Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (64 page)

In addition to the symptoms previously listed, children with food and/or environmental sensitivities may have:

Attention deficit disorder

Behavior problems

Learning problems

Recurring ear infections

Children with these problems will often benefit from a dietary evaluation and environmental sensitivity testing.

Some people have intolerances to sugars or specific carbohydrates in certain foods. This means that they lack the enzymes that are needed to digest them. The most common ones include gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, and fructose intolerance.

Lactose intolerance is common, affecting 25 percent of Americans and 75 percent of people globally and is highly prevalent in African Americans, Asian Americans, Caucasian Americans of Mediterranean and Jewish descent, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Lactose intolerance is not a milk allergy, which is the inability to digest milk proteins such as casein. Lactose intolerance is caused by a deficiency in lactase, an enzyme that digests lactose, which is a sugar naturally found in milk and milk products. After the age of two, our lactase production gradually tapers. Lowering of our ability to digest lactose can also occur from infections (bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal), foods, and other substances that can injure the lining of the gut. Lactose intolerance causes a wide variety of symptoms, including abdominal cramping, acne, bloating, diarrhea, gas, eczema, headaches, and nausea. Often when dysbiosis is balanced, lactose intolerance becomes less of a problem.

Most people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate some dairy products, which makes figuring this out less obvious than one would think. Often it’s a matter of amount; sometimes it’s a matter of which type of dairy product. I, personally, can eat kefir and raw milk cheeses but cannot drink milk. Other people have told me that they can eat low-fat yogurt but not full-fat yogurt; and others just the opposite. Eliminating dairy completely from your diet for two to four weeks or doing a hydrogen breath test will give you a good idea whether dairy is for you.

A hereditary form of fructose intolerance occurs in 1 in 10,000 people and generally shows up when children are small. They naturally dislike sweets, juices, and foods that have fructose because it makes them sick.

But we can acquire fructose intolerance because of the high amount of fruit and sweeteners we eat. The average person eats more than 140 pounds of processed sugars a year, pushing many of us above the threshold that we can tolerate. Fructose is found in highest conentrations in table sugar, apples, pears, fruit juices, dried fruit, watermelon, honey, high fructose corn syrup, corn syup solids, agave nectar, sorbitol, xylitol, and sweet wines. So, drinking sweetened teas and soft drinks is a big no-no!

Typically people with fructose intolerance are diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. Common symptoms include loose stools or diarrhea, constipation, alternating diarrhea and constipation, gas, bloating, cramping, indigestion, depression, sometimes belching, nausea, and occasional vomiting. Testing for fructose intolerance is also done with breath testing.

If you have fructose intolerance, you’ll want to avoid all foods that contain high amounts of fructose. You may also want to avoid foods with high fructan content including artichokes, asparagus, leeks, onions, and wheat products.

See
Chapter 11
, “Functional Medicine/Functional Testing,” for more information on lactose, fructose, and gluten testing.

Lectins are found everywhere in nature. They are found in high amounts in all beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts, and in smaller amounts in edible snails and wheat. Plants produce them to protect themselves from being eaten, and they are involved in germination. In our own bodies lectins play a role in the immune system by recognizing carbohydrates that don’t belong. On the other hand, they can wreak havoc if we don’t have the enzymes to digest them: They bind to carbohydrate molecules in all tissues and cause them to clump together. They bind to the GI mucosa, which weakens it and allows it to become permeable (leaky). They degranulate mast cells, which causes them to produce IgE antibodies and set off allergic reactions.

Lectins, when not properly digested, can connect two IgE molecules, which triggers the release of histamines and begins an allergic reaction, mimicking food allergies. The digestive system and nervous system are especially sensitive to lectin reactions. This can appear as irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, or nearly any inflammatory condition. The people whose arthritis responds to elimination of the nightshade family of foods (potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers) probably have lectin sensitivities.

By cooking beans for long periods of time or in a pressure cooker, we can destroy most of the lectins. Taking digestive enzymes can also help.

Oddly enough, about half of people with food sensitivities and intolerances crave the foods that make them sick. This is because many foods, such as wheat and dairy products, produce protein molecules that are really similar to our natural endorphins, called exorphins. Endorphins and their mimics, exorphins, lessen pain and help generate a general sense of well-being in our world. So, even if we are intolerant of lactose, we crave it and even feel better when we drink milk … temporarily, that is. And then we crave some more.

Environmental sensitivities are another type of enzyme deficiency, but this one is a lack of liver detoxification enzymes. (See
Chapter 18
for more on detoxification.) Chronic exposure to food additives, household chemicals, building materials, contaminated recirculating air, and impure water can so depress and weaken a person’s immune system that eventually exposure to even a small amount of a toxin can make one acutely or chronically ill. This condition, called environmental illness or multiple chemical sensitivities, is becoming more and more common. Two recent studies put its incidence at 12.9 percent and 15.9 percent in adults.

If blood testing shows that you have environmental allergies, or if you know that specific substances make you ill, it is essential that you avoid these substances. Malic acid taken supplementally can be helpful in neutralizing some of the reactions. Unfortunately, many people look fine and are treated as if they are depressed or psychotic. This is a serious illness and if you suspect environmental illness, it is also important to work with a health-care provider who is educated in this area. Look for an M.D. who specializes in environmental medicine (
http://www.aaemonline.org
).

Allergy testing for true IgE allergies is straightforward. It is most often done with scratch testing, but it can also be done with a simple blood test called modified RAST testing.

Testing for food and environmental
sensitivities
is less clear-cut. One problem is that there is little standardization of non-IgE-mediated laboratory testing. That means labs use a variety of methodologies, and results don’t compare well between methods; however, they can compare well when the same methods are used. Some labs test for generalized inflammation to various foods by measuring inflammatory markers. Other labs test for specific antibodies, mainly IgG, while some labs test for IgA, IgM, or IgG4 antibodies. And some of these labs also test for IgE, true allergies, at the same time.

Table 14.1
offers a comparison of laboratories that test for food allergies. This table gives specifics on what each laboratory is measuring, which may include specific antibodies (IgA, IgE, IgG, IgG4, IgM), type III immune complexes, or type IV cell activation.

Table 14.1
Comparison of Laboratories for Delayed Food Sensitivity Reactions

Environmental screening panels measure antibody reaction to chemicals commonly found in our homes, yards, workplaces, and public places. People often test positive to household cleaning supplies and petroleum-based chemicals. Several laboratories perform antibody testing for foods, dusts, environmental chemicals, heavy metals, molds, and pollens.

What I find is that although the results differ, all of these labs can give information that will give you good results. None of the labs finds all sensitivities; yet they all find enough to lower your overall load to help you feel better. These labs are listed in the Resources section at
http://www.digestivewellnessbook.com
.

With a holistic treatment program, you can become increasingly less sensitive to foods and environmental antigens over time. Begin by avoiding all substances you are sensitive or allergic to. Using the probiotics, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and herbs listed in this section will speed the process. Eating organically grown, nutrient-rich, natural foods promotes the body’s self-repair. An exercise program and stress management also play a part in recovery.