Food Allergies On The Rise

This is part 2 of 2

I often check up on a facebook page that I think everyone should check called Y-files.  It began asking the "Why" questions and it's quest is to find the answers.  It is a page filled with current updated articles and reports that concerns our health. It was just recently that I read an article - Food allergies affect 1-in-12 kids.
It didn't surprise me, but it was an interesting article to read.  It was just a few days after that I saw the Today show video raising the same issues - Today Health.


This is truly becoming an issue and becoming widespread.  We have all heard of someone having a reaction to a food and swelling up or breaking out, but as the article states, they are finding out that most (3 out of 5) reactions are not severe or life threatening.  This is just the beginning when starting to understand food allergies.  Most allergies go unnoticed.  Most food allergies are considered a Type 1 reaction, which are reactions that occur within minutes to hours.  However, most food allergies are probably a delayed reaction which occur unknowingly.  When we get "food poisoning", we often think of the last thing we ate and not often think back to what we ate two days ago that could have been the cause.  And since most are mild reactions, we often just live through it without giving it much of a thought.  Reactions could be as simple as feeling fatigued or a headache.  It seems more now than ever I hear constantly about allergies.  Someone states, "Oh, it's just my allergies." without giving it any thought, almost like second nature.  The alarming thing about these studies is that it is becoming much more prevalent now in children and it is important to understand why.

Food allergies can generally be considered an auto-immune reaction.  There is a condition that is becoming more understood called Leaky Gut.  The gut is lined with small holes that allow for absorption.  Leaky Gut is when these hole become larger and allow larger particles through that shouldn't be absorbed.  The gut of a newborn is not fully formed, considered "leaky" until about 1 years old, but probably not completely formed until later in life (about 5-10 years old). Adults can also receive a Leaky Gut by infections, poor diet, or imbalance of normal bacteria which perforates the gut. When the dysfunctional gut allows passage of larger, foreign particles, our immune system tags them as foreign.  When we expose ourselves again, our immune system already knows these particles as foreign and continues to attack - creating a reaction.

Both articles state that the most common food allergies are Peanuts, Milk, and Shellfish.  I don't think this list is surprising.  I would probably put Milk as the number one cause, but most reactions and allergies to Milk are the ones that go unnoticed, or at least unaware of any association.  Even the nutritional expert on the show tries her best to raise the fact that Dairy is unnecessary in our diet without saying too much. Here is a list of more severe reactions that can occur

• Tingling in mouth
• Hives
• Swelling
• Wheezing/difficulty breathing
• Abdominal pain
• Dizziness
• Anaphylactic shock

Just as the articles are congruent with the concern of the rise of allergies in children, they both ask WHY?  The video brought up a few thoughts, and I have my own.  There are four ideas that I think may be a factor.

1. Bacterial Imbalance - The Doctor in the video called it being "germaphobe".  I don't know if this is completely accurate, but it can be a factor.  We are entering a phase of Anti-bacteria.  The misunderstanding is that most of the bacteria on and in our body is beneficial and helpful.  When we kill the bacteria, we rid of the good bacteria along with the bad. Unfortunately, this doesn't last and when the bad bacteria resurfaces, there is no longer the overgrowth of good bacteria to counteract thus causing infections. There has been research to show that most children with milk allergies lack certain probiotics in the gut.
2. Early Introduction of Foods - This goes back to the Leaky Gut concept.  The Doctor in the video also mentioned this.  Not only are we introducing foods too early, but we are bombarding them with several foods at once instead of one at a time. The most common for this is milk (cow's milk, powdered milk, formula milk).  With the numerous excuses for not breastfeeding (work, it's uncomfortable, don't have the time, my husband doesn't like it, whatever) more and more women are choosing to opt out on nursing or only nurse for a short while.  Milk is introduced way too soon to an infant child whose gut is not formed fully. Formula milk associated with childhood Diabetes.  Too many new foods introduced at one time can also cause immune chaos.
3. Poor Diet - This is more of my thoughts, but a poor diet can create a poor immune function.  This may be included with the bacterial infection idea, or even early introduction of foods, but the article stated that most of these allergies are found in minority groups.  It's more an association than anything, but minority groups live in a more economically poor areas associated often with poor diets which includes processed foods, sugary diets, and less healthy choices.  These types of foods are health destroying while whole foods are health promoting.
4. Genetics - Again, this is just a theory.  I don't blame genetics like most people blame genetics.  Rather, there has been a study done on animals showing that a disease in the parent subject continues down to the offspring and it took several generations to rid of the disease among any offspring.  Meaning, we carry the potential diseases from generations before.  I believe this is why so many diseases and conditions are becoming so prevalent as we are not only exposing ourselves to these diseases but we also have been made genetically susceptible to others.  We are genetically susceptible which seems to keep a running tally, adding up until it becomes too much.  This isn't a reason to blame genetics and think we are absolutely doomed.  However, this means we need to do more than ever before to keep ourselves protected and healthy - and most importantly, it means we need to make these decisions now to provide a better future for the next rising generation, instead of continuing cycle.

I believe these are the major factors and possibly and most likely a combination of them all.  The next phase is now to ask what can we do?  I think it simply comes down to Prevention (avoid the risk factors mentioned) and Repair.  I don't know if we can fully get rid of allergies, but we can certainly provide better protection.  We can introduce a detoxifying diet to rid of the causing agents, and then repair our systems with a health promoting diet and probiotics.  It may only be 8% that we know of, but food allergies effect us all.  These stats are only evidence of the digression of health we are facing.  It's time to take back our Health

The Pyramid vs The Plate

Many of you may recognize the famous Food Pyramid.  We have been drilled for years in our education how important this pyramid was.  Amidst the obesity crisis this country faces, this authoritative pyramid (and everything we have been taught) has been scrutinized and drastically changed.

I have recently come across a few articles and news reports that have to do with our diet, especially concerning how our diet effects our children.
This is my first of two posts which I plan on sharing (so stay tuned).

So what made the government to take drastic measures to make changes?  Probably the stat that 1 of 5 children are now obese.  20% of our rising generation are overweight. (CBS News Report).  I tried to get the video up on here, but had troubles.  For those who haven't taken the time, it made some simple suggestions which comes down to more activity (including less TV/game time) and a better diet (including a smaller portion intake).  It seems well intuitive, but I guess not.  I think for the majority, we know we need to be more active and we need to eat better. Knowing is not quite the problem - but rather it's the being aware and DOING.  And that's why I liked this video.  For those who did take the time to watch, the father of two children mentioned one major change he made.  I was waiting to hear that he got rid of sugar or candy or even juice.  Instead, he got rid of baby bottles, which I think would also include sippy cups.  I think this is one suggestion we should all think about when it comes to nutrition education.  We know we should be eating better, but do we really know what we are eating.  The idea behind getting rid of the baby bottles is that letting a child have his/her bottle all of the time means he is drinking all the time (and most of what kids are given these days are juice and milk which 99% are filled with sugar).  We let our kids drink these bottles and aren't even aware of how much sugar they are really getting. Getting rid of the bottles and sippy cups forces the kids to drink from regular cups, which the kids drink less, and hopefully as shown in the video, allowing the child to fill their own cup hopefully to a more accessible water.

What I really wanted to look at is what has changed in our nutrition education.  Meet the Food Plate, a new government project introduced as "My Plate".  The title along with the picture makes it a little more personal, a little more appealing than a towering unconquerable pyramid.  But what is the real difference?  The major difference seen is that Vegetables have now taken over, rightly so.  Grains have taken a step back, slightly.  Fruits are about the same as proteins, and dairy has been limited, really outside the plate like more of an accessory than a primary food source.  I don't know if they had any intentions here, putting dairy in a smaller portioned cup, but I think it fits well with the new founded evidence of the lack of nutritional value of Dairy.  I kind of wish that fruits was a little bigger on the plate, but I really can't complain with this idea.  It shows more that these food groups are about balance, instead of one being over the other.  And the most noticeable difference probably a result from the obesity crisis is that there is no more room on this plate for sugars and fats. These things are in our common foods anyway - it's not a food group.  About time they made that change.

So what is on "Your" plate?  I think now is better than ever to truly educate ourselves and change our diet appropriate to bring back our Health.  But like a said - it's not an issue of knowing, it's about Doing.  We now have a more updated and valid Food Plate - But what are we going to do with it?  It can't make a difference until we choose to make a difference.  Hopefully the stat of obese children will motivate and stir this decision in the right direction.  It's sad how these children are facing such issues.  It's more than just being overweight.  These children will soon face diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and so many other conditions and the truth is- it's the parents that are giving it to them.  We as parents need to do a better job.  We are putting are children into this crisis, and it needs to change.  It's time to take back our health.  What's on your plate?

Article: TV Can Hurt Your Health

In the recent months, I have seen several health articles that have caught my interest.  I have recently read one that I found interesting by the title, but was very disappointed in the content. (5 Ways TV Can Hurt Your Health) I don't go searching for articles and I know any article from Yahoo is no valid research, but sadly many people are exposed and read the content.  I have decided to provide at random articles that I come across, and share my opinions on them on whether it is good to read or the errors that they may portray.  Thousands of people read these articles and too many of them mislead the public

As for this particular article, the title grabbed my attention with the thought, "Finally, a good article to read."
My overall opinion on this article is pretty much a swing and a miss.  I believe the article was in the right direction, but failed to validate itself.  I think it was with good intentions, but lacked serious content and understanding. The title itself is catchy, but yet misleading.  Can TV hurt your health? The answer is - Yes. But is it the cause? No - TV is not the cause of bad health, it is merely an association.  Let's take a look

The article states that 2-3 hours of watching TV a day can increase risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, All-Cause Mortality, Sleep Deprivation, and Nearsighted vision. As I may concur with these researched results, I already feel cheated.  Those 5 conditions would not be in my top 5 harmful effects of watching TV.

1. Diabetes - Type 2 Diabetes is an insulin resistant diabetes often association with diet and weight.  So what does TV have to do with it? Obviously, if we are watching TV, then we are not moving and being active. And our diet is effected greatly by our TV routine.  The most common time to watch TV is during dinner time - often resulting in family dinner around the TV.  As well as we often snack as we watch our favorite shows.  And our choices of foods and snacks are not very often the healthiest.  I know these are generalizations - but they are also reality in this day and age. Diabetes is not caused by TV, but it certainly get the ball rolling. TV = poor diet = obesity = diabetes. 
2. Cardiovascular - Again, this is a Diet and Exercise association.  To take it another step, this is also a Stress related issue that can have harmful effects.  One may think how can watching TV be stressful? Well, there are a few ways. One - we put out body in a stress position. We don't think sitting for a couple hours is harmful, but if we add that to sitting at work, sitting in the car, sitting on our computer or phone - then it certainly adds up, putting our body in poor posture causing chronic stress that we may not be aware of. Second, what we watch can be stressful.  One mistake that people do is watch the news before going to bed. Watching the news at all is stressful, but just before bed result in poor sleep. We also watch drama  or scary shows that can produce stressed physiology in our body.  Stress physiology will increase our Heart Rate and increase our Blood Pressure.which chronically with a poor diet can result in damage to the cardiovascular.
3. All-Cause Mortality - I truly don't understand All-Cause Mortality.  The information is pretty vague. I can probably reason on their behalf, but don't know if it is something I can truly defend. It's just too general. But I can put in my plug on how sitting for long periods of time can be detrimental. Again, it goes back to stress physiology which in turn can lead to chronic pain, fibromyalgia, fatigue, decrease immune system, decreased mental function, Parkinson's, ADD, metabolic dysfunction an so on. Simply stress puts the body in a spot of vulnerability.
4. Sleep Deprivation -  Again, TV serves more of a void than anything useful. If I was a TV, I would be quick to defend, "Hey, don't blame me.  It's not my fault you chose to watch late night re-runs than to go to bed knowing full well you had to get up early in the morning." We need to blame our own poor choices rather than an inanimate object - but the awareness needs to be brought up as 90% of Americans today are sleep deprived.
5.  Nearsightedness - This may be the more under appreciated condition, not given the respect it needs as a major factor.  I grew up eventually with nearsightedness with the thought that I just had "bad" eyes.  This article only states the association and I didn't expect any explanation, but thing people misunderstand that that nearsightedness (or even farsightedness) is not so much an "eye" condition as it is a muscle, nerve, or nutrition condition. To see things closer, we first need to converge our eyes.  To see far, we first need to diverge our eyes.  If we are trained to focus our eyes (TV or even at school) then the muscles to diverge our eyes get weak thus losing our ability to see things far away = nearsighted.

I hope these explanations help. I feel this article really lacked substance and understanding, but did get things pointed in the right direction.  It is not so much TV that is harmful, but the associations that come with it - Poor posture, Stress Physiology, lack of exercise or motion, poor diet, and everything else associated.  Let's stop blaming the TV and really start blaming ourselves for our poor choices.  This article could have simply stated, "Get off your butt and go exercise", and could have saved us from the harm from reading this article.

The Obese Truth In Pig Tails

You've probably been told at some point in your life that you need to give up soda.  Is it the caffeine? Is it the sugar? Or is it the acid or the carbonation?  Grab your nearest soda can and look at the ingredients and find High Fructose Corn Syrup (Also known as Corn Syrup and even recently changed to Corn Sugar).  Now put the can down - That's the stuff that will kill you.

I was just watching a clip from Saturday Night Live

This clip speaks more truth than one may realize. First, there's the person who with good intentions informs the other which comes off more as condescending. I've experienced this myself.  When I began school at Parker, I heard several remarks against High Fructose Corn Syrup without any explanation behind it.  I drank soda (root beer is my vice) and never heard of High Fructose Corn Syrup before.  It sounded more like one of those new wacky fearful trends. It was not until I found out what High Fructose Corn Syrup was that I finally gave up soda (I have a few fall backs now and again- don't judge me).  The effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup are undeniable, however the research is just catching up. And then there's the person who defends and even is a proponent of such products.  I don't know if they believe it, or if they are just against anyone who begins the "Don't eat that" rant, but there are people and sites who would tell you otherwise, calling High Fructose Corn Syrup "natural", "FDA approved", "Harmless", and even go so far as to say "beneficial".  They even deny the accusations even when the obese truth is standing in front of them in a small belly shirt munching on cookies and juice.

What is High Fructose Corn Syrup? There is a good middle of the road type article from the mayo clinic that is very helpful. (Mayo clinic - HFCS)  It is a fructose sugar extracted from corn that has a similar molecular structure as sucrose (your regular old fashioned sugar).  They say that it is natural because it comes from corn, however it is processed and refined.  It's the same lie from those who propose corn oil or vegetable oil.  It is the same logic saying that these oils are vegetable so therefore it must be good, while studies have shown that heart disease has sky rocketed since these oils were introduced and commonly used.  You're safer cooking with lard than these oils.  They also say High Fructose Corn Syrup is harmless.  Well, many references really state that it is no worse than regular sugar. That's comparing getting mauled be a lion or a tiger. It's not saying much, but new research is even saying that even though the molecular structure is similar, the effects are not the same (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322121115.htm).

So what are the effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup? Well, the more common effects are similar to regular sugar, but to a greater degree.  These include obesity, dental cavities, heart disease, decreased immune function, decreased brain function, increase risk of diabetes and mental disabilities (You think there's a link to ADD and these hidden sugars in our food?).  There have been some recent articles stating there are even more damaging effects solely from High Fructose Corn Syrup.  This sweetener has been linked to Kidney disease and uric acid formation which leads to gout (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20032963) as well as leading to liver damage in non alcoholic liver disease (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed).  These effects are damaging and prevalent.  Obesity is the most commonly mentioned effect, probably the easiest to physically notice. If one is looking to lose weight, the first thing to do is give up soda. It is amazing to see how much weight can be lost just be cutting out soda in one's diet. However, these other effects that are not as known or commonly mentioned can have even greater damage to our bodies and can occur without knowing until it may be too late.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is commonly known to be in soda drinks and in fruit flavored juices.  However, High Fructose Corn Syrup has snuck it's way into many other common foods.  I randomly went through my kitchen today and made a list of items that contained High Fructose Corn Syrup -

1. Tomato paste
2. Chocolate chip cookies
3. Hot Fudge topping
4. Caramel topping
5. Chocolate Frosting
6. Raisin Bran cereal
7. Reeses Puffs cereal
8. Cool whip
9. Strawberry preserves
10. Ketchup
11. BBQ sauce
12. Mayonnaise
13. Sweet relish
14. Peanut Sauce
15. Natural Whole Grain Bread (This one shocked me)
16. Vanilla Extract
17. Turkey gravy
18. Teriyaki sauce

I admit, our home is not filled with many sugary things as we try to eat more whole unprocessed foods and some items that are "no sugar added", but it still surprised even me some of those things on the list.  Many of these things we use on a daily basis and don't realize what is in it. One may simply suggest - Why not just eat diet or sugar free items? It sounds plausible, but that route may be just as damaging, as these products still use sweeteners in the ingredients which are artificial sweeteners.  These sweeteners are known more or less as Neurotoxins.  They do just as the name suggests, destroying our nerves and brain tissue.  So we are stuck, trapped between a sugar filled world and a sugar free mirage.

Here are a few suggestions.

1. More than half of what you eat should be whole foods (fruits, veggies, unprocessed foods)
2. Look for items that are sweetened with natural sweeteners (Sugar cane, Stevia, Truvia, Honey)
3. Buy items that say "No sugar added" and not the "Sugar Free"
4. Choose regular sugar over Corn Sugar or artificial sweeteners - and limit intake
5. When cooking, try reducing the sugar or replace sugar with honey
6. This is still one I need to work on- but if trying to help your children eat right, the whole family should be involved.  Simply, if you don't want your kids to have sugar, then don't buy it, not even for you because eventually if it's in the house, the kids will get it - It just happens

That's as much as I can think of right now. Hopefully I didn't come off as the "Don't eat that" lady. I'm not suggesting to go crazy and deem everyone pouring their kid juice as the devil, or to go through our pantry and throw out every item with sugar.  It would be good to do, but I do not suggest avoiding every little thing that may contain these sugars.  However, we owe it to ourselves to educate ourselves and learn about the products we do use on a daily basis, look at the ingredients and make better choices in our lives.  

Headaches

I don't know much about headaches, mainly because I don't often get them comparatively with many others who may suffer from these common and often painful conditions. One thing that makes this condition so hard to understand is that there are several forms, with several causes, and with several complications.  I would like to share the different types of headaches, the possible and more common causes, and how they can be treated.

1. Tension - These are the most common forms of headaches. These are usually headaches that are bilateral felt at the back of the head and can occur for days.  These are muscle related, sometimes found with tightness of the neck muscles, but not always.  Over the counter medication is often used for treatment. As much as these medications relieve the pain, it does not correct the problem.  However, chiropractic care has been beneficial for these conditions using adjustments, muscle release or trigger point therapy. 
2. Cervicogenic - These are headaches that occur on one side of the head often from a referral pattern from the neck.  Often these headaches are associated with neck pain, reduced motion of the neck, and in some severe cases can have migraine-like symptoms such as nausea and sensitivity to light. Spinal adjustment is the primary and recommended treatment, but are more often treated with analgesics.
3. Cluster - These are reoccurring headaches, often three to four times a day, mostly at night and can last for weeks, months or even years. The pain is often felt on the side of the head or up front in the orbital, effecting the eye in some cases with either dry eyes or lacrimation (tears).  These headaches are still unknown in cause, but believed to be neurovascular or even an autonomic dysfunction due to some of the symptoms that can be manifested. On average these headaches diminish over time, but is prevalent with suicide due to the intensity of these headaches.  New research for treatment is under way from electrical stimulation to oxygen therapy to gamma knife radiosurgery.  The research on chiropractic care is still indeterminable, however, correct care can help with autonomic dysfuntion, and other methods provide neurovascular care. 
4. Migraines - There are two types of migraines, but are in generally the same.  One is experienced with an aura- a progressively increasing blind spot followed by flashing lights.  This aura is the warning sign for an oncoming headache that is described as a throbbing on one side of the head that can last for hours to days.  These headaches are classically associated with sensitivity to light and sounds, nausea and vomiting.  Some other symptoms may include vertigo and dizziness.  These types of headaches often occur in younger females.  The causes of migraines can vary and are often difficult to find.  A migraine can be vascular, hormonal, serotonin imbalance, or even allergy related.  Many with migraines are aware of any triggers that may cause the migraines and are encouraged to avoid these triggers.  Certain medications can be given to either prevent the oncoming headache, or to treat the current headache, but these treatments still generally remain ineffective.  Certain supplements like Feverfew have effect on migraines, but again the results very per patient.  Other nutritional recommendations are Omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, calcium, Vitamin D, and Riboflavin. Avoidance of smoking, alcohol or caffeine products are encouraged. There are methods to help balance the serotonin production, or the hormones in our body and have good results if these are the causes.  Some methods help find and eliminate any allergies that may trigger the migraine.  Chiropractic care has been proven to be effective on migraine patients but more treatment trials need to be done to show validity. Again, the causes may vary, but if the cause can be found it can be effectively treated.

These four types of headaches are the most common and less harmful.  Many of us, including myself, have probably not thought about the cause, but only sought for a solution.  Often this solution was a quick trip to the medicine cabinet for an analgesic like aspirin, ibuprofen, or tylenol.  I have never "suffered" from headaches.  I can probably honestly say I have a headache on average about once a month or two, often cause by stress, tension, or lack of proper sleep.  I know there are several people out there who have suffered more than me, and many who continue to seek help. These analgesics may help resolve the pain, but never correct the cause.  A pill every once in a while may not be harmful, but for those who suffer nearly every day need to be aware of the harmful effects of these analgesics.  NSAIDS like Aspirin are associated with stomach ulcers, while Tylenol is associated with liver disease, and both of these when used over a long time can lead to kidney damage.  It is important to seek more effective methods that treat the cause, rather then masking the pain. 

There are other types of headaches that have more ominous conditions.  Even though these are rare, it is important to ask yourself certain questions concerning a headache.  They may be vital signs to something more serious.

1. Was there any Trauma to the head?
2. Are you taking any medications?
3. Is this a "New" headache, never felt before?
4. Do you have any visual changes?
5. Are you middle aged with a throbbing headache on the side of the head?
6. Is there an numbness of the face?
7. Do you have neck rigidity or neck pain?
8. Is the headache associated with exercise or any activities?

Headaches can be as a simple as a tense muscle to more serious conditions like an aneurysm. It is important to understand the symptoms and the cause to receive proper and effective treatment.  Many can suffer for years without knowing, trying different thing and just going in circles.  It can be a real headache- sorry for the pun.