Food allergies affect approximately 11 million American adults, causing symptoms that often include a swollen throat, rash, diarrhea, and vomiting. Some well-known food allergens include peanuts, milk, wheat, corn, and sugar. However, there are other allergy-related reactions that are not as dangerous but can still be troublesome, such as hay fever.
It’s crucial to be aware of the various ways that allergic reactions can present themselves, as allergies are manifestations of an immune system on fire. The “fuel” that sparks or maintains the fire in your immune system is mainly what you eat, inhale, or come into contact with on your skin.
Immune Hypersensitivity and Small Intestinal Lining
When it comes to food allergies, immune hypersensitivity starts with your small intestinal lining. Just as your skin protects you from the outside world, your intestinal lining must determine what molecules to allow into your bloodstream and which to block.
Intestinal cells can easily be affected, and the gut lining can become inflamed or damaged. This leads to the term “leaky gut syndrome.” Factors contributing to leaky gut syndrome include the use of antibiotics, consumption of alcohol and caffeine, parasites, chemicals, enzyme deficiencies, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), highly refined carbohydrates, mold, lack of digestive enzymes, and lack of lactobacilli and minerals.
Allergic Response and Auto-Immune Diseases
The antibodies produced as a result of immune hypersensitivity cause an allergic response, leading to auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and thyroiditis. Other chronic illnesses such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, celiac sprue, and even cancer are thought to result from something triggering the immune response.
Moreover, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke are also involved in immune system hypersensitivity, as this inflammation is chronic and low-grade, resulting in scarring known as atherosclerosis. This scarring has similarities to the scarring of arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and chronic scarring inflammation of the lungs.
Bio-Energy Science Approach
An alternative approach to combat immune hypersensitivity is through bio-energy science, which stems from acupuncture. According to this view, the body has subtle bio-“electric” pathways, and blockages in these pathways result in allergies. The best-known method for identifying and eliminating allergies using the bio-energetic technique is called NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique).
Tips to Reduce Allergies and Improve Gut Health
Transitioning to a diet high in nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, and legumes can help slow down and potentially reverse autoimmune inflammation and reduce allergy symptoms. It is important to eliminate refined sugars, refined oils, and processed foods and add nutritional supplements to your diet. These tips may help in reducing allergies and improving gut health:
- Chew your food well to support digestion.
- Take digestive enzymes at the start of each meal.
- Use Bromelain (papaya enzyme) as a digestive enzyme with anti-allergy benefits.
- Consume Betaine HCL to enhance digestion, though be cautious if you have a sensitive stomach.
- Take probiotics daily after a meal to keep a healthy balance of intestinal flora and minimize leaky gut damage.
- Include alkaline minerals in your diet to facilitate metabolic reactions.
- Take L-Glutamine (1000mg three times daily) to support the healing of intestinal lining cells.
- Consume butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid produced by microflora bacteria in the intestinal system.
- Consume fresh juices or green drinks filled with nutrient-dense foods like Spirulina, Chlorella, and Barley.
