Food allergies - is there a natural cure?

Written by Phillip Day

Allergies occur when the immune system produces antibodies against substances in the environment (allergens) that are usually harmless. These substances can include pollens, dust, foods, cosmetics, etc. The body produces antibodies to neutralize the foreign substance, which triggers the release of histamine, which produces what we see as allergies or asthma. As allergies are a result of the histamine inflammatory system we need to first address the body's hydration levels and intake of adequate whole salts. In his insightful book "Water and Salt" Dr. F. Batmanghelidj proclaims the following:

“You can naturally prevent allergies and asthma by drinking more water. When you understand the physiology of the human body and the role of histamine in its water regulation and drought management, you realize that chronic dehydration in a vast majority of people is the primary cause of allergies and asthma. Increased water intake—on a forced, regular basis—should be adopted as a preventive measure as well as the treatment of choice.

In those who have had attacks of asthma or allergic reactions to different pollens foods, more strict attention to daily water intake should become a pre-emptive measure. These people will also have other indicators of dehydration they need to recognize and treat accordingly before a crisis attack of asthma endangers their lives and exposes them to possible, premature death. Don’t forget, the chemical pathways dealing with dehydration have no ‘brain’; they rush forward like a cascade. They are actually called ‘chemical cascades’. These dehydration-induced chemical cascades kill many thousands of asthmatics a year. They are easily ‘turned off’ by water and salt, two strong, natural antihistamines.”

Common food intolerances, such as those for wheat (gluten), milk (casein), chocolate, eggs, oranges and other salicylates may disrupt hormone levels, resulting in mental symptoms that can range from depression to schizophrenia and the classic ‘straitjacket’ problems.

How allergies can lead to mental illness, if untreated

Many of these disorders occurring later in life, described as mental illnesses, may begin early in childhood and show up as eczema, infantile colic, rashes, fits and temper tantrums, excessive mucus formations, frequent rapid colds, hyperactivity, speech difficulties, anxiety, seasonal allergies and coeliac disease (malabsorption of food). All these initially should be regarded as dehydration issues. In the book "Health Wars", I examine the problems brought on by infants force-fed cow’s milk during their first two years’ of life. This is a vulnerable period for a small child, whose immune system usually has not fully developed until the third year. Assaulting the child with multiple vaccinations, foreign and often hostile proteins, such as those found in wheat and cow’s milk, can lead to all sorts of problems such as autism and type 1 diabetes, especially when the child has not been adequately breast-fed to ensure the full spectrum of immune factors are taken to begin with.

Once the immune system is formed, there may be imperfections in how the system performs when assaulted with particles the body identifies as toxins. Damage and scarring to the intestinal wall by gluten/gliaden in wheat, barley, rye and oats, for instance, destroys the finger-like villi which absorb nutrients, leading to coeliac disease, where the food can pass unprocessed through the small intestine. Leaky gut syndrome, where undigested food particles permeate the damaged intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream, is typified by systemic poisoning and a chronic-fatigue reaction of lethargy, listlessness and depression.

Experimental double-blind studies and control trials conclusively demonstrate that wheat, milk, cane sugar, eggs (often the whites), tobacco and food additives are the chief culprits. In one control study, 96 patients diagnosed as suffering from alcohol dependence, major depressive disorders and schizophrenia were compared with 62 control subjects selected from adult hospital staff members for possible food/chemical intolerances. Those suffering as ‘depressives’ were found to be the highest suffering from allergies: 80% were found to be allergic to barley and 100% were allergic to egg white. Over 50% of the alcoholics were found to be allergic to egg white, milk, rye and barley. Of the schizophrenic group, 80% were found to be allergic to both milk and eggs. Only 9% of the control group were found to suffer from any allergies. Dr Batmanghelidj states that the body’s predisposition to react in these ways may be due to the specific ways it behaves during drought-management.

Schizophrenics, routinely treated with drugs, were randomly assigned milk- and gluten-free diets while on the locked ward. They were discharged nearly twice as rapidly as control patients assigned a high-cereal diet. Wheat gluten secretly added to the cereal-free diet undid this effect, showing that wheat gluten was a player in the behavior of these schizophrenic patients.

Eliminating allergens from your diet

Removing problem foods and then reintroducing them one by one under controlled conditions to see if the problems reoccur is known as elimination/challenge testing. This should always be done under clinical supervision, especially when side-effects may be quite severe, such as fits, asthma, anaphylactic shock, severe depression and violent, psychotic episodes.

The anti-histamine effect

In the book "The Mind Game", I examine the effects of histadelia, or excess histamine, in the body, and its association to mental illness. It is interesting to note that many psychiatric medications are very similar in their chemical profiles to antihistamines, and indeed are designed to suppress brain histamine receptors. Tricyclic and antidepressant drugs, such as imipramine (Tofranil) and amitriptyline, are in this group. Other drugs, such as chlorpromazine and promazine, are designed to inhibit histamine production and promazine is used to treat allergies. This seems to confirm the role of histamine excess in related emotional disorders and therefore Batmanghelidj, Pfeiffer, Holford and Hoffer encourage physicians to adapt their patients’ diets before resorting to potentially debilitating medication. Carl Pfeiffer has also devoted much of his professional research time to examining B6 (pyridoxine), zinc and manganese deficiencies, and their role in restoring his patients to health, quoting:

“Several vitamins are noted for their effectiveness in reducing allergic symptoms. Vitamins C and B6 are probably the most effective. Dr William Philpott has used both of these vitamins intravenously to turn off allergic symptoms provoked by testing for allergies. The patients on adequate vitamin C will have fewer allergic symptoms. B6 should be given to the point of nightly dream recall and the minerals calcium and potassium should be plentiful in the diet. Zinc and manganese are also needed by the allergic patient. Elimination of the offending foods may be needed for several months. For multiple food allergies, in which this approach would severely limit the diet, a four-day rotation diet in which each food is eaten only once every four days should be tried. If this approach is unsuccessful, intradermal allergy testing to determine the degree of allergy and the neutralising dose of each allergen is recommended.”

Most patients suffering from food allergies also have pyroluria, where excessive pyrrole chemicals are found in the urine, binding vitamin B6 and zinc (see Pyroluria). Since coeliac damage to the intestinal wall may result in malabsorption of nutrients into the body, while often allowing undigested food proteins into the blood creating allergy, healing of the intestinal system is vital to a restoration of the patient to full nutritional homeostasis.

What you can do today

As a guide your intake should be half of your bodyweight in ounces. i.e. a 140 lb woman should drink 70 oz of water a day (8-10 glasses). Salt used should be organic, unrefined Himalayan, Celtic or sea salt; half a teaspoon per 10 glasses of water per day. Those having trouble sleeping may put a small pinch of salt on their tongue and allow to melt after turning in. This is also a good idea after drinking two glasses of water upon rising. Sensors on the tongue detect salt intake and help suspend the body’s production of histamine.

source: www.credence.org

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Previous Comments

Clement RHEIN commented on 08-Jul-2009 09:51 PM5 out of 5 stars
Could it be that its the body's hydration management that is dysfunctional, rather than the amount of water intake? In other words, a problem within the body's physiology, which is made better with an increased intake of water, but not resolved.

I have trouble understanding the benefits of forced drinking: why, if one needs water (dehydrated) one is not thirsty? Is this another dysfunction in physiology?
bev commented on 09-Jul-2009 12:49 AM1 out of 5 stars
I have been feeling better since drinking 8 to 10 glasses a day. At first my body rebelled then Icraved water bev
Anonymous commented on 09-Jul-2009 10:33 AM5 out of 5 stars
So is this article stating the fact that if someone does not remember there dreams from the night before they are lacking vitamin b6?
Healthpioner commented on 09-Jul-2009 10:53 AM5 out of 5 stars
you don't need to take 8 or more glases a day when you drink other stuf instead.
Like a glas of fruit from the blender has at least 95% water in it.
And so on verything we eat has lots of water in.
Therefore I believe to you must never force your body by trieing more that it realy likes.
Let you body decide like the instinct therapy
Bojack King (from my Tweets) AUSTRALIA commented on 09-Jul-2009 03:31 PM5 out of 5 stars
I found the rationale very interesting and by life experience I well noted the value of natural healing...dr's tend to know sweet F A, so far Natural therapies have treated me briliantly ey Dr's have caused me to die once from incompentence and told my 15 year she was going to die and that was the Professor's total incompentence therefor I am well experienced in natural therapy by necessity so keep the site up, wonderful info because I believe Dr's and pharmacutical companys will kill or harms us much faster then anything in nature
sandra commented on 11-Jul-2009 11:52 AM5 out of 5 stars
I agree with Bojack king, I have no faith in doctors. But on the natural path, where the heck do you start?
Anonymous commented on 11-Jul-2009 04:18 PM1 out of 5 stars
i drink 2-3lt of water daily, and suffer allergies. i find powdered vitamin c 2-3 times a day and cedarwood essential oil are the best natural things to relieve symptoms, and believe me i have tried everything!!
ShawnHS commented on 13-Jul-2009 12:32 PM5 out of 5 stars
Dr. F. Batmanghelidj spent somewhere around 25 yrs. studying the symptoms of by unintentional dehydration. Thirst is one of the last symptoms of being dehydrated. Being chronically dehydrated can create a whole host of problems that are labeled as many different diseases. Our bodies recognize and process water differently than when it is mixed with something like food. I recommend reading Dr. F. Batmanghelidj's books to learn more.
Anonymous commented on 14-Jul-2009 04:50 PM5 out of 5 stars
Thank you for your articles and keep up the good work. I have suffered depression and a variety of other similar disorders and have definitely found that when I lay off the gluten, chocolate and egg whites and increase my water and vitamin intake that I am a much more positive person, and I start to feel normal again. It's great to have this reinforcement that what I'm doing is right and it's great to learn that there IS some way that I can repair my immune and digestive systems - an issue that seems to be plaguing so many people nowadays. It's sad that many people are suffering from illnesses that can be overcome yet doctors simply don't recognise and can't treat them. You feel like you're going crazy because you know things aren't right and you don't feel like yourself, yet doctors tell you there's nothing wrong with you or pump you full of unnecessary and ineffective drugs. Your site is a real God-send for me. Thanks.
June Backhouse commented on 16-Jul-2009 07:34 AM4 out of 5 stars
Two simple ways to test whether your body needs water are:-
1. Lightly pinch the skin (front of your neck or the back of your hand.) If it doesn't spring straight back --- you are short of water.
2. Your urine should be nearly clear in colour. If it isn't, you are short of water.
liz commented on 21-Aug-2010 12:35 AM5 out of 5 stars
will this method work for someone who is allergic to crustations, I already drink 2 litres of water per day and comsume 300mg of vitamin c. I still come up with a burning itchy rash when touching crustations and cannot eat them as my throat closes over.
adri commented on 05-Sep-2010 08:10 PM5 out of 5 stars
Fot what it is worth - Lifestem is a glyconutrient From South Africa and I have a lot of positive responses. Alergic reactions(myself and others), diabetes, Cholesterol (myself and others), blood sugar stability (myself and others) and lots of energy. Also have a friend with lung cancer that is doing fantastic for almost two years already without any chemo.
Alison commented on 01-Jun-2011 03:54 PM5 out of 5 stars
I've been trying out water therapy for my severe sinusitis and asthma, and the results in just 2 weeks are nothing short of incredible. For 10 years I suffered the humid weather... sometimes I thought I was going insane. Drinking 12-14 glasses of water
a day has brought me back from the brink. My body expelled a ton of toxins at first, but I can breathe clearly now, and the humidity has almost zero effect on my system. I've been doing things like switching over to more raw foods, eating less acid stuff,
incorporating more seeds and greens in my diet, and I still think these are very important in the long run. But NOTHING gave me the dramatic results that just drinking more water has done!! Hats off to Doc Batman for his research and discoveries.
Nohemi :) commented on 05-Jan-2012 05:54 PM5 out of 5 stars
Thank you for sharing this information. I have found that I feel so much better throughout the day when I start by drinking 1 liter of water before anything else.
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