|
AllergyAllergy is a state of altered reactivity or over reactivity of the immune system to environmental or food substances which are called by the general term, “allergens”. It can be a reaction to literally anything from food allergy to chemicals to airborne substances such as pollen. Allergy is often overlooked as a causal factor in other conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Often, physicians view allergies as specific individual reactions and fail to adequately consider the immune response as a whole. Alternative medicine looks at the problem differently. Visualize yourself as sitting on a teeter totter. Sitting on the other end is your allergies. The allergies are cumulative, that is, they pile up on the other end of the teeter totter. For example, you may have pollen allergy, piled upon weed spray allergy, piled upon chemical allergy piled upon a number of different food allergies. As long as they don't reach a certain level of accumulation they do not overwhelm your weight on the other end of the board, your feet stay on the ground and you have no immune reaction. When they do, you begin to get allergy symptoms. Then, if you remove them one by one, your immune system gets better, and you eventually get your feet back on the ground. Simultaneously, your symptoms get better. The point is, your immune system doesn't really differentiate which type of allergy it is responding to, it just responds. Therefore, you can have food allergies along side airborne allergies such as pollen. But, if you can eliminate some of the allergens, say, the food allergies, your overall immune reaction decreases and your symptoms decrease. It gets your end of the teeter totter back on the ground. Please study the Food Allergy (link below) pages of this web site for in depth discussion of food related allergies. One of the best things to do for airborne allergies is to place a good quality air filter in the bedroom of the allergy sufferer. It is important to understand how allergies get started in the first place. If the parents of a child have allergies, the probability is increased for the child to also have them. However, it is known that exposure to allergenic substances in infancy is a primary cause of allergies later in life. Dust mites which are everywhere and especially in carpets can sensitize an infant. Parents should be careful about allowing infants to play on the carpet without a blanket or other floor cover. The same applies to food allergies. Infants should be breast fed until at least the age of 6 months. Then solid foods can be gradually introduced. The use of non-breast foods at an early age, especially cow's milk, can sensitize the infant to food allergies. Usually, their immune systems are capable of handling mild foods after six months of age. Nutrients known to be beneficial for allergies include vitamin C, bioflavonoids, vitamin E, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, quercetin, pantethenic acid, and Omega 6 fatty acids. Herbal remedies include echinacea, Siberian ginseng and garlic. We recommend a Comprehensive Health Assessment for allergy sufferers It is an online self-assessment of the history and symptoms related to various health conditions including allergy. It is a simple, inexpensive way to evaluate your allergy status from an alternative medicine viewpoint and includes assessment of the allergy related pages listed below. Allergy Related Pages of this Web Site Food Allergy |