Hundreds of practicing physicians have found that they can help many of their chronically ill patients by identifying and eliminating foods that play a major role in causing their symptoms. One such physician, my good friend Dr. Elmer Cranton, has for more than a decade used elimination/challenge diets in treating his patients with yeast-related health problems. In a recent letter, he said to me:
I routinely prescribe elimination/challenge diets in all of my patients with yeast-related problems. By identifying trouble-making foods and removing them from the diet, I have decrease the patient's allergic load. Then the antifungal diet and other parts of my treatment program are much more apt to be successful.
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| Yeast And Allergies |
Many other physicians who are members of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy, the Pan American Allergy Society and the American Holistic Medical Association, use elimination/challenge diets in helping their chronically ill patients.
So do a small but growing number of physicians who are members or fellows of the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, the American College of Allergy and Immunology and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
One member of the latter organization, Dr. Harold Hedges, of Little Rock, Arkansas has for more than a decade, emphasized the importance of delayed-onset hidden food sensitivities. In a comprehensive article in the November 1992, American Family Physician, he said:
The connection between food and a number of medical illness is clearly established. Adverse reactions to food may also be responsible for frequently recurring or chronic symptoms in patients whose medical examinations and tests are normal. In these and other patients, a well-planned and well-executed elimination diet can be the key to diagnosis. Specifically, use of an elimination diet might be considered when no other cause can be found for the symptoms.
SUPPORT IN THE PRESS
The frequency and importance of food allergies was emphasized by health columnist Jane Brody in The New York Times who said:
Millions of Americans say certain foods make them sick. Are doctors paying dose enough attention?
She also discussed the controversy about food allergies and sensitivities among physicians and said:
In researching this article, I initially believed that most of the claims attacking this food or that as the cause of everything from hair loss to athlete's foot were elaborate hokum. But after looking at the medical research and learning about various people's experiences, I now wonder whether the rigid thinking of some doctors is not ill advised. Indeed, in dismissing symptoms that don't involve the immune system, these doctors might be doing a disservice to the health and well being of millions of Americans.
Jean Carper, whose books and columns have been read by millions of Americans, has discussed food allergies in her weekly column in USA Weekend, which I've read for the past several years. And in her book, Food - Your Miracle Medicine, she lists headaches, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome and depression as complaints that may be food-related. She also said that there's growing scientific recognition that these maladies are often food-related.
HOW TO TRACK DOWN YOUR HIDDEN FOOD SENSITIVITIES
Over the years, as I worked with women with yeast-related problems, I learned that almost without exception, every woman with these problems was bothered by food sensitivities.
Here are some of the things you'll need to do to track down what may be aggravating your problems:
- Before beginning the diet, sit down with family members and get their cooperation.
- Carry out the diet at an appropriate time. (Don't try it when you're traveling or during a holiday.)
- Before beginning the diet, you'll need to keep a symptom diary and inventory for at least three days.
- Continue a diet diary while you remain on the diet.
- Continue the diet for five to 10 days or until you show convincing improvement in your symptoms.
- To identify food troublemakers, return the eliminated foods to your diet, one food each day, and see if your symptoms return. You may notice symptoms within a few minutes, or they may not occur for several hours or until the next day.
- milk
- Kool Aid, punch, etc.
- wheat
- eggs
- chocolate
- sugar in all forms
- corn
- food colors and dyes
- soft drinks
- processed and packaged foods
If you've been bothered by asthma or have experienced swelling or other serious reactions, get the help and consultation of your physician before carrying out the diet.
Different allergy troublemakers may bother you, and other factors may lower your resistance. I sometimes refer to them as "gremlins."
To regain your health you'll need to discover which gremlins are causing your problems and take steps to control them.
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| Yeast And Allergies |
MY COMMENTS
Over the past 15 years, researchers have found that people who experience hidden or delayed-onset food allergies may often show abnormal tests. Although I've used these tests from time to time, I've relied more on the elimination/challenge diet, and I find the results are much more beneficial to my patients this way. However, if you just don't have the time to do the elimination/challenge diet, the allergy tests can be invaluable.
And, beginning in 2002, I now recommend electrodermal screening (also known as BioMeridian testing) as an additional aid to tracking down food sensitivities. To find out more, you can check out Yeast And Allergies.