Food Addiction, Food Allergy and Overweight

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Food Addiction, Food Allergy and Overweight

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Sephen Levine, Ph. D.

Have you ever eaten something - a bowl of ice cream, a piece of cheese, an

orange - and felt hungrier than before? Do you have urges for a particular

food and find it hard to satisfy your craving unless you eat that particular

food?

If the answer is " yes " to either of these questions, then you have a food

allergy. If you are also fat, then chances are your food allergy is making you

fat.

Food sensitivities may cause allergic people to crave those foods to which

they are allergic. Just as a drug addict suffers withdrawal symptoms when the

drug is withdrawn, allergic people experience discomfort when they lose

access to a particular food.

Obese people can testify to the overwhelming power of food allergy

addiction. Compulsive eaters crave and continue to eat those allergenic foods

to which

they are addicted day after day. The obese person has no idea that his daily

food cravings or eating habits are based on a physiological need to stop

withdrawal symptoms caused by food allergy addiction.

The phenomenon of simultaneous allergy and addiction to both foods and

chemicals is now well accepted by doctors specializing in the diagnosis and

treatment of allergies. These specialists, known as clinical ecologists,

believe

that many chronic health problems, such as migraine, fatigue, depression, and

arthritis are caused by allergies to foods and chemicals and affect

approximately one-third of the population living in industrialized countries.

It is commonly observed that the same food may cause different reactions

among different people. An individual’s genetic predisposition to allergies

will

determine which part of his body will become the vulnerable target organ or

tissue. Any major organ may become involved: the symptoms of cerebral

allergies include hyperactivity, depression, irritability, headaches and some

forms

of schizophrenia; hypoglycemia is a manifestation of pancreatic malfunction,

frequently caused by allergy; while in other cases, the blood vessels may be

the target organ with the resulting signs of vasculitis and edema. The

symptoms are compounded and are generally more severe following frequent

contact

with an allergy-provoking food.

Water retention, or edema, is particularly common among allergic individuals

and is an important contributing factor to obesity. The removal of an

offending food will often result in a rapid water loss of five to ten pounds

within

a week’s time, all without the use of a diuretic.

Michael Rosenbaum, M.D., who practices preventive medicine in Mill Valley,

California, has observed this water retention phenomenon frequently among

patients in his allergy clinic. He found that following the initial water loss,

the person tends to lose fat more easily, even without dieting. Rosenbaum

states: " food sensitivities can cause the body to retain both water and fat. "

Often, Rosenbaum believes, the big weight loss that occurs when someone follows

a low-allergen diet has nothing to do with the quantity of calories in the

diet.

The following scenarios by Dr. Rosenbaum illustrate the dramatic weight loss

achieved among patients following the elimination of allergy-provoking foods

from their diet: " One of my patients who was found to be sensitive to dairy

products decided to substitute bread and beer to make up for the removal of

milk and cheese from his diet. He was probably consuming even more calories

and still managed to lose ten pounds in the first month without even trying.

The next time I saw him, his pants were falling off. "

" Another one of my patients, a woman in her early thirties, was undergoing a

stressful period when she came to my office. She had sensitivities to wheat

and dairy products and adopted a ‘what-the-hell type attitude,’ continuing

to eat those foods regularly. Besides seeing her weight balloon from 140 to

180 pounds, she developed a gnawing depression and irritability. "

" Finally, after several months of self-abuse, she stopped eating wheat and

dairy products. After a few months on the allergen-free diet, she is back to

140 pounds. Her friends have remarked about her wonderful transformation and

were amazed at the way the weight had just come off by itself. "

Dr. Rosenbaum believes that food sensitivity exerts its most profound effect

on the limbic portion of the brain. This section of the brain houses the

control centers of our emotions as well as memory and vegetative functions,

including body temperature, sexuality, blood pressure, sleep, hunger and

thirst.

Food allergies seem to affect most of these vital functions.

This neurophysiological analysis is shared by William Philpott, M.D., a

clinical ecologist from Oklahoma City, who has written extensively on the

subject. Dr. Philpott speculates the frequent contact with allergenic foods

triggers

a rise in the brain opioid enkephalin. The enkephalin is a narcotic produced

by the body that is as addictive as externally supplied narcotics.

The primary food allergens are coffee, dairy products, wheat, eggs and corn.

In Oriental countries, rice is a prominent allergen. Among vegetables, white

potatoes and lettuce are potent allergens. Marshall Mandell, M.D. of

Norwalk, Connecticut and author of " Dr. Mandell’s 5 Day Allergy Relief

System " ,

found that 92.2 percent of hospitalized schizophrenic patients were allergic to

one or more common substances. When Dr. Mandell tested a group of patients

diagnosed as hard-to-treat neurotics, he found that 88 percent of them were

allergic go wheat, 50 percent to corn and 60 percent to milk.

Charles McGee, M.D., who practices clinical ecology in C’oeur D’Alene,

Idaho, and is the author of " How To Survive Modern Technology " , was asked

whether

in his opinion, food and chemical allergies could be a major cause of

obesity, he replied: " There are many people who are addicted to all sorts of

foods.

The ones who are addicted to coffee, do not necessarily get fat. If they are

addicted to sugar or wheat, they may end up running around with candies or

wheat-containing crackers in their pockets to satisfy the craving. What’s

most

important is that it’s extremely difficult for these allergic individuals to

lose weight unless they ultimately gain control of their food allergies.

They must identify the particular allergens, break the craving and then

eliminate the chemical or food. "

To understand both allergic and associated addictive phenomenon we can look

at the two conditions, both as aspects of food intolerance. In

allergy-addiction, there are three principle stages: the first stage is

characterized by an

acute allergic reaction to a toxic substance. Recall the first time that

you, or someone whom you know, smoked a cigarette.

Most frequently, the individual will find the smoke distasteful and may even

have clinical symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and dizziness.

This acute reaction can be taken as evidence that the cigarette smoke has

some toxic effects on the body. After smoking becomes a habit, the symptoms are

no longer noticeable. Your body gets used to the smoke and the symptoms are

said to be " masked, " or hidden. The masking can be considered an adaptation

by the body to tolerate the poison with which it comes in frequent contact.

Even though there are overt symptoms, the adaptation to this obvious toxin

takes its toll in terms of chronic body stress.

During this period, the adaptation is so strong that you become dependent on

cigarettes, or in other words, " hooked. " You must smoke at regular intervals

to avoid withdrawal symptoms. When you try to quit, your body craves the

cigarettes: you are addicted in the truest sense of the word, and you will

experience the addictive aspect of the " allergy-addiction syndrome. "

It is significant that all addictions are similar in this regard - whether

cigarettes, coffee, heroin, wheat or milk products. The final stage occurs

when the body fails to maintain adaptation and experiences the allergic and

addicted symptomatology simultaneously. This is the stage in which chronic

symptoms of disease emerge.

Now just about any clinical symptom can result from the allergy-addiction

syndrome. Dr. Ellen Grant reported in the medical journal, Lancet, that 85

percent of migraine sufferers could be rendered symptom-free when the followed

a

diet excluding the ten most common food allergens. Some of the most

provocative agents were cigarettes, coffee, and birth control pills. The

evidence is

also strong for the allergic causation of arthritis, asthma and diabetes.

The allergic reaction itself can result in a drastic reduction in blood

sugar with the accompanying symptomatology: weakness, hunger and irritability.

Allergic hunger is pathological in that it does not respond to the normal

satiety control center in the brain when food is consumed in normal amounts, so

both the addictive and allergic responses to allergy can cause uncontrollable

eating behavior.

In one case history of a 37 year old woman who had trouble with many

different weight reduction programs, including the HCG (human chorionic

gonadotrophin) diet, the drinking man’s diet, the Stillman diet, it became

evident that

after each partially successful episode of weight reduction she would regain

her weight.

The reason for this lady’s difficulties was later found to be food

allergies. In the 6-hour oral glucose tolerance test, we found a marked

hypoglycemic

curve: the blood sugar dropped from 220 at 1 hour to 45 mg percent at 3 1/2

hours. At this time she experienced severe shakiness, giddiness, nausea and

shortness of breath as well as other symptoms. She was assured that once the

food allergen was determined and eliminated from her system, the symptoms of

hypoglycemia would disappear.

People who are allergic to sugar experience a craving for sweets. One

patient ate 50 twinkies a day and although her stomach would hurt, she would

keep

on eating. When her husband left for work in the morning she would take a

tablespoon of sugar as soon as he was out the door, because it would make her

feel good.

She would actually get high on sugar. Three or four hours later she would go

into a depression and had attempted suicide several times. Her suicide

attempts were prompted by withdrawal symptoms. The woman didn’t get well

until a

conscientious physician wrestled with the etiology of her problem, namely a

food allergy. Now she realizes that she must read all food labels for

ingredients.

Patients afflicted with allergy-addictions will usually experience a sense

of well being after a month on an allergen-free diet. Many individuals lose

excess water from their tissues and achieve a weight loss of from 10 to 15

pounds.

Dr. Rosenbaum, as well as other nutritionally oriented allergists rely on

other methods besides avoidance of the allergenic foods. Vitamin C and mineral

bicarbonates are used extensively in allergy clinics throughout the country.

The mineral buffers should not include sodium, which is a hypertensive agent

and can make a person more prone to edema, but instead the minerals calcium,

magnesium and potassium. These buffers will neutralize the acidity caused by

the allergic reaction and alleviate stress, thereby inducing symptomatic

relief.

As little as tone teaspoon of this combination of nutrients can totally

knock out hunger cravings caused by food allergies as well as eliminate the

withdrawal symptoms caused by exclusion of the addictive foods.

This is symptomatic relief, but works dramatically and also gives a clear

indication that the symptoms were caused by allergic phenomenon. If the

nutrient combination eliminates your hunger then you can be sure that your

hunger

was induced by some aspect of the allergy-addiction syndrome.

Functional food and chemical allergies have been largely ignored by most

medical doctors. One reasons for this is that there has been no miracle drug

that can be heavily promoted by the drug companies, so the doctors would not be

encouraged to diagnose the disease and then treat it. Until now there has

been no simple, easy cure for allergies. Nutritional treatment in the form of

vitamin, mineral, amino acid and glandular supplements accompanied by avoidance

of allergenic foods offer the critical answer to this problem.

Certain aspects of nutritional medicine can fall under the heading of, what

the author calls. " Nutritional Pharmacology. " The most striking example of

this in regard to food allergies and weight reduction is the success achieved

in combining buffers of mineral bicarbonate and vitamin C. Through

readjustment of the normal pH balance in the body, you can eliminate many of

the

symptoms of food allergy, especially hunger. This simple test, using a highly

buffered Vitamin C solution and observing whether it controls your appetite is

an

excellent diagnostic procedure for the determination of food allergies.

Patients with multiple and severe allergies are well advised to visit a

clinical

ecologist or nutritionally oriented allergist.