An Excellent Article on Food Allergies

I recently ran across a 2004 research article on IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and food allergies. It is the only article that I've seen that provides a comprehensive look at IBS, addressing many of the issues that we find to be important in helping people solve their digestive problems and other health problems.

The abstract reads: The notion of food allergy in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is not new. However, recent evidence suggests significant reduction in IBS symptom severity in patients on elimination diets, provided that dietary elimination is based on foods against which the individual had raised IgG antibodies (emphasis mine). These findings should encourage studies dissecting the mechanisms responsible for IgG production against dietary antigens and their putative role in IBS.

However, most interesting and enlightening is the authors statement on how we view and use the word allergy. It's a bit technical, but I think that you'll find it helpful.

Bringing empirical observations ad fontes advances science. In astrophysics, the term “black hole” was introduced to describe an extremely dense star which had collapsed into a singularity under its own gravity. A black hole radiates nothing; it absorbs all matter and energy falling within its sphere. The name was coined only after revisiting the initial theoretical achievements of Karl Schwarzschild, when observations made outside the earth’s atmosphere gave astrophysicists empirical x ray data on a new type of cosmic object. In allergology, in contrast, adherence to a paradigm whereby allergy is defined by the presence of specific IgE antibodies has hampered disentanglement. As a result, allergy remains a dubiously defined term with no unambiguous empirical content or explanatory power. The time has come to seize upon the available empirical data and plunge into the original theory of Clemens von Pirquet.

The term allergy was introduced by von Pirquet to denote a changed immunological reactivity which manifests itself on second exposure to an antigen (reviewed by Kay1). This altered reactivity is uncommitted, giving no indication of the direction of change; equally harmful and protective immune reactivity reflects prior encounter (see fig 1 [triangle]Figure 1). In modern terms, altered reactivity can be seen to evince either the most common mode of immune response elicited by the intestinal immune system, tolerance, recently defined as any mechanism by which a potentially injurious immune response is prevented, suppressed, or shifted to a non-injurious class of immune response,2 or abrogation of such an actively maintained process, which is currently linked to immunoinflammatory disease. Reassessment of the original theory of allergy is important as it would appear that it is not the immunological resources gained during antigen exposure, measurable by specific antibodies or specifically responding lymphocytes, which are decisive for the presence or absence of disease, but the complex cascade of events determining their use.

Essentially the article is pointing out that in practice we have traditionally limited ourselves to using the word allergy only when we believe that it is an IgE reaction to something. Yet the immune system is capable of manifesting many different types of allergic reactions, not just IgE reactions.

This is exactly the kind of thinking that I too have found to be incredibly disruptive to our understanding of why we are unhealthy. Medicine seems to be far less scientific than other branches of science, if one can even call medicine a branch of science.

And finally, the article has this to say about IBS: In common with allergic disease, IBS appears to result from an interplay between susceptibility genes and impaired gut barrier functions, immunological dysregulation, together with bacterial and viral infections and other environmental factors.

A rare breath of fresh air and keen thinking in the world of IBS. Thank you to the lead author, Dr. Isolauri of Finland. You can see the full article at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1774228/. You can also find many other excellent and related articles at the Innate Health Foundation Website.

Rice Nog for the Holidays

Since we're on a rice theme I wanted to tell you about a new product that my family discovered this year.

You've all heard of Eggnog, that incredibly rich, fatty, heavy, calorie laden and allergenic product that humans like to drink this time of year. Of course, if you should be avoiding dairy and/or egg (or simply care about your health, which I realize is not a holiday theme) then it is about the worst thing that you could possibly do to yourself.

As an alternative we started to see Soy Nog a few years ago. This is a great option if you can eat soy based products, and for everyone else is a better way to get the flavor of eggnog without the toxicity of real eggnog, but it still left some people without an option.

It was only a matter of time until it came out, and this year we have Rice Nog. Rice Nog may be even lighter than Soy Nog, and certainly has that yummy flavor without all of the excessiveness.

I think that it's been out for a year, but this year is the first time that I've seen it in my local grocery store. It doesn't seem to be on the Rice Dream website, and I didn't find a site listing all of the ingredients, but I can tell you that they did add cane sugar to it.

So enjoy some holiday cheer, and don't let your 8 year old drink the whole container before you get some!

Rice Yogurt

A patient recently informed me that she had found rice yogurt at Whole Foods and found it to be "really really good!" I thought that I'd pass this along because I haven't seen rice based yogurt very often. Maybe it's becoming easier to find.

Of course, if you should avoid dairy and soy, then your yogurt choices become much more limited. But now there is also coconut milk based yogurts, which come in several flavors and I find quite nice.

You can learn more about Ricera Yogurt products at www.ricerafoods.com.

By the way, she liked the vanilla flavor.

Car Sickness and Food Allergies

Numerous patients have expressed to me how they used to get sick when they would ride in a car. People often think that this is just the way it is, but many people find that when they discover their gluten intolerance or food allergy and eliminate that food from their diet that they no longer get nauseated when riding in a vehicle.

This is a very logical connection. If your digestive tract is already upset, even slightly, then riding in a car is probably only going to make it worse. Even if you don't have any other noticeable digestive problems, being in a car can be just enough to bring out the symptoms of a weak digestive tract.

So keep this in mind if you know anyone who has a problem with car sickness or motion sickness. It may just be that they have a food allergy or intolerance.

Gluten Free Stuffing

In honor of the upcoming holiday I am passing along a GF stuffing recipe that I recently picked up. It's called Basic Stuffing. If you've got another favorite stuffing recipe, don't be shy about posting it here!

This is a simple stuffing of herbs, bread, onion, celery and butter or nondairy butter, moistened with stock and baked in the oven.

8 cups of stale, finely cubed bread
1/2 pound butter or nondairy spread
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

Saute the onions and celery in the butter and add the pepper. Stir in the cubed bread and mix to moisten. Place into a buttered casserole dish, adding just enough stock to moisten to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

VA, PA, RI, CT, and NYC

Wow, what a trip. I may have overdone it by scheduling 6 talks in 5 days, but it was worth it. I met a lot of fantastic gluten free people and shared the good news about how gluten intolerance affects the lives of millions.

I can’t thank you all enough for coming out to hear me. There were large and supportive groups in Richmond, Gettysburg, Hershey, and Pascoag, and a small but enthusiastic class in NYC at the unique Natural Gourmet Institute. (For those of you counting, the sixth engagement was a gastroenterology class at the University of Bridgeport school of Naturopathic Medicine.)

I heard numerous stories from attendees about how going gluten free had dramatically changed their lives or the lives of loved ones. On this trip stories often involved the resolution of lupus, arthritis, and other autoimmune problems, which was wonderful to hear. And the stories also often involved many of the other 200 problems discussed in my book, “Healthier Without Wheat.” And some parents told me stories of their children who were near death before discovering their gluten intolerance, or whose parents likely died of gluten intolerance.

As always, I come away from these talks far richer and more knowledgeable than before I started them. And hopefully I shared some things that I’ve learned over the years that will make a difference in someone elses life.

NEW PRODUCTS!
I also met several new vendors of gluten free foods, and saw some old ones. PF Chang’s provided us tasty food in Richmond, and I had a nice gluten free Italian meal at Piazza Sorrento’s Italian restaurant in Hershey, PA.

I discovered gluten free soft pretzels from Tonya's Gluten Free Kitchen in Pennsylvania (BenBer@comcast.net, 717-272-6922). Learned about a brand new batter mix for gluten free frying called Choice Batter (www.ChoiceBatter.com), which you should definitely check out if you miss onion rings and fried chicken. Met Grandma of Grandma's Gone Gluten Free, also in Pennsylvania, and saw Apples's Bakery gluten free kitchen.

As well I discovered Angel Food in Pennsylvania, which makes and ships allergen free breaded chicken tenders, breaded chicken breast nuggets, breaded chicken wings, breaded cubed steak, and breaded chicken fillets. Learn more at www.AngelFoodMinistries.com. And in Rhode Island I met A & J bakery, proud makers of a special nut and gluten free product line.

I apologize to all of the other vendors and wonderful people at these events whom I failed to mention. Feel free to mention yourself below.

I’m looking forward to my next swing out east in the spring, when I’ll be in Boston, New Jersey, and possibly a few other places, though I may try to keep that trip a bit more manageable and enjoy the local flavor more. The amount of history that I missed in Richmond and Gettysburg alone could fit several textbooks!

Soy Fee Soy Sauce?!!

Well, the day has finally arrived. There now exists a soy sauce product that is not only wheat free but also soy free. I was just informed yesterday and I still can't believe it.

So what is this product made from? You'll never guess. It's made from coconut, the miracle nut that seems to give us endless hypoallergenic alternative food options.

This product, called Coconut Aminos, is being made by a company called Coconut Secret. As it turns out, they make many other interesting coconut based products as well, including coconut flour, coconut crystals (a sugar substitute), coconut vinegar, coconut nectar, and coconut cream.

They are definitely worth a look. You can see all of this and more by visiting www.coconutsecret.com.