Great to be back with you all again and I hope to be of some help to those folks who are suffering right now with allergies. So lets get at it!
What is allergies? Allergy is a sensitivity to some particular substances called an allergen which is not a virus or bacteria but maybe a food, inhalant, chemical, smoke, mold, pollen, perfume, or even hairspray.
Dr. Harold Thomas Hyman MD, in his book, Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, explains that despite limitations in current understanding of the problem, the state of allergy is described best as a perversion or perversions of the hosts defense. The cause could be pollen, plants, micro-organsms(milk) and their produced, animal tissue, digestants, cosmetics, drugs(legal or illegal) serums, clothing dyes, or chemicals.
Dr. Robert Mendelsohn addressed allergies in his book, How to Raise a Child In Spite of Your Doctor, where he asks the question as to why the word allergy does not appear in Shakespeare or in any English language of a century ago. Mendelsohn states that the concept that allergies are responsible for many human ailments is a relatively new one. That it is a sad fact that allergies and nutrition, the two major forces in human health receive little attention in medical school and constitute an area of vast ignorance in contemporary medical practice.
Dr.Mendelsohn believes that most of us are allergic to things in the food we eat and the air we breath and are not aware of it. He states that if you do have an allergy, you could manage or avoid by identifying what it is that you are allergic to but because of the medical industries ignorance that will use dangerous drugs or life threatening surgery. In most cases the treatment is worse than having the allergies.
When folks get symptoms such as a runny nose, stuffed-up head, sneezing and coughing in the spring and/or fall we will call it Hay Fever, but some people suffer year around from these symptoms, why? With folks like this then it must be something other than pollen so we need to look into the environment (natural or man-made) in which we live and the food we eat. The environmental allergies include pollen and mold but also air pollution from heating fuel, automobile exhaust, tobacco smoke, animal dander(minute scales from hair, feathers, or skin) household dust, chlorine and fluoride in water, fabrics, chemical in detergent for washing clothes, cosmetics, soaps, chemical sprays( to freshen the air, clothes to garden sprays) or even insect bites. I even know a gentleman that had an allergic reaction to his new vacuum. Food allergies include milk( the number one allergen), GMO corn products(this includes corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and corn sugars), wheat gluten( which I believe it is not the gluten in the wheat but the non-sprouting of the wheat is what causes the allergies), eggs, fish, tomatoes, chemicals in food from the additives(which does not have to be tested for long term effect to man’s body), coloring and flavor enhancers, preservatives, and stabilizers.
Hay Fever is most frequently caused by breathing in mold or plant pollen. Ragweed and grass pollen are the worst offenders. Hay Fever is one of the most common allergies which is triggered by pollen from flowers another common cause is chocolate, milk, and pork. Hay Fever is a reaction of the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and air passageways to seasonal pollen as with dust, feathers, and animal hair.
Another cause is mold, a special problem to many as it can be in many places like houses, food, and legal drugs you get from your doctor. Also some people are highly allergic to dust mites which are micro-scopic creatures with eight legs. They eat dead skin flakes and excretes tiny pellets which cause you to sneeze. Dust mites live around four months, they will leave 200 times their weight in fecal matter for you to inhale.
Dr. William E. Ellis of Arlington, TX., a retired osteopathic physician and surgeon has done extensive research on the effects of cow’s milk on man’s body. His conclusion was milk products are harmful to many folks; kids, adults and infants. Dr. Ellis found that milk was a contributing factor in constipation, chronic fatigue, arthritis, headaches, muscle cramps, obesity, allergies, and heart disease. Dr. Ellis does not blame cholesterol but xanthine oxidase( an enzyme in homogenized milk), excess calories( the more calories you have the faster the faster the calf grows into a cow), xyramine( a protein in cheese to absorb the nutrients in the food we eat because milk neutralizes the hydrochloric acid necessary to digest food and create excess mucus which inhibit absorption.
Allergies to milk are common with symptoms including asthma, nasal congestion, skin rashes, and various chest infections. Some other symptoms have been linked to milk as well as irritability, fatigue, ADD and hyperactivity. When milk diminishes hydrochloric acid, the body cannot digest foods causing undigested protein to enter the bloodstream and promote an allergic reaction. The calcium in the milk is foreign to the body and it does not recognized it as a food source. So it just stores in some part of the body which one day may show up as a disease.
Dr. Mendelsohn has a section in his book, How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor, Dr. Mendelsohn’s Quick Reference Guide to allergies, which will give you a fast understanding of allergies. Dr. Mendelssohn’s book is not just about children’s illnesses but illnesses young and old alike.
We have looked at a brief summary of allergies but what can we do if we have them? The first thing I would do is work on my diet. We found out the experts tell us to avoid items like milk, eggs, meat, etc., so we need to cut them out of the diet and eat foods that will build up the immune system, so it can heal with the elements. You cannot go wrong with a plant based diet especially when you are dealing with allergies. I would also supplement with a good organic herbal food for the sinuses, respiratory and immune system. Additionally add a super green drink.
I hope this helps some folks as I know a lot of you suffer at this time of year.
Until next time. I hope you stay in Good Health, Terry Coffee, Herbalist
Rescources:
Ferrell, Vance, Edgar E. Archbold, and Harold M. Cherne. Natural Remedies Encyclopedia: Topically Arranged over 11,000 Simple, Practical, Easy-to-use Home Remedies for over 730 Diseases plus Sixty Helpful Illustrations. Altamont, TN: Harvestime, 2004. Print.
Kloss, Jethro. Back to Eden: A Human Interest Story of Health and Restoration to Be Found in Herb, Root, and Bark. Loma Linda, CA: Back to Eden Pub., 1988. Print.
Mendelsohn, Robert S. How to Raise a Healthy Child– in Spite of Your Doctor. New York: Ballantine, 1987. Print.
Walker, N. W. Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices: What’s Missing in Your Body? Phoenix, AZ: Norwalk, 1978. Print.
White, Julius Gilbert. Abundant Health: Expounding the Learn-how-to-be-well System of Daily Living. Pine Mountain Valley, GA: Health and Character Education Institute, 1951. Print.
Dr. John R. Christoper Books Harvest Time Books
