prove to be a  
major problem. If all the attention is directed  
toward the more obvious skin-positive inhalant  
allergies, an opportunity to benefit from diet  
revision is lost.  
 
A comprehensive management plan will  
include solving the food allergy problem, solving  
airborne allergy and toxicity, and providing the  
right medication, at the right doses and at the  
right time when preventive efforts fail. The most  
serious airborne problems at home are cigarette  
smoke, dust, molds, and house dust mites.  
 
Drug treatment strategies have shifted away  
>from  drugs which relax smooth muscle and dilate  
the branching tubes in the lung to drugs which  
block allergic reactions and reduce inflammation.  
Thus cromoglycate (Intal, Fivent) or  
nedocromil (Tilade) by inhalation or more  
recently ketotifen (Zaditen) orally have been  
favored to block allergic reactions as a  
preventative measure. Inhaled steroids  
(Beclovent, Pulmicort) have become "first line  
of defense" in treating chronic asthma. The  
bronchodilators (ventolin, bricanyl, berotec)  
are used to treat the acute wheezing attacks, along  
with steroids which block the delayed  
inflammatory swelling effects. Prednisone orally  
is prescribed if the asthma eludes control by  
inhaled steroids. 
 
Patients following the Core Program experience  
a reduction or clearing of asthma symptoms, but  
they are vulnerable to acute attacks if they eat the  
wrong food. The attacks occur in a typical  
sequence, beginning with an immediate episode of  
congestion, coughing and/or wheezing, followed  
several hours later by a delayed, more serious  
episode of breathing difficulty. We  recommend  
retreating to Phase 1 foods in the Core Program or  
an ENF, (elemental nutrient formula) such as  
ENFood C1, for several days if the attack is  
severe. 
 
An occasional patient will react catastrophically  
to food allergens with a life-threatening breathing  
problem as an immediate anaphylactic reaction or  
a more delayed "pneumonia" (inflammatory  
swelling and edema of the lungs) and will require  
hospital treatment with adrenaline, nebulizers,  
oxygen, and steroids. A milk-triggered pneumonia  
in infants was reported by Heiner and Sears.   
Infants with the Heiner Syndrome have ear, nose  
and throat symptom, vomiting, colic, and anemia  
>from  blood loss and iron malabsorption.  
Removing cow's milk from the diet cures this  
milk disease! We see similar collections of  
problems in adults to milk and other food  
allergens. 

Page C. Asthma as a chronic inflammatory disease 
and the  
implications for future therapy. Ann of Allergy  
1992;69:251-260 
2 Wraith  D.G. Food Allergy and Intolerance  486-
497; 1987 
  Pelikan Z., Pelikan-Filpek M., Bronchial response to 
the  
food ingestion challenge. Annals of Allergy. 1987; 
58:164- 
172 
  Osterballe H.O, Bundgaard B., Weeke B., Weiss, M.  
Double-blind controlled trial of Elemental Diet in 
severe,  
perennial asthma. Allergy 1981,36:257-262 
 Vincent J. Avoidance therapy: time-tested methods 
to treat  
asthma. Family Practice Recertification 1990; 12(11): 
71-87. 
 Heiner D.C., Sears J.W.: Chronic Respiratory 
Disease  
associated with multiple circulating precipitans to 
cow's  
milk. Am J Dis Child 100:500,1960 



From lwithers@direct.ca Sun Sep 10 23:24:10 EDT 1995
Article: 33 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: lwithers@direct.ca (larry withers)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Arthritis  -  arthrit.txt [1/1]
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Arthritis
Arthritis may be an allergic response to 
materials in the food supply.  Diet revision may be 
helpful in reducing the activity of inflammatory 
arthritis and in some instances may halt the 
progression of the disease.

There are many patterns of arthritis. A group of 
related joint and connective disorders have been 
called rheumatic diseases. All these diseases are 
immune-mediated, and all are expressions of 
inflammation in connective tissues. Inflammation 
damages joints and surrounding tissues resulting 
in loss of function and deformities. Variations in 
the patterns of these diseases reflect the many 
possibilities for immune damage to disturb and 
distort structure and function. Severity ranges 
>from  mildly painful, chronic activity to drastic, 
disabling disease. Rheumatoid arthritis, often 
severe and disabling, is the dominant rheumatic 
disease which can attack all joints in the body. 

Rheumatoid arthritis is often considered to be 
an autoimmune disease. Our idea is that no disease 
is just internally generated and must involve 
outside contributions. Arthritis is often associated 
with inflammatory bowel disease. The 
mechanisms of food allergy link abnormal 
Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT) function with 
immune attacks on connective tissue. In all 
arthritic patients, normal GIT function should be 
rigorously sought by adaptive dietary adjustments. 

Simple allergic arthritis is a definite entity that is 
often not recognized as a food allergy. Typically, 
a dramatic, acute, and painful swelling develops 
in one or more joints asymmetrically. The joint 
inflammation is usually brought on by eating a 
food, either an unusual food eaten for the first 
time or sometimes a regular food eaten in excess. 
This presentation is similar to and often confused 
with gout. Any food can cause allergic arthritis. 
Staple foods such as milk, eggs, and wheat (rye, 
oats, barley), coffee, beef, pork,  and food 
additives are the most common food triggers. 
Carinini and Brostroff reviewed the concepts of 
and evidence for food-induced arthritis.  They 
stated: 

"Despite an increasing interest in food allergy 
and the conviction of innumerable patients with 
joint disease that certain foods exacerbate their 
symptoms, relatively little scientific attention has 
been paid to this relationship. Abnormalities of 
the gastrointestinal tract are commonly found in 
rheumatic disease...Support for an intestinal 
origin of antigens comes from studies of patients 
whose joint symptoms have improved on the 
avoidance of certain foods antigens, and become 
worse on consuming them. These have included 
patients with both intermittent symptoms, 
palindromic rheumatism and more chronic 
disease." 

In another study, 33 of 45 patients with 
rheumatoid arthritis improved significantly on a 
hypoallergenic diet. The authors concluded:  

"Increasing numbers of scientific studies 
suggest that dietary manipulation may help at 
least some rheumatoid patients and perhaps the 
greatest need now is for more careful and well-
designed research so that preconceptions may 
be put aside and role of diet, as a specific or 
even a non-specific adjunctive therapy, may be 
determined."

Unfortunately, dairy products, wheat and its close 
relatives, oats, barley, and rye, have proved to be a 
major problem in the diets of our patients. There 
are many possible reasons for cereal grains to 
become pathogenic. Hypersensitivity mechanisms 
triggered by grain proteins,  collectively called 
"Gluten",  are the likely cause of the illnesses 
related to  intake of cereal grains. Gluten is a 
mixture of individual proteins classified in two 
groups, the Prolamines and the Glutelins. The 
prolamine fraction of gluten concerns us the most 
when grain intolerance is suspected. The 
prolamine, Gliadin, seems to be a problem in 
celiac disease; gliadin antibodies are  commonly 
found in the immune complexes associated with 
this disease.   Recently marketed grains, spelt and 
kamut, are wheat variants (despite claims to the 
contrary)  and are likely to cause problems similar 
to other wheat varieties.  

A wheat gluten mechanism has been studied in 
rheumatoid arthritis patients. The clinical 
observation is that wheat ingestion is followed 
within hours by increased joint swelling and pain.  
Little and his colleagues studied the mechanism, 
as it developed sequentially following gluten 
ingestion.  Dr. Parke and colleagues concurred 
with this explanation of the gut-arthritis link in 
their report of three patients with celiac disease 
and rheumatoid arthritis.  The mechanism 
involves several stages:

GIT must be permeable to antigenic proteins or 
peptide fragments, derived from digested gluten.  
The food antigens appear in the blood stream and 
are bound by a specific antibody (probably of IgA or 
IgG, not IgE class), forming an antigen-antibody 
complex, a circulating immune complex (CIC)

The antigen-antibody complex then activates the 
rest of the immune response, beginning with the 
release of mediators - serotonin is released from the 
blood platelets. Serotonin release causes 
"symptoms" as it circulates in the blood stream and 
enhances the deposition of CICs in joint tissues.

Once in the joint, the immune complexes activate 
complement, which in turn damages cells and 
activates inflammation. More inflammation results in 
more pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of mobility. 

Arthritis is usually treated with salicylates or 
related anti-inflammatory drugs generally 
referred to as NSAIDs. These drugs alleviate the 
terrible pain of active arthritis but do not 
favorably affect the outcome of the disease. All 
anti-arthritic medication can produce asthma or 
chronic rhinitis and a variety of allergic skin 
rashes. Gastrointestinal surface irritation, 
bleeding, and ulceration are routine problems of 
anti-arthritic medication.

The first attack of joint swelling and pain should 
be treated as an urgent problem to be solved. 
Inflammation may damage joints. Often NSAIDs 
and physiotherapy are the only treatments 
prescribed and inflammation is given every 
opportunity to ravage tissues. We have seen 
countless patients, just treated with NSAIDs, who 
progressed rapidly to a severe disabling disease, 
often with poor pain control. In unlucky patients, 
severe deformities of joints accumulate in the 
first few months of a severe attack. There is a  
trend to recommend more aggressive treatments, 
using drugs that impair the immune response. The 
best drug is prednisone, but it is seldom used 
because it has long-term side effects which scare 
both physicians and patients. Prednisone is often a 
magic drug that relieves terrible pain and 
suffering often in the first 48 hours of therapy. 
Beyond prednisone, there is a grab bag of immune 
suppressant drugs to treat arthritis -chloroquine, 
penicillamine, gold  and methotrexate have 
emerged as the favored drug therapies.  All these 
drugs have impressive side effects and great 
potential for toxicity. 

Our preference is to try to stop the inflammatory 
activity as soon as possible with diet revision. All 
inflammation is likened to a fire. You get out the 
fire-extinguishers and go to work. No matter what 
pattern the immune attack assumes, our standard 
defense can be tried first. The Core Program 
method of diet revision is used. Food is replaced 
with an elemental nutrient formula, ENFood, for 
a clearing period of 10 to 20 days. Prednisone 
and/or NSAIDs are drug options during the 
clearing period and then the dosage is reduced  
after pain and swelling have subsided.  
Improvement is followed by slow food 
reintroduction (see Core Program). Each 
returning food is carefully screened for arthritis-
triggering effects. You hope that food allergy 
caused the problem and that food control can be 
successful controlling the disease in the long-
term. Nothing is lost by taking this approach and 
complete control of the disease can sometimes be 
obtained. If strict food control proves to be 
inadequate, then other drug treatments can be 
instituted.
  Carinini C, Brostroff J. Gut and joint disease. Annals of 
Allergy 1985;55:624-625.
  Darlington et al. Lancet Feb 1 1986;236-238. 
  Keiffer M et al. Wheat gliadin fractions and other cereal 
antigens reactive with antibodies in the sera of of celiac 
patients. Clin Exp Immunol 1982;50:651-60. 
  Little  C, Stewart AG, Fennesy MR. Platelet serotonin 
release in rheumatoid arthritis: a study in food intolerant 
patients. Lancet 1983;297-9.
  Parke AI et al. Celiac disease and rheumatoid arthritis. 
Annals of Rheum Dis 1984;43:378-380.
  Voorneveld CR, Rubin LA  Disease-modifying 
antirheumatic drugs: early use is better. Medicine North 
Amer. Oct 1991 3177-3184





From lwithers@direct.ca Sun Sep 10 23:24:18 EDT 1995
Article: 32 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: lwithers@direct.ca (larry withers)
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Subject: Asthma  -  asthma.txt [1/1]
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Asthma 
Asthma is an allergic response to materials in  
the air and food supply.  Food allergy is a  
neglected cause of  Asthma. 
 Diet revision is often helpful especially if  
asthma is severe and prolonged. 
 
Asthma is increasing world-wide and higher  
numbers of deaths from asthma in affluent  
countries worry authorities. The Center for  
Disease Control in Canada reported a threefold  
increase of asthmatic deaths over 20 years, mostly  
in teenagers and young adults. Asthma has been  
treated with drugs, both inhaled and taken orally.  
World-wide about 400 million prescriptions a  
year, costing up  5 billion dollars are used to  
combat the disease.      
 
In the past, medical textbooks divided asthma into  
inside and outside forms. Extrinsic (outside)  
asthma tended to occur in sudden attacks triggered  
by exposure to airborne materials. Intrinsic  
(inside) asthma seemed to occur continuously or  
in prolonged episodes for no apparent reason. The  
spring or summer wheezing attacks of pollen  
sensitive patients is a form of extrinsic asthma,  
usually obvious to patients and allergists alike.  
Indoor allergens often play a role in maintaining  
year-round asthma and may present as "intrinsic"  
asthma. Allergy to house dust mites is a leading  
cause of winter asthma. Cigarette smoke is always  
a major problem for asthmatics. Air pollution is a  
growing concern.  
 
Bonchodilator drugs are commonly used to treat  
asthma but may worsen the disease in the long  
run. These drugs dilate the small tubes in the lung  
which constrict during an asthma attack and  
usually the drugs relieve the wheezing and  
shortness of breath quickly. This is symptomatic  
therapy which does not address the cause or  
mechanisms of the asthma. Many patients are  
instructed to inhale these drugs continuously and  
rely on them completely to control their asthma.  
Newer, better treatment strategies emphasize  
other drugs which prevent the allergic response or  
treat the inflammation that keeps asthma going.  
An even better strategy would be to prevent the  
asthma by removing the original cause. Other  
causes of asthma must be considered. Often,  
asthma is treated only as an airborne allergy  
problem or as a problem unrelated to allergic  
processes and the possible role of food allergy is  
neglected! Dr. Wraith stated:   
 
"Food allergy is a very important cause of asthma but 
is often overlooked. It is important because it may 
cause severe symptoms and asthma still has a high 
mortality despite improvements in drug therapy. It is 
overlooked because the usual skin tests are often 
negative and the history is often not  
helpful as symptoms appear gradually hours or days 
after ingestion of the food." 
 
Drs. Pelikan and Pelikan-Filipek demonstrated  
asthmatic responses to food ingestion  and  
suggested: 
 
"The role of food allergy in patients with bronchial  
complaints is still underestimated by clinicians 
because 
(1) of the dearth of information in this area. 
(2) The involvement of foods in patients with allergic 
disorders is very complex and has various forms...
(3) The diagnostic procedures and confirmation of the 
involvement of adverse reactions to foods...is a 
difficult problem."  
 
Chronic coughs may mean allergic bronchitis  
with or without asthma. Food allergy patients are  
often given antibiotics repeatedly, since allergic  
symptoms and infection symptoms are similar.  
Antibiotics may offer no benefits and may  
increase the risk of further allergic reactions.  
Many patients report long-term deterioration  
after repeated or prolonged antibiotic use. This  
apparent adverse effect of antibiotics has been  
blamed on yeast overgrowth in GIT, but the real  
reason is probably more complex.  
 
Food allergens travel from the digestive tract  
to the lungs. Food allergens may be found in the  
blood stream in circulating immune complexes  
which trigger the release of immune mediators in  
the bloodstream. These chemicals cause a variety  
of symptoms, including constriction of the  
bronchial smooth muscle in the lungs; this is the  
first event of an asthmatic attack. Airflow is  
reduced in the narrowed tubes. Air has a harder  
time leaving the lungs than entering_the result is  
prolonged noisy expiration. Later, the small tubes  
in the lung swell and plug with increased mucus  
secretion, making the obstruction to airflow  
worse. This inflammatory, obstructive phase is  
the most important mechanism of chronic  
asthmatic bronchitis.  
 
The good news is that complete diet revision may  
significantly relieve symptoms. Asthma that  
seems to originate inside the body (intrinsic  
asthma) should be treated as food allergy until  
proven otherwise. This assumption should lead to  
careful diet revision, using the Core Program. A  
trial of clearing on ENFood (en elemental  
nutrient formula) for up to 14 days may be  
beneficial.    
 
Asthma is often associated with other symptoms  
which suggest a whole-body food allergy  
problem. Asthma is one of the 3  manifestations  
of a pattern of allergy, called Atopy. The  
associated disorders are eczema and hay fever.  
Often patients have positive skin tests to inhalant  
allergens  which cause hay fever, but may not  
show skin reactions to foods which prove to be a  
major problem. If all the attention is directed  
toward the more obvious skin-positive inhalant  
allergies, an opportunity to benefit from diet  
revision is lost.  
 
A comprehensive management plan will  
include solving the food allergy problem, solving  
airborne allergy and toxicity, and providing the  
right medication, at the right doses and at the  
right time when preventive efforts fail. The most  
serious airborne problems at home are cigarette  
smoke, dust, molds, and house dust mites.  
 
Drug treatment strategies have shifted away  
>from  drugs which relax smooth muscle and dilate  
the branching tubes in the lung to drugs which  
block allergic reactions and reduce inflammation.  
Thus cromoglycate (Intal, Fivent) or  
nedocromil (Tilade) by inhalation or more  
recently ketotifen (Zaditen) orally have been  
favored to block allergic reactions as a  
preventative measure. Inhaled steroids  
(Beclovent, Pulmicort) have become "first line  
of defense" in treating chronic asthma. The  
bronchodilators (ventolin, bricanyl, berotec)  
are used to treat the acute wheezing attacks, along  
with steroids which block the delayed  
inflammatory swelling effects. Prednisone orally  
is prescribed if the asthma eludes control by  
inhaled steroids. 
 
Patients following the Core Program experience  
a reduction or clearing of asthma symptoms, but  
they are vulnerable to acute attacks if they eat the  
wrong food. The attacks occur in a typical  
sequence, beginning with an immediate episode of  
congestion, coughing and/or wheezing, followed  
several hours later by a delayed, more serious  
episode of breathing difficulty. We  recommend  
retreating to Phase 1 foods in the Core Program or  
an ENF, (elemental nutrient formula) such as  
ENFood C1, for several days if the attack is  
severe. 
 
An occasional patient will react catastrophically  
to food allergens with a life-threatening breathing  
problem as an immediate anaphylactic reaction or  
a more delayed "pneumonia" (inflammatory  
swelling and edema of the lungs) and will require  
hospital treatment with adrenaline, nebulizers,  
oxygen, and steroids. A milk-triggered pneumonia  
in infants was reported by Heiner and Sears.   
Infants with the Heiner Syndrome have ear, nose  
and throat symptom, vomiting, colic, and anemia  
>from  blood loss and iron malabsorption.  
Removing cow's milk from the diet cures this  
milk disease! We see similar collections of  
problems in adults to milk and other food  
allergens. 

Page C. Asthma as a chronic inflammatory disease 
and the  
implications for future therapy. Ann of Allergy  
1992;69:251-260 
2 Wraith  D.G. Food Allergy and Intolerance  486-
497; 1987 
  Pelikan Z., Pelikan-Filpek M., Bronchial response to 
the  
food ingestion challenge. Annals of Allergy. 1987; 
58:164- 
172 
  Osterballe H.O, Bundgaard B., Weeke B., Weiss, M.  
Double-blind controlled trial of Elemental Diet in 
severe,  
perennial asthma. Allergy 1981,36:257-262 
 Vincent J. Avoidance therapy: time-tested methods 
to treat  
asthma. Family Practice Recertification 1990; 12(11): 
71-87. 
 Heiner D.C., Sears J.W.: Chronic Respiratory 
Disease  
associated with multiple circulating precipitans to 
cow's  
milk. Am J Dis Child 100:500,1960 



From lwithers@direct.ca Sun Sep 10 23:24:48 EDT 1995
Article: 32 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: lwithers@direct.ca (larry withers)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Asthma  -  asthma.txt [1/1]
Date: 8 Sep 1995 17:35:36 GMT
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Asthma 
Asthma is an allergic response to materials in  
the air and food supply.  Food allergy is a  
neglected cause of  Asthma. 
 Diet revision is often helpful especially if  
asthma is severe and prolonged. 
 
Asthma is increasing world-wide and higher  
numbers of deaths from asthma in affluent  
countries worry authorities. The Center for  
Disease Control in Canada reported a threefold  
increase of asthmatic deaths over 20 years, mostly  
in teenagers and young adults. Asthma has been  
treated with drugs, both inhaled and taken orally.  
World-wide about 400 million prescriptions a  
year, costing up  5 billion dollars are used to  
combat the disease.      
 
In the past, medical textbooks divided asthma into  
inside and outside forms. Extrinsic (outside)  
asthma tended to occur in sudden attacks triggered  
by exposure to airborne materials. Intrinsic  
(inside) asthma seemed to occur continuously or  
in prolonged episodes for no apparent reason. The  
spring or summer wheezing attacks of pollen  
sensitive patients is a form of extrinsic asthma,  
usually obvious to patients and allergists alike.  
Indoor allergens often play a role in maintaining  
year-round asthma and may present as "intrinsic"  
asthma. Allergy to house dust mites is a leading  
cause of winter asthma. Cigarette smoke is always  
a major problem for asthmatics. Air pollution is a  
growing concern.  
 
Bonchodilator drugs are commonly used to treat  
asthma but may worsen the disease in the long  
run. These drugs dilate the small tubes in the lung  
which constrict during an asthma attack and  
usually the drugs relieve the wheezing and  
shortness of breath quickly. This is symptomatic  
therapy which does not address the cause or  
mechanisms of the asthma. Many patients are  
instructed to inhale these drugs continuously and  
rely on them completely to control their asthma.  
Newer, better treatment strategies emphasize  
other drugs which prevent the allergic response or  
treat the inflammation that keeps asthma going.  
An even better strategy would be to prevent the  
asthma by removing the original cause. Other  
causes of asthma must be considered. Often,  
asthma is treated only as an airborne allergy  
problem or as a problem unrelated to allergic  
processes and the possible role of food allergy is  
neglected! Dr. Wraith stated:   
 
"Food allergy is a very important cause of asthma but 
is often overlooked. It is important because it may 
cause severe symptoms and asthma still has a high 
mortality despite improvements in drug therapy. It is 
overlooked because the usual skin tests are often 
negative and the history is often not  
helpful as symptoms appear gradually hours or days 
after ingestion of the food." 
 
Drs. Pelikan and Pelikan-Filipek demonstrated  
asthmatic responses to food ingestion  and  
suggested: 
 
"The role of food allergy in patients with bronchial  
complaints is still underestimated by clinicians 
because 
(1) of the dearth of information in this area. 
(2) The involvement of foods in patients with allergic 
disorders is very complex and has various forms...
(3) The diagnostic procedures and confirmation of the 
involvement of adverse reactions to foods...is a 
difficult problem."  
 
Chronic coughs may mean allergic bronchitis  
with or without asthma. Food allergy patients are  
often given antibiotics repeatedly, since allergic  
symptoms and infection symptoms are similar.  
Antibiotics may offer no benefits and may  
increase the risk of further allergic reactions.  
Many patients report long-term deterioration  
after repeated or prolonged antibiotic use. This  
apparent adverse effect of antibiotics has been  
blamed on yeast overgrowth in GIT, but the real  
reason is probably more complex.  
 
Food allergens travel from the digestive tract  
to the lungs. Food allergens may be found in the  
blood stream in circulating immune complexes  
which trigger the release of immune mediators in  
the bloodstream. These chemicals cause a variety  
of symptoms, including constriction of the  
bronchial smooth muscle in the lungs; this is the  
first event of an asthmatic attack. Airflow is  
reduced in the narrowed tubes. Air has a harder  
time leaving the lungs than entering_the result is  
prolonged noisy expiration. Later, the small tubes  
in the lung swell and plug with increased mucus  
secretion, making the obstruction to airflow  
worse. This inflammatory, obstructive phase is  
the most important mechanism of chronic  
asthmatic bronchitis.  
 
The good news is that complete diet revision may  
significantly relieve symptoms. Asthma that  
seems to originate inside the body (intrinsic  
asthma) should be treated as food allergy until  
proven otherwise. This assumption should lead to  
careful diet revision, using the Core Program. A  
trial of clearing on ENFood (en elemental  
nutrient formula) for up to 14 days may be  
beneficial.    
 
Asthma is often associated with other symptoms  
which suggest a whole-body food allergy  
problem. Asthma is one of the 3  manifestations  
of a pattern of allergy, called Atopy. The  
associated disorders are eczema and hay fever.  
Often patients have positive skin tests to inhalant  
allergens  which cause hay fever, but may not  
show skin reactions to foods which prove to be a  
major problem. If all the attention is directed  
toward the more obvious skin-positive inhalant  
allergies, an opportunity to benefit from diet  
revision is lost.  
 
A comprehensive management plan will  
include solving the food allergy problem, solving  
airborne allergy and toxicity, and providing the  
right medication, at the right doses and at the  
right time when preventive efforts fail. The most  
serious airborne problems at home are cigarette  
smoke, dust, molds, and house dust mites.  
 
Drug treatment strategies have shifted away  
>from  drugs which relax smooth muscle and dilate  
the branching tubes in the lung to drugs which  
block allergic reactions and reduce inflammation.  
Thus cromoglycate (Intal, Fivent) or  
nedocromil (Tilade) by inhalation or more  
recently ketotifen (Zaditen) orally have been  
favored to block allergic reactions as a  
preventative measure. Inhaled steroids  
(Beclovent, Pulmicort) have become "first line  
of defense" in treating chronic asthma. The  
bronchodilators (ventolin, bricanyl, berotec)  
are used to treat the acute wheezing attacks, along  
with steroids which block the delayed  
inflammatory swelling effects. Prednisone orally  
is prescribed if the asthma eludes control by  
inhaled steroids. 
 
Patients following the Core Program experience  
a reduction or clearing of asthma symptoms, but  
they are vulnerable to acute attacks if they eat the  
wrong food. The attacks occur in a typical  
sequence, beginning with an immediate episode of  
congestion, coughing and/or wheezing, followed  
several hours later by a delayed, more serious  
episode of breathing difficulty. We  recommend  
retreating to Phase 1 foods in the Core Program or  
an ENF, (elemental nutrient formula) such as  
ENFood C1, for several days if the attack is  
severe. 
 
An occasional patient will react catastrophically  
to food allergens with a life-threatening breathing  
problem as an immediate anaphylactic reaction or  
a more delayed "pneumonia" (inflammatory  
swelling and edema of the lungs) and will require  
hospital treatment with adrenaline, nebulizers,  
oxygen, and steroids. A milk-triggered pneumonia  
in infants was reported by Heiner and Sears.   
Infants with the Heiner Syndrome have ear, nose  
and throat symptom, vomiting, colic, and anemia  
>from  blood loss and iron malabsorption.  
Removing cow's milk from the diet cures this  
milk disease! We see similar collections of  
problems in adults to milk and other food  
allergens. 

Page C. Asthma as a chronic inflammatory disease 
and the  
implications for future therapy. Ann of Allergy  
1992;69:251-260 
2 Wraith  D.G. Food Allergy and Intolerance  486-
497; 1987 
  Pelikan Z., Pelikan-Filpek M., Bronchial response to 
the  
food ingestion challenge. Annals of Allergy. 1987; 
58:164- 
172 
  Osterballe H.O, Bundgaard B., Weeke B., Weiss, M.  
Double-blind controlled trial of Elemental Diet in 
severe,  
perennial asthma. Allergy 1981,36:257-262 
 Vincent J. Avoidance therapy: time-tested methods 
to treat  
asthma. Family Practice Recertification 1990; 12(11): 
71-87. 
 Heiner D.C., Sears J.W.: Chronic Respiratory 
Disease  
associated with multiple circulating precipitans to 
cow's  
milk. Am J Dis Child 100:500,1960 



From lwithers@direct.ca Sun Sep 10 23:24:52 EDT 1995
Article: 19 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: lwithers@direct.ca (larry withers)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Chronic Fatigue  -  fatigue.txt [1/1]
Date: 8 Sep 1995 17:41:41 GMT
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME, 
Fibromyalgia

We have focused a major research and product 
development effort on solving the problem of 
hypersensitivity diseases.  Our theses is that 
immune-responses to food and airborne 
materials are common causes of illness.  
Chronic fatigue syndrome is just one example 
of non-specific hypersensitivity and should be 
treated with diet revision as the first and 
essential form of therapy.


For over 10 years, Dr. Stephen Gislason has 
described food allergy patients with chronic 
fatigue, aching, weakness, and cognitive 
problems.  He recognized that there are a large 
number of people who suffer from a non-
specific hypersensitivity state and have daily 
symptoms from increased immune activity in 
their body.  Most conformed to the description 
of "delayed pattern food allergy".  

Some refer to this symptoms cluster as the 
"Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"  (CFS).  Another 
description, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), 
refers to a similar symptom cluster with myalgia 
(muscle pain), encephalitis (inflammation of the 
brain), and myelitis (inflammation of the spinal 
cord).  The symptoms of brain and spinal cord 
malfunction include cognitive and emotional 
disturbances, weakness, numbness, and 
incoordination.  If generalized pain, and 
stiffness dominate, physicians will sometimes 
diagnose fibromyalgia or fibrositis.

Patients with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction 
dominating their experience will often be told 
they are depressed and given prescriptions for 
antidepressants.  In the past decade the "candida 
yeast theory" also became a popular explanation 
of chronic fatigue.  Many of the early articles in 
a journal for people with chronic fatigue 
addressed the problems of discrimination 
against long-suffering patients.  A coalitions of 
CFS advocates called themselves CACTUS to 
"...bring the reality of chronic fatigue immune 
dysfunction syndrome to national attention."  
They favored viral theories of the illness.  This 
lobby effort has had the desired effect.  Chronic 
fatigue is now diagnosed even by physicians who 
denied the existence of the problem a few years 
ago.

Fatigue and pain are two of the most common 
human symptoms.  Multiple causes can be 
suggested for fatigue.  Food allergy and other 
food supply problems are usually not 
considered.  Toxicity from industrial and 
domestic sources is also seldom considered.  
Similar syndromes have been described in the 
medical literature over many years.  Indeed the 
onset of many well known diseases begins with 
aching, fatigue and cognitive dysfunction.  Viral 
hepatitis, for example, may simmer for many 
years causing chronic fatigue.  Similar 
nonspecific symptoms occur in the early stages 
of the other diseases such as lupus 
erythematosis and multiple sclerosis.  These are 
hypersensitivity diseases, driven by immune 
activity which probably involve food material.

The recognition that these conditions are all 
non-specific hypersensitivity disorders has been 
slow in coming.  The acceptance of diet revision 
as a prerequisite for recover is even slower.  Dr. 
Gislason state recently:  "I have been writing and 
speaking about this for over 10 years and feel 
discouraged that so many confused and 
confusing ideas and terms have obscured the 
fact that this is a non-specific hypersensitivity 
disease; patients almost always have the delayed 
pattern food allergy - until proven otherwise".

A.J. Rowe , T.G. Randolph, and Fredrick Speer 
were among the first American allergists to 
associate the CFS cluster of symptoms with 
food allergies.  Rowe described "allergic 
toxemia" in 1930 with the symptoms of 
drowsiness, mental confusion, lack of initiate 
and ambition, irritability, fatigue, aching, and a 
feeling of being poisoned.  Rowe developed a 
number of elimination diets to treat allergic 
toxemia and reported that a wide spectrum of 
mental-emotional and physical symptoms could 
be relieved by elimination diets


Dr. Theron Randolph  and Fredrick Speer also 
associated the CFS symptoms complex with 
food and inhalant allergies.  Dr. Speer referred 
to the "allergic-tension-fatigue" syndrome    
and described "motor fatigue".  Dr. Wm. 
Knicker and a host of other researchers and 
clinicians studying food allergy went on to 
describe a complex of immune mechanisms that 
play a role in food allergy.  Dr. Knicker 
consistently advocated the concept of  "delayed 
pattern food allergy".  The mechanisms of 
delayed pattern food allergy are diverse, 
complex, and different from the mechanism that 
causes the hay fever type of allergy.  A plausible 
explanation for the immune mechanisms which 
cause chronic fatigue-fibromyalgia involve the 
following steps:

  the abnormal entry of large food molecules 
into the bloodstream
  the formation of immune complexes
  the action of chemical mediators released 
by activated immune cells
  the activation of cell-mediated immunity

These food allergy mechanisms are not 
revealed by skin tests nor reliably by any 
other test that is currently available.

Stephen Strauss and associates at the National 
Institute of Health noted a high prevalence of 
allergy (of the type 1 or immediate 
hypersensitivity variety) in patients with CFS.   
While this correlation is interesting it may 
mislead both patients and physicians into 
reliance on skin testing to define "allergy".  The 
authors of this paper failed to differentiate food 
>from  airborne allergy and ignored the delayed 
patterns of food allergy which are well-
described in the medical literature.  Strauss, in 
another paper on the history of chronic fatigue 
syndrome,  studiously ignores all the work done 
of food allergy.  He and other physicians default 
to a limited definition of allergy.  The majority 
of patients we see with CFS do not have skin-
test-positive allergy, but they do have symptoms 
of delayed pattern food allergy, and they often 
get better if they follow the Core Program.

The Core Program is designed to eliminate food 
allergy and also to reduce intake of food 
additives and contaminants.  The most definitive 
clearing program employs an elemental nutrient 
formula (ENFood), composed of nutrients in 
their pure form with no other food intake.  
ENFood allows a sick person to return to a 
baseline of normal functioning, without the 
intake of numerous adverse substances that may 
have been present in their food supply. 

Food and environmental hypersensitivity 
presenting as CFS, is a complex illness which 
takes months or years to resolve.  Many patients 
have lost tolerance to most foods and only feel 
well if they live on a minimal diet,  
supplemented with ENFood, an elemental 
nutrient formula, for several weeks to months.  
They are also hypersensitive to chemicals in 
their environment, and often need special 
protection.  Some are threatened by tissue 
damage from allergic reactions to food antigens 
and need protection with medications such as 
antihistamines, ketotifen, prednisone, and 
sodium cromoglygcate.  Their experience is 
especially distressing, since it points to our 
ignorance about the original causes of food 
problems.
  Rowe, A.J.  Allergic toxemia and migraine due to 
food allergy. Calif West Med, 33:785, 1930.
  Randolph T.G. Allergy as a Causative factor in 
fatigue, irritability , and behaviour problems in 
children.  J. Pediat, 31:560, 1947.
 Speer,F.  The allergic-tension-fatigue syndrome.  
Pediat Clin N. Amer, 1:1019, 1954
 The allergic-tension-fatigue syndrome:  Allergy of the 
Nervous System.  Charles C. Thomas Pub. 1970:14-27.
 Strauss S.E., Dale J.K., Wright RN, Metcalfe D.; 
Allergy and the chronic fatigue syndrome. J. Allergy 
Clin Immunol;81:5,1;791-795, 1988.
 Strauss S. History of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 
Reviews of Inf. Disease 13:sup 1; Jan-Feb'91, 52-57.

The complete instructions for diet revision 
therapy in chronic fatigue, ME and fibromyalgia

Nutritional Therapy volume 2
The Complete Core Program Manual



From bbrid38@aol.com Sun Sep 10 23:24:57 EDT 1995
Article: 41 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: bbrid38@aol.com (BBrid38)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Re: Chronic Fatigue  -  fatigue.txt [1/1]
Date: 10 Sep 1995 11:25:11 -0400
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What is the "Core Program" and "Core Diet"?  How do I obtain it?  The
information in these posts make more sense out of how I have felt than
anything else I have came across.  I have known food allergies, with such
obvious reactions to them that it is obvious they contribute to the
problem.  

The edema, especially in the hands, the fatigue, and joint aches are
symptoms I have had since childhood.  Now as an adult, I have the added
allergy to fragrances.  With fragrances, my response is almost instant,
severe asthma, along with the fatigue, swelling, and joint pain.  Add in
the allergies to mold and mites, and that about covers it.

I also need to find a doctor in the Richmond, Va area that is
knowledgeable in this area.  Routnine allergists have been of little
benefit.  Any information that might lead me in the right direction will
be appreciated.

Thank you
Betty Bridges


From julieg@oceanweather.com Thu Oct 19 22:36:32 EDT 1995
Article: 190 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: julieg@oceanweather.com (Juliet G. Greenwood)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Re: Help!!! I'm allergic to everything...
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 1995 20:05:27 GMT
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an274807@anon.penet.fi (Fig) wrote:


>In article <45gus1$3om@java.imonics.com>, Andrea Dennis
><adennis@imonics.com> wrote:

>> Hey everybody!!!
>> I just got my tests back and I've found out I'm allergic
>> to everything..
>> All of the grains are covered..and legumes too..
>> Does anybody have any recipes for any breads or noodles or
>> anything that does not contain wheat, rice, corn, soy, or beans?
>> 
>> If you do, I'd be more than grateful..
>> Thanks!
>> Andrea

There are out-of-the way grains such as 
    Spelt (an ancient form of wheat), 
    Quinoa (a small, light, delicious grain), 
    Kasha (aka Buckwheat, but no relation to buckwheat)
that should be ok since they don't appear on every ingredient list in
the supermarket.

I also tested allergic to everything and ate no wheat, corn, dairy,
soy, or rice for months, but it didn't help as far as I could tell, so
I quit going to the allergist and found a good acupuncture/chi healer
who is actually helping me.

Good Luck!

<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>
Juliet Greenwood
Oceanweather Inc.
email: julieg@oceanweather.com
www:   http://www.oceanweather.com/~oceanwx/oceanwx.html



From an274807@anon.penet.fi Sat Nov  4 20:06:23 EST 1995
Article: 230 of alt.support.food-allergies
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From: an274807@anon.penet.fi (fig)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Re: Dairy Allergy
Date: 1 Nov 1995 12:53:18 GMT
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I'm not an organic chemist (though had a little a long long time ago) (nor
a doctor) so this is aproximate:

Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate...

  (all numbers are subscripts)

  Lactic acid is a common acid (your body makes it, ask a runner about
  it): H3C-CHOH-COOH

  Stearic Acid: Ch3(Ch2)16COOH

  Sodium Stearoyl (I may be off on this): alcohol/salted vsn of above (ie:
  change end from COOH -->CH2OH, then put the Na in as one of the H.)  I
  think I've seen this on ?shampoo? or some other 'personal health' type
  products.

  Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate - ?combined vsn of above and of lactic acid, minus
    the terminal (acid part)?


  My _suspicion_ is that this is a waxy like compound used either as 
  an emulsifier, as a 'texturizer' or as a binder (or some combo).


Allergic (in all of the below 'molecule' is meant as 'organic molecule'
which implies that it consists only of (H/C/O/N)):

   Very unlikely ... 'small' molecules do not trigger allergies ("usually"),
   as immune response usually comes from 'recognition' (of surface antigens).
   It is possible for some molecule to 'trick' the immune cells to react,
   but this is not usually the case.

   Note that a relatively small molecule, histamine, is released by
   immune cells and that causes some/most of the symptoms of allergies.
   (May sound the same, but a world of difference!)  I do not think
   this molecule would do that, but... you'd have to ask a doctor for
   a committment on that.


I'm not jewish, but I assume the dietary laws are based on origin.
This originated in some test tube (well, some big vat) some
where... w/o any help from any cows or any other livestock (ie:
chemical synthesis).

BTW: knowing the various kosher symbols is an excellent strategy
for many people with allergies.


-f

In article <46vtfu$6qi@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, redpenguin@aol.com
(RedPenguin) wrote:

> I am new to this newsgroup, so please forgive me if this is a redundant
> question. My 8 year old son is allergic to cows milk.  He can tolorate
> goats milk, but not sheep.  I have done extensive reading into this
> allergy, but am stumped by one thing : I am sitting here looking at a loaf
> of ShopRite Sandwich Wheat Bread.  On the front is the Jewish Kosher sign
> for milk free with the word Parve.  However, in the ingredients list is
> the substance Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate.  In some breads, this is listed
> as a dough conditioner along with two other ingredients.  It appears to be
> taking the place of the milk you find in some other breads.  Just what the
> heck is this stuff? If it is a chemical substitute for milk, does it cause
> the same reaction in the allergic person that the true milk does?  Truth
> be told, I am surprised to find this on a product the claims to be dairy
> free.  I am unsure as to whether or not I should avoid this ingredient. 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Pamela

-- 
 But perhaps it was their high intelligence, caused by fetal exposure
 to adrenal progesterone derivates,  and not masculinity that steered
 these women away from marriage.
                                        Irene Elia, The Female Animal
 
[adrenal progesterone are produced by the developing testes]


