Allergies (III)

For most people, allergies are no more than another frustrating fact of life. An immune response is triggered by a substance that is generally harmless, such as a specific food. However, for those who suffer severe allergic reaction, it can be life-threatening.

What is allergy?

 

An allergy is an inappropriate response by the body’s immune system to a substance non-toxic in nature. As our immune system provides the defence against pathogens, it mobilises our white blood cells to rid them. However, there are instances where it spots a non-toxic substance as an invader and overacts, causing damage to the body as such. Pollen, molds, dusts, certain metals, cosmetics, some food additives and foods, chemicals found in soap, washing powder, cleaning supplies contain substances that provoke allergic responses are some common allergens.

Who can be affected?

Compared to a few decades ago, allergic reaction in children seems to be a common complaint these days especially in developed countries. Strangely, the pattern of allergy is also changing. It used to be more incidence of asthma and allergic rhinitis. However, recent studies showed that skin and food allergies are catching up too.


(A)  FOOD allergies are more common in children than adults, given their underdeveloped immune system. However, most children outgrow their food allergies by 5 years old with maturing immunity, with exception of certain allergies like peanuts, tree nuts or shellfish.

 

 

Unlike children, once adults acquire a food allergy, it tends to persist. This adverse reaction can happen during the first trial or a repeat but previously tolerant of. Though food may be taken for the first time, but it may share a similar protein to another food sensitised or allergic to. An allergy syndrome that affects the mouth and tongue may occur after eating certain fresh fruits and vegetables that contain substances similar to certain pollens. For example, melon contains substances similar to ragweed pollen and apples have allergens similar to tree pollen. The prime suspect is auto-immune disorder especially when a protein in the food acts as an allergic component upon entering the body and being mistaken for a harmful substance.


The food range is wider of which seafood such as shrimps and crabs are frequently cited. Other intolerances are corn products, cow’s milk and dairy products, and wheat and other gluten-containing grains. Contrary to most beliefs, food additives, such as dyes, thickeners and preservatives may rarely cause an allergic or intolerance reaction.  Many people believe they have food allergies, while in reality fewer than 1% have true allergies.


Symptoms usually begin immediately, within 2 hours after eating. Rarely, the symptoms may begin hours after eating the offending food. The immune system responds by creating immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to protect the body. At this point is considered ‘sensitised‘ but not yet allergic.

 

Upon subsequent encounters with the same food invoking the same reaction, it triggers the release of IgE antibodies and chemicals such as histamines. This is confirmed an allergy, with accompanying symptoms like hives, itching, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting. Other symptoms manifesting include:

 

- Impaired health possibilities like asthma attack, sinusitis or eczema, arthritis, indigestion, abdominal pain, depression, chronic fatigue, fainting.

- Skin rashes, wheezing, nasal congestion, running nose, headache, itching of the mouth, throat, eyes, skin or any area, shortness of breath.

In more severe cases, the throat tightens and the blood pressure drops, loss of consciousness and possibly death. Allergens most frequently associated with this type of drastic reaction are peanuts, nuts, milk, egg and seafood.


(B) SKIN allergies can be broadly categorized into hives with/without swelling and dermatitis (eg. eczema).

- Hives are itchy rashes characterized by localized redness and swelling of the skin with tiny lesions to large itchy welts. About 15% of people develop an episode in their lifetime. The duration can be few days or up to six weeks whilst chronic cases can persist more than six weeks. It can manifest due to swelling in the deeper layers of the skin, most often involves the eyelids, lips, tongue, hands and feet.


-  Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin and rashes are usually red, scaly and itchy.

Commonly referred to as eczema, it can also result in dryness and hypersensitivity. Owing to hereditary factor and lower immunity, 20% of children end up having this condition by three years old. Thereafter, it should improve as the child gets older. However, some eczema might persist into adulthood. The affected areas are the face, neck, elbow and the back of the knees. The causative agents are food and environmental allergens, stress, weather changes and irritants. As dry skin is the hallmark of eczema, keeping the skin moisturized is necessary to prevent allergens from penetrating it. 

Causes


It is believed to be attributed to industrialization, change in dietary habits and environmental pollutants as the switching on and off of regulatory genes promotes the immune system to be more reactive/allergic. Other possible causes are:


+ Genetic factor

 

The tendency of an individual to produce IgE against something seemingly as innocuous as food appears to be inherited. Generally, people with allergies come from families in which allergies are common - not necessarily to food but perhaps allergies to pollen, fur, feathers or drugs.
 

Statistics showed a person with two allergic parents is more likely to develop food allergies than someone with one allergic parent. The chance of a child getting allergy is 1/3 if a parent has allergies and risen to 3/4 if both have such problems.

 

+ Other allergies like asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis (mostly inherited)

 

+ Immune system

 

Two components are involved. As mentioned above, an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE), which circulates through the blood, and the mast cell, a specialized cell that is found in all tissues of the body, especially the typical sites of allergic reactions such as nose and throat, lungs, skin and gastrointestinal tract.

 

Cells of the immune system are distributed all over our body in organs such as the bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes. The highest numbers of immune cells surround our gut and thus the gut immune system plays an important role in the development of IgE-mediated food allergy.

 

+ Gut environment

 

- A foetus starts off with a sterile gut and through time, bacteria and other microorganisms from the mother and the surrounding environment colonize the infant’s gut. In a healthy adult, there are no less than 400 different species of beneficial bacteria. Research suggests that these microorganisms are involved in a range of useful functions, such as teaching the gut immune system to recognise foods as harmless.

 

Is likely that changes in the composition of bacteria in the gut (e.g. caused by antibiotics) may result in the development of food allergy. It has been observed by researchers that allergic and non-allergic infants have different mixtures of bacteria in their guts and thus prevention of allergy can be done by changing this mixture. It is found that breastfeeding babies are less likely to develop allergies because infant formula is likely to contain certain allergenic ingredients such as cow’s milk according to a research by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre. Hence, pregnant women should avoid cow’s milk and other allergenic foods.

 

- If the food is not broken down properly in the gut, food allergens are given the chance to circulate in the body. This happens in individuals with reduced stomach acidity (e.g. taking too much drugs) who may be predisposed to becoming food allergic or it may worsen the symptoms of a pre-existing food allergy.

 

- Leaky gut syndrome occurs when the lining of the intestinal tract becomes perforated and irritated, with some partially digested food entering the bloodstream and causes an allergic reaction.

 

We can safely conclude from statistics gathered that allergic people tend to have weaker digestive systems due to a lack of friendly bacteria. Low digestive enzymes slow down the breaking process and resultant gas built up that can be re-circulated into the bloodstream, provoking the immune system to produce symptoms.

 

Recommended actions

 

+ Foods to avoid

 

- Common allergic foods to watch out are: chocolate, dairy products, eggs, shellfish, strawberries, wheat, prawns.

- As for eczema sufferers, avoid high-sugar and refined or processed foods as they can stimulate inflammation, along with meats and dairy products containing saturated fats. Coffee may also worsen eczema, so eliminating coffee from the diet may help.

 

+ Foods to include

 

- Counteract with natural products containing flavonoids such as quercitin (found in apples, onions, red wine and black tea) and grape seed extract as they have anti-histamine effect.

- Honey, Omega 3 and primrose oil can help to reduce inflammation.

 

+ Self-test

 

- Finding the specific foods one is allergic to is a challenging task. Many tests have to be carried out with total avoidance of all ‘suspected foods’ and introduce each singly to check for reaction. Elimination and abstinence cannot be practised for an extended time as it affects one’s quality of life and gives undue stress. After long trials it can drain the body of essential nutrients.

 

Before proceeding for elaborate lab test, you may like to conduct a simple allergy test. In a relaxed mode, take count of the number of beats in a minute on your wrist. A normal pulse reading is between 52-70. Take the food you suspect allergic to and wait another 20 mins to do a second reading. If the rate increased more than 10 beats per min, omit this food from your diet for a month and repeat the test. Similar results yield positive correlation. Preferably choose the suspected food in its purest form (not mixing with other ingredients) to determine the culprit responsible.

 

+ Lab test
 

- A better way to detect allergies is to measure the levels of the immune protein IgG (delayed allergy) and IgE (immediate allergy) present on most common foods taken, or known as immune markers of allergy.

 

Source: Straits Times, Mind your Body Jun 2, 2011;

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001820/

Conclusion

For majority of the people, the primary underlying cause for allergies is a weak constitution. A major step to take is to detoxify and strengthen the vital organ - liver.  This is to follow with good supplementation to experience decreased food reactions, and disappearance of accompanying symptoms to enjoy a new lease of life!

VIVA corner

VIVA Omega 3 in triglyceride form is 3 times more absorbable than a non-triglyceride form and has higher content of EPA and DHA available in the market. Both EPA and DHA can inhibit tumor growth and reduce inflammation effectively as explained by the University of Maryland due to its ability to decrease levels of leukotriene B4.

Every scoop of VIVA Floraguard introduces 10.2 billion friendly bacteria into our digestive system. These so-called probiotics help to ease allergic reactions and improve digestion quickly.


VIVA Cellpex has an important ingredient - milk thistle that can help to eliminate toxins and strengthen the liver function. Another key ingredient - grape seed extract has anti-histamine effect.

 

Vivashield with its potent 4 in 1 antioxidant combination has antihistamine actions that can decrease allergy response and support the immune system, rendering help in treating serious skin allergies like psoriasis and eczema symptoms, reducing skin inflammation, itching, redness, scaling and dryness.