Special Diets

Natural Lifestyle © Natural Lifestyle in connection with Natural Health Week

When food freaks out your body, keep your system stress-free. By Lisa Burn...

What is it?

According to Allergy UK over 40% of the population are affected by allergies of one form or another. Alarmingly it states: "Each year the numbers are increasing by 5% with as many as half of all those affected being children."

Allergy occurs as a reaction to one or more triggers. The immune system believes the allergen is harmful and produces the antibody IgE, which leads to the production of histamine. In severe cases -such as in peanut allergy - the resulting reaction can be fatal if not treated quickly.

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Commonly referred to as an allergy, food sensitivity or intolerance is not so severe but can nonetheless make life miserable for sufferers. Reactions can occur one or two days after eating the suspect food, with symptoms as diverse as diarrhoea, rashes, lethargy and depression. Moreover, sensitivity can develop at any stage, so you could have been eating a particular food all of your life then one day develop an intolerance to it.

Common culprits

Peanuts and to a lesser extent other nuts, can cause extreme reactions in susceptible individuals. Even coming into contact with peanuts through touch can trigger a fullblown reaction, causing the throat to swell up, heart rate to alter, anaphylactic shock to ensue followed - if not treated with adrenalin - by death. People with a peanut allergy should avoid all contact with nuts, including checking ingredient listings on food and on menus before ordering meals in restaurants. Sesame seeds, eggs, dairy and shellfish can also provoke anaphylaxis.

For people suffering from food intolerance the effects can be harder to see and the culprit any one of a number of substances. Apparently unconnected symptoms could all be traced to food sensitivity, for example IBS, headaches, tiredness, constipation, eczema, asthma, lack of concentration and appetite for life. Food intolerance is common with cow's milk (either to the sugar, lactose, it contains or its proteins), wheat, gluten, caffeine and alcohol. Gluten intolerance or coeliac disease is on the increase in the UK, with, it is thought, one in 300 people sensitive to this protein, which is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. Feeding a baby cow's milk and/ or wheat too early can overload their immature digestive and immune systems, so sowing the seeds for food sensitivity. Indeed, the Government now recommends that nothing but breast milk or formula be given to infants until they are six months old (previously four months) and cow's milk should not be given to children under the age of 12 months.

Keep a food diary to try and discover what foods you are sensitive to. If you do suspect a certain food could be the source of your ills try eliminating it from your diet for 10 days and see if your symptoms improve. A long-term elimination diet should not be undertaken without the advice of a nutritionist or nutritional therapist, who should also be able to offer allergy and food intolerance tests.

What do you eat instead?

If milk is your problem then try one of the delicious alternatives from the health store or supermarket. Soya, nut, rice and oat 'milks' are all available and can be used as drinks, in cooking or over cereal. Some are enriched with calcium and vitamins as well as coming in different flavours such as vanilla, chocolate and strawberry as well as original. Or, drop milk-type drinks from your diet altogether and replace them with caffeine-free fruit, herb and rooibos teas, {SDFJ fruit and vegetable juices and mineral water.

Coeliacs have to avoid gluten, so no wheat, rye or barley though some sufferers can tolerate oats. Specialist gluten-free breads, biscuits, cakes and pastas are available or buy gluten-free flour and do a little home baking. Decaffeinated coffee could be the answer to coffee flushes or try coffee substitutes containing chicory, barley or dandelion. Giving up alcohol is a good idea whether you are sensitive to it or not as it puts a strain on your liver, is full of empty calories and causes dehydration. Help stop cravings by supplementing with chromium, support your liver with milk thistle and repair damage to your gut caused by alcohol with a glutamine supplement.

Supplemental Help

Food intolerance can compromise the immune system and this can be helped with probiotics. These increase levels of friendly bacteria in the gut, helping the permanent friendly bacteria in times of stress or illness. Increase your intake of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E - vitamin E is also an anti-inflammatory (inflammation is one effect of allergy) by eating more fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds and brown rice and taking an antioxidant supplement. To this end also increase intake of oily fish such as mackerel, salmon and fresh tuna as well as seeds such as linseeds and sunflower seeds for their essential fatty adds. On the herbal front, echinacea is well known for strengthening the immune system, pinebark extract is anti-inflammatory, peppermint reduces wind and increases peristalsis in the bowel, chamomile soothes digestive spasms, ginger reduces nausea and slippery elm reduces inflammation of the mucous membranes in the gut. If food intolerance results in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) aloe vera juice may help.

Essential oils of lavender, chamomile, sandalwood, rose and melissa in baths, massages and inhalations are used by aromatherapists to treat allergy. They are calming and soothing, working to alleviate stress, which in itself is thought to cause or exacerbate allergic reactions in some instances.©