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Is There a Connection Between Food Allergies and Mental Health?

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When it comes to the topic of food allergies, many of us think of
young children and peanut allergies. After all, the
sometimes-fatal reactions of those with peanut allergies are
responsible for warnings on food, in restaurants, and other
establishments where one may come in contact with peanuts or
peanut residue. You should know, though, that food allergies go
well beyond peanuts, young children, and physical reactions.


Additional Article Information:
===============================

925 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2008-09-02 11:00:00

Written By: Valerie Balandra ARNP
Copyright: 2008
Contact Email: mailto:info@...



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Is There a Connection Between Food Allergies and Mental Health?
Copyright (c) 2008 Valerie Balandra ARNP
Integrative Psychiatry
http://www.integrativepsychiatry.net



When it comes to the topic of food allergies, many of us think of
young children and peanut allergies. After all, the
sometimes-fatal reactions of those with peanut allergies are
responsible for warnings on food, in restaurants, and other
establishments where one may come in contact with peanuts or
peanut residue. You should know, though, that food allergies go
well beyond peanuts, young children, and physical reactions.

How many times have we all heard the old adage, “You are what you
eat”? Plenty! Americans, especially, hear this constantly, along
with staggering statistics about how obese and unhealthy we are;
how the children of today are expected to be the first to be
outlived by their parents’ generation!

In addition to health risks such as heart disease, diabetes, and
a host of obesity-related illnesses and complications, have you
ever made a connection between foods and mental illness? Not
alcohol or other drugs, but foods. More specifically, food
allergies may be responsible for a significant number of mental
health related issues!

There are actually four different types of food allergies (IgE or
Type 1, IgG or Type 3, IgM, and IgA) that can have an effect on
your digestive system and, in turn, your mental healthfulness.
Type 1 (IgE) allergies are the type of food allergies that get
the most attention. Occurring in roughly 2-5% of the population,
mainly children, these are the allergies that present in
frightening suddenness.

Hives, stomach cramps, swelling, wheezing, and even anaphylaxis
can all occur with Type 1 food allergies. In fact, in the U.S.
alone, approximately 30,000 people with have food-induced
anaphylaxis in a given year, approximately 150 of those resulting
in death. The deaths are usually of adolescents and young adults.

Because food allergies are not completely understood, and
certainly not always identified before they cause a severe or
even fatal reaction, this past June, the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced new grants of
over $5 million to be devoted to further study. In addition, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to contribute
another $2 million, spread over two years, to the same research.

Type 3 (IgG) allergies can show reactive effects up to several
days later, so often the connection between an ailment and the
food(s) eaten isn’t even made by the sufferer or perhaps even any
medical practitioners with whom they consult. Shockingly, 45-60%
of the population suffers from Type 3 food allergies, many of
them never being aware of it.

These Type 3 delayed food reactions have been linked to over 100
different allergic symptoms and 150 different medical diseases.
The mental health issues associated with delayed food allergies
include: ADHD, anxiety, autism, chronic fatigue (which can go
beyond just physical feelings and affect mental health, as well),
depression, dizziness (often associated with anxiety),
hyperactivity, lethargy, PMS, tension, weight gain and weight
loss (both of which tend to have an effect on self-esteem).

So how exactly do these food allergies and reactions contribute
to the mental health issues named above? Quite simply, studies
have already shown a connection between stress, inflammation, and
disease. If you ever eat as a result of feeling stress, your
chances of developing inflammation and food allergies is
increased. This then leads to the effects on mental and physical
health.

The most common food allergies include: tree nuts, peanuts, cow’s
milk, hen’s eggs, soybeans, fish, shellfish, and wheat. For most
of us, many of these are foods we eat frequently. And with a
statistic like up to 60% of Americans have delayed food
allergies, it is cause for concern.

There are different ways to test for food allergies. You can ask
your general practitioner to test, you can ask for a referral to
an allergist, there are even home blood and saliva tests. They
can cost up to several hundred dollars but the investment in your
health is well worth it, even if insurance does not cover them.

Other things you can do at home, to decrease your food reactions,
are: exercise, take appropriate supplements, and avoid foods you
think or know are problematic for you. If you find that
eliminating certain food from your diet increases your wellness,
it’s entirely possible you were suffering from delayed food
allergies!

Some of the most common supplements food allergy sufferers use
include omega 3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA), and iFlora probiotic.
It is always a good idea to check with your family doctor before
adding supplements to your diet, especially if you are on any
other medications, prescribed or otherwise. There can be
interactions and other effects that will end up just adding to
your problems. Better safe than sorry, as they say.

There is a wealth of information available on food allergies,
food allergy testing, and food allergy supplements, on the World
Wide Web. Before you begin searching for products, do your
research and focus on .gov and .org sites. A good way to go about
this is to do a Google search using “inurl:” or “ingov:” without
quotes and followed after the colon by the keywords you want.
This is to help safeguard against promise-anything websites that
won’t deliver the results you need to be truly healthy.

In addition, if you plan to use the web to shop for supplements,
the FDA has some research guidelines to help you. Your health is
your responsibility. You owe it to yourself and anyone depending
on you to get informed and make mental and physical wellness a
priority. Food allergies in you and those you love are worth
looking into.




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Valerie Balandra ARNP, BC is a board certified psychiatric nurse
practitioner and holistic health practitioner. Her Integrative
Psychiatry practice and website offers lab testing to find the
root cause of each individuals physical and psychological
symptoms. For more information on Food Allergy
Testing visit http://www.integrativepsychiatry.net



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