The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona
by James Bogash
Food allergy
This review is truly a beautiful summary on this incredibly important topic. One of the interesting things (among many) is that the author recognizes the validity of elimination diets and oral food challenges; however, I have yet to have a patient come in telling me that there allergist did anything other than skin prick or possibly RAST blood testing. This article is a must read for the background on food allergies.
The Journal : Current Issue
by James Bogash
Brain White-Matter Lesions in Celiac Disease
If this article does not give you an idea of how important it is to recognize the impact of food allergies on our overall health, I’m not sure what will. Reactions to food allergies can range from minor GI irritation to irreversible brain damage. Physicians need to begin to recognize the impact that the GI tract has on our overall health. The author suggests that this response is mediated through an upregulation of the immune system leading to focal damage in the brain. Consider this…many people crave the foods they’re allergic to and so eat them very often. That leaves opportunities on almost a daily basis to wreak havoc on our immune systems…
Pediatrics — Abstracts: Kieslich et al. 108 (2): e21
by James Bogash
Starvation reduces skin wheals, plasma substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide in patients with atopic eczema/dermatitis syndrome
While I don’t usually recommend starvation for patients with eczema (although most people would do well with a good fast…), this article does show the impact that the food we put into our mouths can have a direct effect on our skin. Too many times in dermatology we look only at the skin, when, in reality, the dermatologist should be talking to the gastroenterology to best aid the patient. I am firmly convinced that most atopic/eczema cases are related to food allergies. Now these may be difficult to identify and after a long history the pattern of altered physiology may be strongly ingrained, but it is possible.
Synergy Abstract
by James Bogash
Gastroesophageal Reflux and Cow Milk Allergy: Is There a Link?
As with any condition in infants (skin problems, chronic diarrhea, allergies) food allergies need to be ruled out first unquestionably. That would include dairy, soy and corn (wheat doesn’t normally get overexposed until later), and any other food that an infant is bombarded with while their delicate immune systems are developing.
Pediatrics — Abstracts: Salvatore and Vandenplas 110 (5): 972
by James Bogash
Changing face of adult coeliac disease
The concept of coeliac disease having a major impact on overall health is just beginning to gain speed. Many neurological conditions can be related to something as simple as wheat allergy. Remember that coeliac disease is an allergy to gluten, a protein found in certain grains, most notably wheat. Interestingly, when wheat is grown in a high nitrogen content source (i.e. non-organic, highly fertilized soil) that plant takes up the extra nitrogen and uses production of proteins as a storage route–in this case leading to excess gluten. An elimination diet is such an incredible and safe tool to be used for a wide variety of conditions…
Postgrad Med J — Summaries: Sanders et al. 78 (915): 31
by James Bogash
Celiac disease. Gluten sensitivity. Allergy to wheat. Gluten intolerance. How real is it? And should you go through the trouble to avoid foods that contain gluten?
Gluten free has become the buzz phrase of the decade. It’s not that avoiding gluten was ever a bad idea, but somehow word got out that gluten was bad for you and causes all kinds of bad health conditions. I remember a situation from early in my practice career (maybe 13 or so years ago).
A patient was referred to me for a weird skin lesion on her back. She had been to the U of A dermatology department and called herself the “poster child” down there. At one point she remembered baring her back while a near endless stream of residents and interns paraded past her for a good look. While they tried many meds and creams, nothing was working.
That’s when she came to see me. We discussed food allergies and skin problems (the gut and the skin derive from the same embryological tissues, so what aggravates one tissue may affect the other) and I recommended a 2 week trial of a gluten free diet and “Bingo!” the skin lesions disappeared. They reappeared almost instantly after a reintroduction of wheat after the 2 weeks.
I remember another case where a patient presented with dermatitis herpetiformis, a blister like skin lesion that shows up commonly on the elbows and is very strongly associated with gluten sensitivity. He had been put on Dapsone (an antibiotic used to treat leprosy) about 10 years prior, but the treating doctor told him he did not need to avoid gluten because that was too difficult. I can only assume that this doctor was unaware that the damage to the gut in these patients continues unchecked with Dapsone use, but the skin lesions DO improve. And that’s all that matters, right?
Would you like my take on the gluten free craze? Of course you do–you’re already 322 words into the post.
Clearly gluten sensitivity is very real. It is a spectrum that ranges from minor sensitivity to the gut destroying flattened villa of full blown celiac disease. We are likely seeing an increase because of the combination of nitrogenous fertilizers (increases levels of gluten in grains) and the overuse of antibiotics (there is a cross reactivity between gluten and Candida albican yeast).
I have covered more on the effects of gluten on the body in a previous post that can be read by clicking here.
So what about switching to gluten free foods and avoiding all those foods that contain gluten?
This particular article should give you some reassurance that most of the foods labeled gluten free are actually gluten free. The authors found that the gluten content in 99.5% of 205 commercially available gluten free products tested, the samples had a gluten concentration <20 mg/kg.
Good news, right?
Here’s my take.
We live in a society heavily dominated by grains. It seems like we can’t go a single meal or a single snack without some form of wheat attached to it. And, more often than not, it’s the nearly poisonous enriched wheat flour.
So, after watching Dr. Oz, you decide that avoiding foods that contain gluten is a good idea. So you go to the store and spend way to much money on the exact same type of foods you were eating but this time they are gluten free. Gluten free bread. Gluten free pasta. Gluten free hamburger buns. Gluten free broccoli.
Wait…gluten free broccoli? But isn’t broccoli gluten free anyway? YES. That is the point.
Instead of spending your money and taste buds on the same types of food that got you into this mess in the first place, expand your horizons and eat foods that are naturally free in gluten.
I have to laugh when Sprouts, a local natural-oriented food store, has its “gluten free” sale. Anything in the store that is gluten free is on sale and marked. Not a single food in the fruit and vegetable section has gluten. Nothing at the meat counter. Nothing in the spices (at least not the quality ones).
So, it’s great to know that foods that are labeled gluten free are very likely to be so, why not skip the concept altogether and buy foods that don’t need to be modified so that they no longer contain gluten?
If you have tried a gluten free diet, what was the one food item you missed the most?
by James Bogash
Mushroom-derived protein inhibits development of food-allergic reactions in mice
I realize the title to this one is a little daunting, but the concepts are very important. The rates of atopic disorders and asthma are climbing, for reasons covered many times in past Research Updates (vaccines, sterile lifestyle, killing off probiotics…). While prevention of these conditions is important, it is nice to know we are finding ways to “fix” the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines. This mouse study finds that an extract of mushroom has the potential to shift away from the Th2 dominant profile of atopic/asthmatic patients. Zinc is another nutrient that plays a key role in this important balance.
Oral administration of an edible-mushroom-derived protein inhibits the development of food-allergic reactions in mice – Clin ..
by James Bogash
Helicobacter pylori Increases the Epithelial Permeability to a Food Antigen in Human Gastric Biopsies
This is interesting if you follow the physiology. I strongly believe that H. pylori is an opportunistic infection possibly related to lowered vit C status or lack of protective flora. So here we have an opportunistic infection related to poor health status leading to an increase in the antigenic effects from food allergies. And food allergies can have many negative impacts on health. So, if you think antibiotic resistance is the only problem to be worried about with antibiotic overuse–follow the physiology.
Helicobacter pylori Increases the Epithelial Permeability to a Food Antigen in Human Gastric Biopsies – Am J Gastroenterology..
Best Massage Therapist Mesa AZ
Arthritis Doctor Mesa AZ
Chiropractic Mesa AZ
Back Pain Doctor Mesa AZ
Rotator Cuff Doctor Mesa AZ
Chiropractor Mesa AZ
Massage Therapist Mesa AZ
PRP Therapy Mesa AZ
Knee Pain Doctor Mesa AZ
Stem Cell Therapy Mesa AZ
Headache Doctor Mesa AZ
Shoulder Pain Doctor Mesa AZ