Posted by Mark H. on April 17, 2000, at 17:22:22
In reply to Allergies and depression, posted by bob on April 16, 2000, at 17:57:07
Applied kinesiology is about as weird as you can get, and yet, yes, a chiropractor in our small town virtually eliminated more than 15 YEARS of severe seasonal hay fever in me using those very techniques ("now stick your tongue out to the left and touch your upper lip"). The results were so positive, and the techniques so strange, that it seemed like a straightfoward miracle to me. The effects have so far lasted 10 years.
One of the other posters raises a very important point without stating what it's about: there are board certified allergists who simply REFUSE TO BELIEVE there is such a thing as a "food allergy" present unless it raises a welt, chokes you half to death, or pops a red blood cell on a laboratory slide. These boneheads choose to ignore tons of evidence of "food sensitivities" that are thoroughly documented by yet other board certified allergists -- their own colleagues and fellow-specialists in the field. The division between these two camps is one of the great marvels of prejudice and ignorance still at work in modern medicine, approaching the ignorance of male gynecologists with regards to the effects of hormone replacement therapy for perimenopausal women.
For a sane, balanced look at "food sensitivities" (the term is intended as an olive branch to the "it doesn't exist group"), see "Is This Your Child?" which has been in print for many years and sold millions of copies. The author -- a woman, an MD and board certified allergist -- was among the first to tell parents of children who go wild or get depressed on certain foods that what they saw happen to their children was real and treatable. "Is This Your Child" remains the best reference for food allergies for children AND ADULTS.
Another poster recommended the book, "The Diet Cure," which Sue and I just got from Amazon.com, and while we're not far enough into it yet to remark on its effectiveness, the concepts and diet management plans seem sensible and potentially helpful. One of the things she says that I particularly like, so far, is that you don't need to supplement amino acids once your system is rebalanced. I'm hopeful she's right.
Food allergies definitely contribute to hyperactivity, emotional lability, depression, hypersomnia, and other mental and emotional diseases of children and adults.
One basic concept that seems consistent throughout the literature, from Rowe's seminal work in the 40's on, is that we tend to crave what we're allergic to. Before I found out I was "mildly" allergic to wheat, for instance, if you asked me to "bring bread" to a dinner party, I would show up with four or five different types and help you eat them all.
(Shortly after beginning to control my diet, I ordered breakfast at a restaurant and the waitress asked what sort of toast I'd like. I told her I was allergic to wheat, and she said, "Well, we have white." I loved that!)
Conclusion: yes, explore the possibility, see if it helps to eliminate certain foods from your diet. Reactions are the result of ingesting, inhaling or touching some irritant to your system. A thorough diet diary can really help you identify your exposure patterns. Most of us honestly can't remember what we ate yesterday, let alone every day last month. If you list foods and beverages, activities, and how you feel, you will begin to see correlations. For instance, you may be highly allergic to diesel fumes, magic markers, the detergent aisle in the super market, the natural gas leaking from your water heater, or other seemingly unavoidable causes, in addition to foods.
I hope this brief introduction helps.
Boner Pateet!
poster:Mark H.
thread:30242
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000411/msgs/30371.html