![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by bob on April 16, 2000, at 17:57:07
My therapist is quite knowledgeable about "alternative" medical practices and recently suggested that I might want to check into whether I have any food allergies. In particular, she recommended to me the idea of seeing a kinesiologist she has worked with.
I've found her hunches to be pretty accurate over time, but I'm still interested in hearing from others out there: what personal experiences have you had with allergies interacting with your mood? For those who have tried diets from books that claim their programs help alleviate depression, are claims made about food allergies playing a role in this?
Just curious,
bob
Posted by Janice on April 16, 2000, at 18:43:04
In reply to Allergies and depression, posted by bob on April 16, 2000, at 17:57:07
Hi bob,
I have just recently been looking into the relationship between food and mood--and have this far come across two ideas about the relationship:
•If allergies are your problem, you will benefit from cutting out the food within a few days.
•erratic blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) are associated with many psychiatric disorders.
•allergies and hypoglycemia are often found together.This is as far as I've gotten. Hopefully someone who knows more will come along.
Janice
It makes sense (to me) that emotionally sensitive people are also going to be physically sensitive also.
Posted by medlib on April 17, 2000, at 2:41:47
In reply to Allergies and depression, posted by bob on April 16, 2000, at 17:57:07
> My therapist is quite knowledgeable about "alternative" medical practices and recently suggested that I might want to check into whether I have any food allergies. In particular, she recommended to me the idea of seeing a kinesiologist she has worked with.
>
> I've found her hunches to be pretty accurate over time, but I'm still interested in hearing from others out there: what personal experiences have you had with allergies interacting with your mood? For those who have tried diets from books that claim their programs help alleviate depression, are claims made about food allergies playing a role in this?
>
> Just curious,
> bob******************************
Bob--I was curious about what a kinesiologist could possibly have to do with allergy dx or tx, so I did a little Google search and found a Dr.Z, a naturopath, who seems to have a 3-pronged approach. (I believe the link was on the first or second page of results. The most interesting thing I came across was at a site called Conscious Choice, apparently an ecology journal (www.consciouschoice.com). 2 links on their navigator bar caught my eye--"Health and Immunity" and "Holistic MD", who, btw, has a radio program on WOR in New York. Anyway, see what you think.
I was diagnosed hypoglycemic at age 11 (passed out during the Glucose Tolerance Test), and subsequently had 2 hypoglycemic children; so there's not much I don't know about that subject- including it's well-documented connection to depression. (Aside--interesting connection btw alcohol abuse and hypoglycemia--my daughter's a good example.) Altho I haven't read it, I expect that the immensely popular "Sugar Busters Diet" deals with sugar's effect on mood. They've been writing books about sugar and mood at least since the fifties; I wonder how it can still be "news". At lunch today, a friend said (over Key lime pie), "You know it's funny how much less depressed I feel when I go off sugar." Food cravings and food hypersensitivities *are* connected.
Let us know about the kinesiologist if you decide to pursue that route; I, for one, would be fascinated to hear what s/he does. I have a bunch of links on alternative medicine if you're interested, but most "traditional" alternative therapies have little to do with food, except herbs and supplements, and macrobiotics.
Best wishes--medlib
Posted by Deb R on April 17, 2000, at 5:09:25
In reply to Allergies and depression, posted by bob on April 16, 2000, at 17:57:07
Hey Bob
I have done lots of research in recent times with allergies due to one of my children having an anaphylactic reaction to something she had eaten. If allergies can cause asthma, welts, rashes, hyperactivity, etc etc, it follows that your Doc may be onto something and its worth a look. Here are a few sites you might find useful:
www.foundations@shoalhaven.net.au
www.capitalimmunology.com.au/pages/patres.html
www.immune.com
www.foodallergy.org/
www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~aair/ (this one is an asthma and allergy info and research site.)Anyway, I have lots of others that I could e-mail you if you want...let me know. I have also read a lot about various ways of testing for allergies. We have had skin testing done, plus RAST blood tests. Others, like muscle testing and Vega meters are feted or scorned, depending on what you read. I have also heard of computers being attached by electrodes to the patient and "apparently" printing out pages of sensitivity information and advice on food and chemical avoidance. Hmmm, not sure about that one!!!
Anyway, as always, best wishes to you.
Deb.
Posted by Phil on April 17, 2000, at 6:50:31
In reply to Re: Allergies and depression, posted by Deb R on April 17, 2000, at 5:09:25
Boy, there's some tasty stuff!! Hurl!!!
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!
Posted by bob on April 17, 2000, at 22:23:20
In reply to Re: Allergies and depression, posted by Mark H. on April 17, 2000, at 17:22:22
Mercy buckets, Mon Sewer Mark! Same to all y'all else!
I haven't called the kinesiologist yet, but from what I understand she does this 5-hour physical work-up similar to the stuff Mark mentioned. First session also includes a lot of nutritional counseling and education. Given the length of her initial exams plus follow-ups, it takes months to get in to see her, so I won't be able to follow up, in all probability (almost), until July or so.
As for the links offered by all out there, I tell you what:
Email me whatever links you have on connections between allergies, food allergies in particular, and behavior. Those I receive by this Thursday I will check to see if they're still "live", organize them, and offer them to Dr. Bob for his Links page.
cheers,
bob
Posted by Mark H. on April 18, 2000, at 14:23:48
In reply to Re: Allergies and depression, posted by bob on April 17, 2000, at 22:23:20
Dear bob -- Oooo-weeee, it's nice to meet another frank-o-file! You have a real nice accent; very natural, very... Borg-known sounding. We liberate them Frenchies and THIS is how they thank us? Gimme some of that "Van Ordinair." That's right: wee-wee, and hurry up. Put it in a clean glass this time.
----
Here's Doris Rapp's site:
http://www.sameboat.org/DrRapp/DrRapp.html
Remember, the hundreds of thousands of parents who have successfully used Dr. Rapp's techniques to help their children's ADD and depression or disruptive behavior with diet are all ignorant dupes and totally mistaken about there being any link between food and behavior. If you visit all the other "food allergy" sites you can find on Inference or Yahoo, you'll see that better than 95% of them only talk about or even acknowledge "true" allergies, which is the current religion of most allergists and certainly makes life easier and more profitable for them.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.