From the editor's desk

Original Internist, March, 2002 by Jack Kessinger

How Ubiquitious Are Autoimmune Disorders?

Question: What did Yul Brynner, John Wayne, Desi Arnaz, Humphrey Bogart, Steve McQueen, and Robert Mitchum all have in common?

Answer: They all died prematurely from diseases that are largely preventable (caused by tobacco smoke).

Question: What do heart disease (the number one crisis disease in the Western world), cancer (whose prevention and treatment, except for soft tissue cancers which comprise only about ten percent of all cancers, remain elusive), and diabetes mellitus (reportedly now our fastest growing disease) have in common?

Answer: They are all preventable diseases.

However, these conditions continue to be managed by conventional medicine whose practitioners, while totally ignoring the body's own regenerative capabilities, doggedly seek an artificial "magic bullet" solution. Traditional treatment for catastrophic illnesses in the medical community has little regard for the need for proper nutrition, even in the face of undisputable evidence about how universal and fatal malnutrition is. Furthermore, the significance of a properly functioning immune system is essentially ignored.

The first symptoms of a weakened or compromised immune system are frequent colds, sore throats, flu, and pneumonia. A compromised immune system eventually allows some cancer cells to survive and multiply. On the other hand, an overly aggressive immune system attacks its own host tissues. This condition is called an autoimmune disorder.

How do food allergies fit into the picture of our most serious and degenerative conditions? We know malnutrition is epidemic and life-threatening. We, especially alternative practitioners, know unhealthy lifestyle practices lead to premature death. It is now becoming clear that autoimmune disorders are a lot more common than originally imagined. Environmental and delayed food allergies are rapidly becoming identified as vital pieces of the health care.

For the past two decades increasing numbers of reports conclude that delayed food allergic reactions are often responsible for much more than the classic signs of allergies (i.e., sinusitis, hay fever, erythema, urticaria, and gastrointestinal complaints). Many researchers and clinicians now believe that allergic reactions are associated with a wide range of conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, hyperactivity, headaches, cardiac arrhythmia, and musculoskeletal pains, as well as the more commonly recognized autoimmune disorders (e.g., juvenile onset diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).

A lengthy United States government study, Report to the National Institutes of Health on Alternative Medical Systems and Practices in the United States, stated that allergies to foods (or food intolerance) have become a major area of research in recent years. Many of the researchers involved specialize in environmental causes of disease -- the impact of such environmental factors as food, food additives, chemicals, and inhalants.

For years we have utilized food allergy testing for many run-of-the-mill health disorders. We find that conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc., usually respond very satisfactorily if we first identify and then eliminate specific foods to which the individual shows a sensitivity. We then rely on dietary management of food allergies -- avoidance of food antigens and a four-day rotational, diversified diet. Nutritional supplements are prescribed according to objective nutritional and laboratory testing and the symptoms of the patient.

Once the offending foods are identified, avoidance usually results in a drastic and almost immediate improvement in symptoms (usually within four to six days). With the rotation diet and its avoidance of repetitive food exposure, it is possible to reduce sensitivity to foods and hasten recovery from food allergies.

If an allergy is acquired rather than inherited, after a period of time the food can usually be tolerated again without unwanted side effects if not consumed too often. This is important because the foods we are the most allergic to are often among our favorites. After at least several weeks of avoiding the offending food, the patient sometimes finds he/she can occasionally eat that food without the symptoms reappearing. The usual rule of thumb is about once a week.

A provocative challenge is the only true test of an allergy. Proof of an allergy is confirmed when the symptoms disappear each time the allergic agent is avoided and reappear when it is reintroduced. The patient is usually told that by following the program they will have a good understanding of what does or does not bother them in about three months.

First, the patient is asked to avoid the foods for which they have a positive allergy test and rotate all other foods so their immune system only sees that particular food or its family no more often than every four days. By following the rotary diet avoidance, the body begins to clear. After that, when a sensitive food is reintroduced, a reaction occurs much more quickly, making it easier to pinpoint the offending food.