Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Can We Cure Our Own Food Allergies?

We all know there is no cure for food allergies...if there were, the whole food allergy community would be on a long line to get it and this blog wouldn't exist.

However, we all did a silent double-take when not too long ago, we heard on the news about a boy with leukemia had a bone marrow transplant which not only got rid of his cancer, but also his anaphylactic peanut allergy as well. I was in the gym at the time and felt like I had won the lottery, calling everyone close to me already weighing the risks of a bone marrow transplant....only to discover later that day that this was not something that doctors were going to carry out as a treatment plan--it was only for cancer patients.

I'm not going to lie, a part of me wished I could get leukemia just so I could get the bone marrow transplant and have an entirely new immune system. To me, that seemed like a sure cure...a tangible treatment. Then I felt really guilty because I know cancer patients need transplants, not me.

Then about two weeks ago, I got my food allergy blood tests back and compared it to my old food allergy test from 2009.

I was shocked, to say the least.

My blood test from 2009 shows the following:


As you can see, my peanut is through the roof at 60.10

Hazelnut is a reasonably high 16.00

Pea is 8.29

Lentil is 6.83

Soybean is 5.82

Pistachio is 3.93

Brazil nut is 3.26

Cashew is 1.05

Although the almond shows zero, almond milk and nougat gave me a very slight reaction so I always avoided it.

To help interpret the severity of the numbers, here is the key:




Here are this year's blood test results:




If you look at the Reference Range columns, you can see that some of them decreased slightly and peanut, although still deadly, decreased from a 60.10 to an 18.40!!! Soy decreased to a 2.18 from 5.82 and according to the test, my allergy to cashews has disappeared.

According to the results, the slight hand eczema reactions I thought I was having from almonds was actually probably from the soy lecithin in the chocolate...because almonds are at a zero.

To think that the numbers decreased that much in four years made me wonder if maybe they would continue to disappear!!??

The question remains: What caused these decreases in my immune reactions to these allergens? What literally changed my blood so much that I am no longer allergic to cashews? The next one that seems to be disappearing is brazil nut....but will the same happen eventually for soybean and peanut?

I am no doctor. I am far from it. What I am, is extremely aware of what I ingest, touch and inhale. I am very aware of natural supplements that have been rumored to cure all kinds of diseases that directly affect the immune system.

Here is what I did.

Over the past four years I have changed my diet significantly. I've eliminated all soy derivatives from my diet. I am taking probiotics regularly. I started taking refrigerated Barlean's Flaxseed oil in my smoothies almost daily. I have also been gluten-free since May of this year after a failed gluten challenge (its when you basically torture yourself by eating large amounts of gluten so that your cilia in the lining of your intestine are damaged enough to show up in the biopsy). I also have been taking Solgar Ester C in huge amounts (2,000-6,000 mg/per day depending on the season to stifle severe environmental allergy symptoms). If you decide to try this, only take 1,000 of Ester at a time WITH meals otherwise it can upset your stomach.

I've been eating as healthy as possible: kale, greens and spring mix organic salads with homemade dressings. I try to eat only grass-fed dairy, because if I give in for some half and half at Starbucks I suffer the tummy issues. I only eat grass-fed beef and organic chicken. I try to stick with grass-fed dairy as much as I can find; yogurt, cheese and milk. As for eggs, only flaxseed fed organic eggs for me, to avoid the soy feed.

I don't know the answer...BUT I am posting this so that you see the light at the end of the tunnel. I plan on continuing what I'm doing health-wise and hopefully the numbers will continue to drop...and drop....and in two to four years, I might be able to show you a miracle or two.

4 comments:

  1. I test completely negative for several anaphylactic allergens on blood tests, but continue to have anaphylactic reactions when exposed to them. My doctor says that this is because I'm avoiding the allergen and thus not producing antibodies to it. So while your nut allergies *could* be less, it could just be that you are avoiding them better.

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  2. Thank you for the heads up, Bec! Very interesting and good to know. I definitely have to look into this further before jumping the gun. I will do a taste test for each one at zero over the next several weeks and gauge my reactions...hopefully I can get some more concrete answers.

    Thank you again for stopping by and the feedback!!!

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  3. I haven't had tests to verify this, but in the past year I KNOW that my allergies have gotten less severe. And I feel that a lot of this is due to how careful I am. I can now have food where "soybean oil" is listed waaaaaay down on the the ingredients list (still not lecithin), but only very rarely. My totally non-scientific hypothesis is that I am becoming less sensitive because I go so long without accidental soy poisoning that my body doesn't always remember that I can't handle soy. Like you I've also been focusing on building up my immune system as much as possible with good foods and exercise, so maybe between the two factors I'm doing better?

    Also, on a side note, I accompanied some family on a trip to Lourdes and I'm hoping that I'm miraculously cured...but I'm too weak-willed to really test it by eating some edamame or something :)

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  4. Anon,

    Hmmm, that sounds promising and yes, my deduction from the blood tests supports your theory that the more you avoid an allergenic food in all its forms and derivatives, the lower the body's allergic response seems to be over a period of time.

    Are there any medical doctors or nurses who can vouch for this or add some insight to these ideas?

    I'm definitely going to do a food challenge for the ones at zero and I will further update this post with the results.

    Thank you for stopping by and relating your experience...I really do believe that strict adherence to immune-boosting foods and supplements does make a difference over time.

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