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Milk, Wheat & Peanuts: Friend or Foe?
By Dr. Helen Thomas, D.C. | June 28, 2008
Revealed in this week’s issue…
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Cater or Cure? Instead of avoiding healthy foods like nuts, wheat and dairy… wouldn’t you rather eliminate the cause of your food intolerance? |
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After Thousands of Years…. why millions of people are suddenly becoming allergic to basic staples like wheat, dairy and nuts… |
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Milk-Free Girl Scout Cookies? Are companies helping food allergy sufferers or just cashing in on their predicament? |
Corporations see dollar signs when it comes to the subject of food intolerances. I just read an article in the Washington Post about the rise of big business providing breakfast cereals sans the nuts and breads free of gluten.
As I’m sure you’re aware, food allergies are on the rise. Companies realize they have a “hungry” market who can’t eat dairy, can’t eat gluten and can’t eat nuts. Seizing this opportunity, there are even Girl Scouts selling milk-free cookies. Anheuser-Busch has a Gluten-free beer. Kelloggs offers Pop Tarts from nut free factories.
Should We Cater to Allergies
or Should We Get Rid of Them?
Now, there’s nothing wrong with meeting a need, trying to service your consumers better and capitalizing on it. Yet even better would be to eliminate the need. I think it’s become too commonplace to be allergic to common foods.
Worse, so many people are talking like wheat is bad, dairy is bad, peanuts are bad. If they are making some people sick, sometimes to the point of death, they must be bad… right?
Not so fast.
$3.9 Billion Dollars in “Free From” Foods!
Making you think wheat, dairy and nuts are bad is a great marketing angle for selling foods that omit these ingredients. By the end of this year the food intolerance market is expected to hit $3.9 billion.
Ayurvedically, Indians have been eating nuts, dairy, and wheat for over SIX THOUSAND YEARS. There’s nothing wrong with these foods in their natural form.
Ayurveda On Why We Get Allergies
According to Ayurveda, allergies can be described as heat (e.g. inflammation) your body produces when it can’t deal with a substance that has entered into it.
So when you eat something that your body can’t absorb it will begin to ferment inside your gut. This fermentation process (or overgrowth of bacteria) produces toxins. As you know, when you have a fever, your body likes to use heat to kill off bacteria.
Now if your body is reacting to something as innocent as gluten, dairy, or nuts, there is either…
…something wrong with the way the food was grown (e.g. pesticides, wrong climate or genetic modifications)
…the way it was prepared (e.g. additives, food combinations)
…or with your body (e.g. poor digestion, metabolism)
Now there are legitimate genetic allergies — but they are few. In fact, most people aren’t really “allergic” to bread, milk and cashews — these innocent bystanders were simply at the scene of the crime. The sufferer is actually allergic to something else. Lacking witnesses, gluten or cashews get the blame.
But I’m getting ahead of myself…
The Three Levels of Food Intolerances
Level one food intolerances refers to mild reactions: . You know, when something just doesn’t sit well in your stomach after eating it. Or you may feel a little tired and feel ready for a nap. You know your body doesn’t like it, but it’s not the end of the world.
Then there are level two intolerances: This is when people start taking action. Things get more serious… like every time you have an orange a terrible rash forms, your nose runs or parts of your body start to swell up. You may have trouble standing.
Level three begins when the symptoms in level two combine with vomiting or diarrhea — as those with lactose intolerance experience.
Now, off the chart is when a child goes into anaphylactic shock because of a peanut butter sandwich. That’s an entirely different, life-or-death issue. We aren’t talking about that here.
Why the Sudden Explosion in Food Allergies?
I started my practice in 1981, seeing 90 people a day. Once or twice a month a patient would have a food allergy. Fast forward to 1993… I started hearing about allergies every single day.
As Annys Shin , the author of the Washington Post article I read, says, “Medical experts don’t know why the number of people with food allergies is increasing. Theories include reduced contact with germs, exposure to certain environmental pollutants and, in the case of peanut allergies, the way peanuts are processed and when they are introduced into people’s diets. None of the theories are backed by much research.”
So what’s going on? Next issue I’ll fill you in on why I believe so many people are experiencing food allergies from an Ayurvedic perspective. These three causes are easy to correct by making some simple changes to your diet. If you’re only experiencing mild symptoms now, next week’s tips could save you from ever having to join the “free from” club.
P.S . What do you think of the whole fad of labelling wheat, dairy, and nuts as evil? Are you allergic to any foods? Share your story and your thoughts below in the comment box.
Topics: Ayurveda & Allergies |
6 Responses to “Milk, Wheat & Peanuts: Friend or Foe?”
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June 28th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I’m with your thinking on allergies, Dr. Thomas. Keep the info coming. About 20 years ago, I ate some strawberries and had an allergic reaction to them. I didn’t eat them again until several years ago when I began eating organic foods. I ate the organic strawberries and have been enjoying them ever since.
June 28th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I’ve been allergic to cow’s milk since birth - my parents had to make formula (my mother was unable to breast feed) with goat’s milk instead. Goat and sheep milk do not give me problems, but cow’s milk is BIG trouble! Extremely painful stomach cramping, diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes even vomiting is the result of drinking cow’s milk or eating anything prepared with uncooked milk. That includes cheese and ice cream. If the cow’s milk is cooked, it seems to change the milk enough that I don’t have a reaction to it.
I’ve been using soy milk and other soy products for most of my adult life as a result. There are lots of products available now that taste very good. There is also a local goat farm that produces great yogurt and cheeses, plus other products that I enjoy as well.
I’ve heard about raw cow’s milk and the possibility that it might not give me the same reaction that commercial milk does. I would like to try it (in a very small dose, of course), but haven’t been able to find a local place to buy it.
June 28th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I have IBS and food sensitivities are a big part of my problems. It seems to get worse as I get older. I never know when I’m going to react to a food as sometimes I can tolerate certain foods and other times I can’t. Regarding raw cow’s milk, my dad always told me that because important enzymes aren’t destroyed when milk as raw, that people wouldn’t be as reactive. Unfortunately, it isn’t legal to sell raw milk in most states. However, there are dairies that have you buy into owning the cow, and then you get the milk because you can have the milk if you own the cow. Crazy, but worth looking into?
June 30th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Hi Dr. Thomas, I am blessed that I do not have any allergic problems. I am not lactose intolerant either, but I remember years ago hearing either George Carlin or Dick Gregory, one of those thought provoking comedians, say isn’t it peculiar that the same company (Bordens) that makes glue also makes milk? One of those questions that makes you go HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!
June 30th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Dr. Thomas,
I’ve read in several studies that lactose intolerance is actually the adult norm, rather than the minority. For some, the lactase enzyme is actually “turned off” at a round age 4 for humans and other mammals once they are weaned off milk. We see it as unusual in the Western countries, but currently in the studies I’ve seen, being lactose tolerant is the minority. I have had a lactose intolerance since infancy, and have recently has a series of tests to check for Celiacs and Crohns, because of my incapacitating stomach aches and diarrhea, all turning up with non-specific ileitis/chronic inflammation of the esophagus, stomach, and terminal ileum. My husband, who is beginning an internship to become a registered dietitian, suggested I try a gluten free diet. (I’ve already been lactose free for several years and drink rice milk). My symptoms have completely turned around, after only 6 weeks. I am finally having solid stool, and no stomach pains. I’m almost afraid to try to introduce a bit of gluten, even if it’s organic. I’m going to have a true allergy test done to check for food allergies, and it may turn up negative, if it was just the pesticides and processes that made me have these allergic reactions…I wanted to share this story, because at first I thought I had IBS, because even though I had gone to a milk free diet, I was still having the symptoms. Now I’m thinking I may also have gluten intolerance as well. When I do introduce a dairy product like cheese, I get gassed up and have stomach pains. Well, we’ll see what happens. For now I’m going to stay milk free and gluten free. I have no problems with nuts!
July 4th, 2008 at 3:06 am
Hi Dr. Thomas,
may Gog richly bless you abundantly for the good work you are doing.
thanks so much for the articles and the effort you make to make sure that i receive the mails you send me.
i appreciate it very much. thanks very much. i’m so grateful.
i learnt a lot and it has greatly affected my life in a very positive way.
but please Doctor, i have a very big problem especially since you raised the topic about allergies.
i’ve suffered from chronic bad breath for almost eight years now. it has affected every sphere of my life. you can imagine what i’ve been through and continue to go through.
i’ve tried several treatments including homeopathy to no avail.
one Homeo doctor said my stomach is inflamed and so i have a sluggish metabolism and i can’t digest food properly.
he also said i have bacteria toxins.
i’m still taking digestive enzymes and herbal medicines to no avail.
could it be that i have an allergy?
and can you p-lease give me a free advise on what to do since i don’t have money to pay you?
from the lessons you gave me, i realised i was mainly a pitta person with avata as my secondary dosha.
i’m black. and have one child.
because of my bad breath, i’ve lost my husband and a lot of friends. the smell is very bad.
i can’t get a job too and stay with my parents.
g\God Bless you for reading my mail.
Thanks.