Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (79 page)

Take time out to recover—the stresses of everyday life can make abstinence difficult, especially where alcohol has been used as a way of switching off from it all. Make giving up alcohol your main priority for as long as it takes.

Hypnosis can help you to switch off the little voice in your head telling you that you need a drink.

For further information go to www.gillianmckeith.info/alcohol.

ALLERGIES

An allergic reaction is an abnormal reaction of the immune system to substances such as food, chemicals, dust, pollen, or animal dander. The chemical at the heart of most allergic reactions is histamine. Excess histamine causes itching and inflammatory reactions. Histamine released in the nose will cause it to run; histamine released in the skin will cause itching and a rash; histamine released in the lungs will cause spasms and wheezing.

It is estimated that 60 percent of the UK population suffer from unsuspected food reactions that can cause complicated health problems. A food allergy is when the immune system reacts immediately after ingestion or exposure to an allergen. Symptoms will occur very soon after exposure and include swellings, rashes, and shortness of breath. Treatment with epinephrine (adrenalin) is needed as soon as possible to prevent anaphylactic shock and even death. If someone has an allergy, they are unlikely to overcome it and will always need to avoid the food in any quantity. Even being near the food can provoke reactions in some people.

There are two types of reactions:

Type A—
this is a classic allergy and reactions occur immediately after contact with an allergen.

Type B—
this is a delayed allergy or intolerance and reactions can occur from 1 to 72 hours later.

Unlike food allergies, food intolerances generally produce very slow responses to foods. Food intolerances do not always involve the immune system in the first instance, though it may be implicated. Symptoms include tiredness, flatulence, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, brain fog, water retention, mucus production, aching joints and muscles, and headaches. These symptoms may appear several hours or even up to 48 hours after consumption. Usually the food or foods that cause problems are eaten so frequently that there is no obvious link between them and the symptoms, which makes it difficult to pinpoint when the food intolerances started.

For example, some adults do not produce lactase, the enzyme needed to digest the milk sugar lactose. They will often get digestive symptoms caused by the inability to break lactose down sufficiently. This would be considered an intolerance rather than an allergy, as it is not caused by an immune response but by a digestive insufficiency. Other problem foods, such as wheat, contain large protein molecules that may create too much of a challenge for some people’s digestive juices, and these can lead to symptoms of intolerance or sensitivity such as digestive disturbances and mucus production. And foods such as citrus fruits and tomatoes may irritate the gut lining, causing digestive disturbances.

Testing for immunoglobulins can identify foods to which you are intolerant, as it is these that build up when problem foods are eaten over a period of time (see Resources for how to find a nutritionist). Levels will often drop once the food has been eliminated for a few months. The
sufferer may then be able to reintroduce the previously offending food in small quantities without adverse effects. This needs to be done with care.

CAUSES MAY INCLUDE

Stress.

Antibiotics.

Antibacterial soaps.

Pollution.

Low-nutrient, high-sugar diets.

Poor immune response.

Calcium deficiency.