Allergies and Allergy Testing

Hello.

Resuming our blogging activity it is important to speak about allergies. Lately it seems, there has been a big increase in them.

Regular medicine suppresses allergies with medications such as Antihistamines and steroids ( and others such as Singulair ). These medications, although effective DO NOT CORRECT the main problem. Why did you get the allergy in the first place and what to do to fix it.

First, my recommendation for environmental allergies ( air-related ) is to buy a good air purifier and to make the house and the working environment as clean and devoid of allergens ( pet dander, tobacco exposure, mites, etc ) as possible.

The next question is to find out what are you allergic to. This, you can do through Allergy testing. There is skin testing and blood testing. You need to know what you are allergic to to stop eating, ingesting or getting in contact with. Once this is done, the real treatment begins.

There is a Functional Medicine treatment to help treat allergies. They postulate that the allergies appear as a result of bowel inflammation. This generates cell leaks that allow "allergens" ( food molecules that should have been unable previously to cross the bowel lining ) to cross directly into the blood. At this point the blood recognizes these allergens as foreing to the body and it starts orchestrating a response. This means that everytime YOU EAT THIS FOOD you will get an allergic reaction.

The treatment is common sense. You stop the food. Heal the bowels and reinstate the food. SOUNDS SIMPLE because it is simple.

The way you heal the bowels is through fiber, antiinflammatories and probiotics through a 4R approach:

Remove refers to the elimination of anything
that may be in our body or diet which contributes
to poor health. This can include foods,
pesticides, food additives, unwanted bacteria,
fungi, and parasites.

• Reinnoculation involves the use of probiotic
supplements containing lactobacillus acidophilus,
bifi dobacteria, and other friendly flora.
These bacteria manufacture vitamins, repel harmful microbes, and have anti-tumor effects.

They are easily disrupted by use of antibiotics
and the stress of contemporary living.

• Replace refers to the addition of supplements
to support digestive function and may include:
digestive enzymes, bile salts, and/or HCl.

• Repair refers to the nutritional support that
helps quickly regenerate and heal the body.

You can find your local Functional Medicine doctor to help you treat allergies and bowel problems.

Thanks

Carlos A. Suarez MD