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 FOOD ALLERGIES & DIGESTION

FOOD ALLERGIES​ & SENSITIVITIES

The 4 Gell-Coombs Immune Responses +2.
1. IgE Antibodies = Immediate Severe Allergies
​
2. Lectins = Allergens bind cells (RBC and gut).
3. IgG Antibodies = Delayed Immune Complex.
4. T-Cell Allergies = Delayed Reactions, WBC. 
5. IgD Antibodies = Fever To Small Allergens.
​
6. IgA Antibodies = Secretory & Protective.

​DEFINE FOOD ALLERGY
​"A food allergy (hypersensitivity) is an exaggerated immune response to a food, involving 
glycoprotein components in foods," leading to inflammation.  Despite allergy politics and semantic debates, this definition fits all 6 kinds of food sensitivities.  Hence we call them all "food allergies."   Food allergies can vary by the person, the food, the symptoms, and the type of immune response.  Gell & Coombs first described their 4 hypersensitivity reactions in 1963.  It was first applied to drug reactions, and later to foods.  Two more food allergies have been discovered since then.  [Types do not include IgM antibodies, which are for new infections, and have no memory, so they are not classified as allergic.]
TYPE 1 - IgE
IgE immediate reactions occur within 1 to 60 minutes.  They affect only 20% of people, but are the most severe, and can be life threatening.  IgE antibodies mainly attach to food allergens on MAST Cells in mucus membranes, releasing histamine and leukotrienes.  Both are cytokines (chemical messengers) that cause inflammation.  Histamine symptoms include: rhinitis (runny nose), sinusitis, hives, eczema, red flushing cheeks or ears.  Leukotrienes cause asthma, cough-variant asthma, and/or anaphylactic shock.  Reactions often involve dairy, seafood, nuts and beans, and aero allergens (ragweed, pollen, etc.)  They can be tested by skin prick or blood tests (RAST-IgE, Hytec288 MCS-IgE, or ImmunoCap).
TYPE 2 - LECTINS
Lectin reactions are delayed 8 – 72 hours.  Lectins are allergens that bind directly to cells in the digestive lining or on red blood cells, causing inflammation and damage.  Symptoms include: digestive swelling or destruction of red blood cells causing anemia.  Scientific articles describe 65 food lectins that attach to cells with A, B or O blood type markers (called Hemagglutinins).  Remaining lectins attach to all red blood cell types (called Panhemagglutinins).  Common foods containing lectins include: beans, seafood, and vegetables.  However, 95% of lectins are destroyed by cooking and digestion.  
TYPE 3 - IgG
IgG delayed reactions occur within 8 – 72 hours, and are involved in 80% of food reactions.  IgG antibodies bind to food allergens and neutrophils (white blood cells) in the blood, and form immune complexes that then deposit in tissues and organs.  These cause inflammation and damage and can sometimes lead to autoimmune conditions.  Symptoms include: liver and digestive problems, rashes, joint pains, kidney disease, and other problems.  They often involve milk, eggs, and gluten grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats).  They can be tested by ELISA-IgG blood tests, but were formerly tested by RAST-IgG.
TYPE 4 - T-cells
Delayed T-cell reactions occur within 8 – 72 hours.  Macrophages (white scavenger cells) engulf food allergens and transfer these to T-Cells.  Both cells release interleukins (cell messengers) that stimulate the immune system, causing tissue damage, inflammatory diseases and can sometimes lead to autoimmune conditions.  Symptoms include contact allergies, rashes, joint pains, and digestive problems.  They often involve dairy, nightshades, sugars, and chemical sensitivities.  They can be tested by the ELISA/ACT LRA blood test.
TYPE 5 -  IgD
IgD has been a puzzle since it's discovery in 1964.  Its primariy function is to activate B cells, immune cells which make antibodies.  Hyper-IgD is associated with "Famillial Mediterranean Fever", which includes digestive problems and muscle pains, and is caused by a genetic mutation of Mevolonate kinase deficiency.  IgD's reactions to individual foods have only been discovered and published in the last 10 - 15 years.  It has mechanisms in common with both immediate and delayed reactions.  IgD antibodies are released in the blood and secretions (saliva, digestive juices), and react with small molecules.  These include: sulfites, chemical dyes, food additives, iodine, alcohol, and gluten in grains.  Symptoms include fever and inflammation, but can also include hives and eczema like IgE, but not consistently to the same foods as IgE.  No commercial tests are available yet -- except for total IgD.  
TYPE 6 - S-IgA
Secretory IgA antibodies are protective, but rarely inflammatory.  Tests for these do not normally identify allergies.  Primarily, S-IgA1 makes up about 80% of total IgA, and protects the mucosal immune system against microbes in bodily secretions, such as: saliva, tears, nasal mucus, breast milk, vaginal mucus, semen, sweat, digestive juices, etc.  IgA2 primarily protects the colon.  However, S-IgA antibodies are elevated in Celiac Disease (a food intolerance that damages the intestinal celia), and associated gluten diseases: Dermatitis Herpetiformis (skin), and Gluten Ataxia (brain).   These reactions can be tested by blood.

DIGESTIVE & OTHER FOOD REACTIONS

        * Food Intolerances.    
        * Histamine Intolerance.
        * Opioid Peptides (Morphins).
* Chemical Sensitivities.
* Inflammatory Digestive Diseases.  
* Autoimmune Conditions.
1. FOOD INTOLERANCES
A food intolerance is the lack of an enzyme to digest a specific kind of food.  Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance is a lack of the enzyme necessary to digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, oats, triticale, and spelt.  This causes damage to the "celia" or "villi" in the intestines, impairing proper absorption of foods.  Cases range from mild to fatal malnutrition.  The highest incidence of Celiac Disease is among the Irish, Swiss, and blood type O.  Lactose Intolerance is the lack of the enzyme necessary to digest "lactose" (milk sugar), causing diarrhea.  Lactose intolerance is common among most adults in the world.  The enzyme disappears at age 2 in Japanese and at puberty in the Danish, who have the highest dairy tolerance.
2. HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE
Histamine intolerance is the release of excess histamine where insufficient levels of the enzyme Diamine Oxidase (aka histaminase) exist to breakdown the histamine.  This imbalance can be genetic or environmental.  It can be caused by excessive histamine released by Mast cells (and IgE), causing immediate allergies (1 - 60 minutes).  It can also be caused by biotoxins (such as mold) that stimulate the release of histamine and sulfidoleukotrienes from Basophil cells (without IgE antibodies).  The excess histamine can lower critical T-cells and IgG antibodies needed to fight infections.  Excess histamine can also stimulate adrenalin, causing mood swings, anger, or melt-downs.  Tests include serum histamine, and lymphocyte imbalances of T4 / T8 cells (aka CD-4 and CD-8 cells), and low IgG antibodies or low gamma globulin.
3. OPIOID PEPTIDES  (Morphins)
Morphins are opiod peptides and include: Casomorphins in dairy products, Gliadorphins in gluten grains, and Soymorphins in soy products.  Soy products also contain some casomorphins and gliadorphins.  Morphins can be addictive for certain people, and cause severe behavioral and physical reactions.  This occurs when people have poor digestion of specific proteins plus intestinal permeability.  This allows small opioid peptides to bind to opioid receptors in the gut and brain, slowing gut motility and mimicking the addictive and debilitating effects of opiate drugs like heroin and morphine.  These are common in children with developmental delays.  They can be identified by a urine test at Great Plains Laboratory.
4. CHEMICAL SENSITIVITIES
Reactions can occur to many substances in foods, including:  Food additives, food dyes, sulfites, nitrites, aldehydes, salicilates, oxalates, petrochemicals, benzenes, pesticides, other organic compounds, and heavy metals.  The most reactive heavy metal is Nickel, which increases immune hypersensitivities to itself and other substances.  It is also one of the most common forms of contact dermatitis, and is mediated by T-cells.  It was voted "Allergen of the Year" (2008) by the American Contact Dermatitis Society.  Nickel reactions usually occur upon contact with foods high in Nickel, or with jewelry, tools, and orthodontic braces and retainers.
5. INFLAMMATORY DIGESTIVE DISEASES
Inflammatory  digestive diseases can be a progression of food allergies, or can be caused by bacterial or parasite infections.  These include: Irritible Bowel Syndrome,  Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Crohn's Disease, advanced Celiac Disease, and Colitis of various types.
6. AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS 
Sometimes food allergies can progress to Inflammatory diseases or autoimmune conditions.  The latter involve an immune response to a foreign substance (microbe, toxin, or allergen), but a response which also inadvertantly attacks one of the patient's own organs, because both the foreign substance and patient's organ have the same cellular surface antigen.  These  diseases include: Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, diabetes Type I, Crohn’s Disease, Addison's Disease, Sjorgren's Syndrome, endometriosis, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (often due to tobacco), and others.   80% of autoimmune conditions are among post-menopausal women, likely due to the drop in progesterone (which converts to cortisol, which is anti-inflammatory).  Therapies are based on detox, and individualized diet and supplements.
GENERAL REFERENCES for FOOD ALLERGIES
1. Laura Power, PhD.  Biotype Diets System, Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine. Jan 2007.
2. Dean Metcalfe MD, Hugh Sampson MD, Ronald Simon MD.  Food Allergy: Adverse Reactions to Foods and Food Additives.  2nd Edition.  Blackwell Science, Cambridge, MA. 1997.

3. Janice Joneja, PhD, RDN.  Dietary Management of Food Allergies & Intolerances.  2nd Edition.  J.A. Hall Publications, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  1998.
4. Laura Power, PhD,
Dietary Lectins, Townsend Letter For Doctors, June 1991.
5.  James Breneman MD.  Basics of Food Allergy.  2nd Edition.  Charles C Thomas Publisher, Springfield, Illinois.  1984.

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Now: Prescott, Arizona 86305

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