For sinuses, springtime may be the cruelest months as a profusion of airborne plant allergens cause uncomfortable and energy-robbing symptoms for many people. While chronic sinus problems may not seem like a serious health threat, they can indicate imbalances in other systems such as digestion and immunity. Sinus infections may also cause symptoms like chronic headaches, abdominal pain and menstrual problems. There is only a thin plate of bone between the sinuses and the brain, so sinus infections can also negatively affect the brain. In Traditional Chinese Medicine this is known as a “phlegm condition,” resulting in mental fog.

Test Yourself

Chronic sinusitis is most effectively addressed using safe and natural remedies, since antibiotics provide only temporary, partial relief. It’s actually very easy to tell if you are suffering from an ongoing hidden sinus infection by performing a simple screening test: Push your three middle fingers into your maxillary sinuses (just under the bone under your eyes) or frontal sinuses (in your forehead). If you feel pressure, keep applying the same pressure and wait. If the pressure increases over time, you may have chronic sinusitis.

Natural Solutions

The holistic treatment of chronic sinusitis requires a dynamic approach that addresses allergies, the digestive system, dental health, immune support, circulation and drainage. Key components include gentle detoxification, herbs and botanicals, diet, acupuncture, nutrients, and homeopathic remedies. These natural therapies can offer long-term support for sinuses while improving overall health in the process.

The Link Between Allergies And Digestion

It may seem like a stretch to link allergies with digestion, but they are very closely connected.

One common source of allergies is intestinal inflammation which allows large molecules to pass through the gut wall, entering the circulation. When the immune system identifies these foreign molecules, an immune attack is launched. This allergic reaction initiates an inflammatory process that can significantly affect the sinuses. Two dietary sources known to cause sinus congestion and allergies in many people are dairy products and gluten (found in wheat, rye, barley, spelt and kamut). By avoiding these two food groups, allergy-prone individuals can find significant relief from acute and chronic sinus problems.

Circulation And Drainage

Promoting healthy circulation helps to drain the sinuses and relieve chronic inflammation. Effective therapies that help promote circulation and drainage of the sinuses include:

• Infrared sauna: An infrared sauna gives off therapeutic infrared heat that can be absorbed by the body, promoting circulation in the sinuses.

• Neural therapy: For more severe sinus conditions, I often use neural therapy in my clinical practice that involves injecting the tonsils and sinuses with homeopathic remedies and an anesthetic. From my experience as a holistic medical doctor, it is apparent that many emotions are stored in the sinuses. My patients often report a major release of grief, sadness and trauma in conjunction with sinus drainage.

• Cranialsacral therapy: Cranialsacral therapy can help improve sinus conditions by creating more space between the cranial bones, promoting normal drainage and relieving sinus pressure.

• Neti pot: Irrigating the sinuses with a traditional Ayurvedic neti pot is a simple way to promote drainage. A 5 percent salt solution may be used, or tea tree oil may be added to the water. Another option is to add powdered extracts of Hydrastis canadensis, Berberis vulgaris or Berberis aquifolium. These herbs contain berberine, a plant alkaloid with antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. For complete instructions on safe use of a Neti pot, go here.

Supplements And Herbs

A variety of herbs and supplements can be useful in reducing allergic reactions, decreasing inflammation, boosting immunity and helping to thin and expel mucous in chronic sinusitis.

• A highly researched Tibetan Herbal Formula has been shown effective in sinusitis by regulating inflammation and enhancing the immune response.

• Medicinal mushrooms, particularly reishi and cordyceps, support immunity, digestion and circulation and help reduce inflammation. I recommend a formula that includes these and other species of medicinal mushrooms grown on a blend of immunity-enhancing herbs for extra support.

• Honokiol, a compound extracted from Magnolia officinalis bark, offers powerful anti-inflammation and immune support, along with additional critical health benefits.

• Vitamin C has antihistamine, anti-inflammation and immunity-boosting properties.

• Zinc is a nutrient that is necessary for optimal immune function; a deficiency can impair immunity and increase inflammation.

• Quercetin and hesperidin are plant flavonoids that inhibit inflammation-producing enzymes and reduce the release of histamine from immune cells.

• Bromelain, a pineapple enzyme, has anti-inflammatory properties and helps thin and expel mucous. Clinical trials have shown that bromelain helps reduce inflammation of the nasal mucosa in acute sinusitis patients.

• Jin Yin Hua and Lian Qiao are two Chinese herbal combinations that can reduce inflammation and increase immune response.

Breathe Easy

Chronic sinusitis is a painful condition that is often not treated comprehensively by conventional medicine. With strategic, integrative medical approaches, however, chronic sinusitis can be successfully addressed for long-term relief. By understanding the underlying causes and developing a holistic treatment plan that uses various integrative therapies, chronic and acute sinusitis can be cleared effectively and overall health can be improved safely and naturally.

For more practical information on all-natural remedies, visit http://www.dreliaz.org/.

“Research has shown that children with ASD commonly have GI [gastrointestinal] symptoms,” says Christine Pennesi, medical student at Penn State College of Medicine. “Notably, a greater proportion of our study population reported GI and allergy symptoms than what is seen in (most children). Some experts have suggested that gluten- and casein (dairy)-derived peptides (linked amino acids) cause an immune response in children with ASD, and others have proposed that the peptides could trigger GI symptoms and behavioral problems.”

In the surveys, parents who restricted their children’s diets found that the kids had fewer intestinal problems, better social behavior, better language, improved eye contact, engagement and longer attention spans. The study appears in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience.

“Patients don’t get better faster or have fewer symptoms when they get antibiotics,” says Jay F. Piccirillo, M.D., the study’s senior author. “Our results show that antibiotics aren’t necessary for a basic sinus infection — most people get better on their own.”

“We feel antibiotics are overused in the primary-care setting,” says Jane M. Garbutt, M.D., another researcher. “There is a movement afoot, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to try to improve the judicious use of antibiotics. We hope this study provides scientific evidence that doctors can use with patients to explain that an antibiotic is not likely to help an acute sinus infection.”

The study was published in the February 15th edition of the Journal of the Medical American Medical Association .

Stress Kills

Stress does more than make you feel worn out. It can kill. When researchers at Oregon State University measured the stress levels of about 1,000 men for 18 years, they found that the ones who experienced persistently moderate or high levels of stressful life events suffered a 50 percent higher mortality rate.

According to this study, the men who lived longer in the face of stress were in good health, married, didn’t smoke and drank moderate amounts of alcohol.

"Being a teetotaler and a smoker were risk factors for mortality," says Carolyn Aldwin, lead author of the study and a professor of human development and family sciences at Oregon State. "So perhaps trying to keep your major stress events to a minimum, being married and having a glass of wine every night is the secret to a long life."

This study found that stress that was ongoing and prolonged for a continual period of time was the most destructive. "People are hardy, and they can deal with a few major stress events each year," Aldwin notes. "But our research suggests that long-term, even moderate stress can have lethal effects."

Stressed Out Cells

Within the body, stress can cause damage by altering the behavior of immune cells. When Canadian researchers examined immune cells called monocytes in people who were under the stress of caring for a relative with cancer they found that these white blood cells created more inflammation than they would under normal circumstances. That type of excess inflammation may be linked to a greater risk of chronic diseases like arthritis, depression, cancer or heart disease.

According to researcher Gregory Miller, Ph.D., “…something goes awry in (these) white blood cells so they are not able to ‘receive’ the signal from cortisol (a circulating hormone) that tells them to shut down inflammation." Cortisol is a hormone that normally regulates inflammation, increasing or decreasing its occurrence. But in these stressful situations, even though the hormone is telling the monocytes to calm down, the monocytes don’t get the message.

Miller notes that “… people have traditionally thought that higher cortisol is the reason that stress contributes to disease, but this work shows that, at least in (these cases), it’s actually the opposite — there’s too little cortisol signal being heard by the cells, rather than too much."

Allergic To Stress

If you suffer from allergies, the effect of stress on the immune system can make allergic reactions worse. When scientists at Ohio State University put people in stressful situations, they found that their allergic sensitivity increased by an average of 75 percent. In addition, their allergic reactions were still worsened a day later.

"The results of this study should alert practitioners and patients alike to the adverse effects of stress on allergic reactions in the nose, chest, skin and other organs that may seemingly resolve within a few minutes to hours after starting, but may reappear the next day when least expected," observes Gailen Marshall, a co-investigator on the project and professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Mississippi.

The researchers also noted that if you suffer allergies that are linked to asthma, stress not only makes your allergies stronger and longer-lasting, they may endanger your chances of a deadly asthma attack.

Stress Relief

If you’re feeling stressed out, you don’t have to give in to anxiety; you can fight back.

Meditation represents one of the most well-known methods of stress relief. Meditation can consist of simply sitting in a peaceful place and calming your thoughts, focusing on controlling your breathing or mentally repeating a word to yourself over and over again. Research shows that these techniques produce physiological changes that can offset the harm caused by stress.

In a study of college students at American University who spent 10 weeks practicing Transcendental Meditation™, researchers found that the youngsters habituated more quickly to stressful stimuli and reported less sleepiness.

Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that looked at “mindfulness meditation” found that this technique improved people’s immune responses. In addition, the mindfulness technique, which entails focusing your attention “on the moment” for a period of up to one hour a day, also increased electrical activity in a part of the brain associated with lower anxiety and more positive emotions.

Exercise Exorcises Stress

Exercise has long been touted a stress-relief mechanism, and research confirms this benefit. A study at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that exercising regularly in moderation can help guard against the negative effects of stress on immunity. In a laboratory study, researchers found that an aerobic exercise like running kept the immune system functioning at full capacity.

"This suggests that what we need to do is keep our exercise programs going and keep moderate, regular and voluntary exercise going," says Monika Fleshner, the researcher who led the study. "Then when we are hit with our deadlines or stress at work, marital stress or loss of a loved one, we may be able to better buffer those negative effects of stress on the immune system."

Other research shows that an exercise like yoga can also offset the harmful results of stress. A study at Ohio State found that 20 minutes a day of yoga combined with mindful meditation reduced people’s perceived stress by more than 10 percent. The folks who did the yoga and meditation also reported that they fell asleep more easily and experienced less anxiety.

As much of this research shows, stress isn’t all in your head; it infiltrates your body, disturbing your physiology in unhealthy ways. But get it under control, filtering out its harmful effects with physical activity and meditation, and you can stride forward to a less strident, healthier future.

They Don’t Ask, They Can’t Tell

Very few general medical practitioners ever ask about the health of their patients’ teeth. Hardly any oncologists ask whether their cancer patients have root canals or mercury amalgam fillings. As a result, most medical doctors steer clear of making recommendations about dental health. When you visit the doctor and are asked to stick out your tongue for a health exam, it is only to look at your throat.

In Western medicine, we have severed the perception of connections between dental health and overall physical well-being. As a result, we have lost a critical vantage point for evaluating the potential root causes of many life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease, immune disorders and more. The good news is this lifesaving integrative perspective is proving its value through the cutting edge field of holistic, or biological, dentistry.

Regular Dentistry vs. Holistic (Biological) Dentistry

Most conventional dentists are only dimly aware of connections between gum disease, chronic dental infection and overall health. Dentists rarely refer you back to your doctor for further testing or give more than the fairly superficial, though important, advice about brushing, flossing and diet. On the other hand, holistic dentistry takes an in-depth look at dental and overall health, guided by leading research in the field. In particular, holistic dentistry looks hard at the relationship between conventional root canals, periodontal disease, mercury amalgam fillings and other all-too-common dental issues and the progression of any number of chronic diseases throughout the body.

In traditional medical systems, such as Chinese and Tibetan medicine, the examination of the mouth and tongue represents a primary diagnostic tool for gathering information about imbalances in the rest of the body. Today, more and more skilled holistic practitioners and dentists are working together within the field of integrative medicine to collaborate on optimal treatment programs for patients. The holistic dentistry movement is gaining a widening appreciation of the holistic perspectives implicit in traditional healing systems and is being driven by the growing body of published research linking dental health issues and chronic illness. Repeatedly, patients with serious, life-threatening illnesses have experienced dramatic health improvements after skilled holistic dentists have coordinated their evaluations and treatments with integrative health practitioners.

Dental Health Linked To Cancer

Of special importance is the link between cancer and dental health. This is an area on the cutting edge of cancer investigation, and scientists have not yet agreed whether there is a direct cause. From a clinical standpoint, however, I, along with many of my colleagues, have seen time and again that there is a strong correlation between chronic infection associated with root canals and the presence of cancer.

Even more interesting, from an integrative medical perspective, each tooth has associated acu-meridian tooth-organ relationships. (In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body is home to lines of force — acu-meridians also known as acupuncture meridians — that connect various organs.) Different acupuncture meridians run through the teeth, and specific organs and tissues are associated with each tooth. A chart developed by Dr. Ralph Wilson which you can see here outlines the relationship between each tooth and its associated organs, glands and body areas.

Infected Root Canals Often Don’t Show Symptoms

The most concerning finding in holistic dentistry is that extensive infection can be present in a root canal as well as the bone of the jaw which holds the tooth, in the absence of any direct symptoms. All too often, we rely on our subjective experience of symptoms (like pain) to warn us of problems. In this case, these warnings come usually after significant damage is done, so it is crucial to get proper dental evaluation and testing with regard to root canals and periodontal disease.

At Amitabha Medical Clinic, we refer our patients with root canals for what is called a cone beam scan, which is essentially a CT (or computed tomography) scan of the mouth. A cone beam scan produces 3D digitalized imagery on the computer screen, revealing details which a classic full mouth X-ray does not detect. These scans can tell practitioners whether there is chronic infection in the root of a tooth which needs to be addressed using careful and thorough methods. I encourage my cancer patients to limit the number of CT scans they have because of issues with cumulative radiation; but if you have root canals, the cone beam scan may be the only way to evaluate them. I think it’s worth doing, and the radiation exposure is much lower than a traditional CT. The truth is, the dental profession is largely ignoring the long-term effects of the root canal procedure. For this reason, I encourage you to seek out holistic dentists who have the knowledge and the tools to help you deal with root canals and other common dental issues in a careful and competent way.

Patient Stories

The importance of addressing these types of health issues with an integrative approach are evident in these examples:

• A patient with Stage III colon cancer was found to have infection (with no symptoms) in the root canal associated with the colon. Upon further examination of old dental X-rays, it was found that the tooth had been cracked for many years prior to the root canal. Therefore, it most likely had been chronically infected for a long time prior to the root canal placement and before the colon cancer diagnosis.
• A patient with metastatic breast cancer (with no symptoms) and with several old root canals who was not responding well to her chemotherapy treatments was found to have occult infection in the tooth associated with the breast on the same side as the cancer. The bone above the tooth was almost completely destroyed; the tooth was barely connected. The infected teeth were removed and the area was sterilized with ozone, a specialized form of oxygen therapy. After clearing up the infection, the patient had a better response to the same chemotherapy regimen.
• A patient with endometrial (uterine) cancer who was not responding to treatment and whose surgical scar would not heal because of infection was found to have an extensive infection in the tooth associated with the uterus. She had no oral symptoms. When the tooth was removed, her surgical wound healed quickly, and she began to have a positive response to her chemotherapy regimen.

The Future of Integrative Cancer Therapy

As a health practitioner who specializes in integrative cancer care, I can cite numerous similar clinical examples highlighting the correlations I have seen between dental health and cancer, and the positive effects of clearing up chronic infections in the mouth. Even though we don’t yet understand all of the underlying mechanisms, we have enough evidence to recognize the seriousness and the importance of attention to this area of health. As more and more published research points to the connections between root canals, mercury amalgams, periodontal disease and chronic illnesses, I encourage all of my readers and patients to become familiar with this important area of integrative health. Stay tuned.

A study of 400 children performed at the University of Copenhagen found that youngsters with a greater variety of bacteria in their digestive tract were less susceptible to allergies later in life.

Authors of the study said their findings may indicate that antibiotic use in pregnant women should be limited, since microflora in babies can be affected by drugs and artificial substances ingested by the mother.

Moreover, the team said that there may also be an association between intestinal bacteria and chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes.

"I think that a mechanism that affects the immune system will affect more than just allergies. It would surprise me if diseases such as obesity and diabetes are not also laid down very early in life and depend on how our immune defenses are primed by encountering the bacterial cultures surrounding us," said Hans Bisgaard, one of the researchers.
 

Many cosmetics — including lip balm, lotions and face creams — have ingredients that contain gluten, yet few companies offer detailed lists of the ingredients they use. Moreover, none of the 10 biggest cosmetic manufacturers in the U.S. have products that are gluten-free.

"The findings are alarming because gluten-containing cosmetics can be inadvertently obtained by the consumer and use of these products can result in an exacerbation of celiac disease," said co-author Pia Prakash, M.D., of George Washington University.

Cosmetic ingredients that contain gluten include hydrolyzed wheat protein, wheat amino acids, wheat bran and vitamin E extracted from wheat germ, in addition to a number of other wheat-based compounds, according to NaturallyDahling.com. Additionally, oat ingredients, sometimes listed as avena sativa, contain gluten, as well as those derived from rye, barley and millet.

Mixed martial artists, runners, football players, cyclists, swimmers: It seems like a whole host of athletes are giving gluten-free diets a try and liking the results.

In Green Bay, Wisc., James Starks, a running back for the Green Bay Packers, reports that after switching to a gluten-free diet in the offseason, he is coming into this season fully healthy for the first time in years. He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he gave up gluten in an effort to heal a nagging hamstring injury. And it seems to have worked.

In Chicago, Kyle Korver of the Chicago Bulls, who started eating gluten-free in 2010, told Men’s Journal: “My joints feel much better and my post-game recovery is as good as it has ever been.”

Cycling Without Gluten

Many commentators still insist that giving up gluten — a protein in wheat, barley and rye — represents more of a fad than a desirable way to protect health. But medical researchers now suspect that an alarming number of people are either gluten-sensitive or suffer full-blown celiac, serious autoimmune difficulties linked to gluten. For someone with celiac, eating gluten can destroy the digestive tract, destroy the mind (as it threatened to destroy mine), and cause nerve damage, skin rashes, joint pain, mouth sores and long list of other disturbing problems. Experts estimate that up to 30 or 40 percent of Americans may suffer some degree of gluten sensitivity.

Many athletes aren’t waiting for definitive answers on whether they are gluten-sensitive; they are going on gluten-free diets and enjoying the results. For instance, the Garmin-Cervélo bicycle racing team has put its entire group of cyclists on a mostly gluten-free diet during the race season. As it report on its website: “The advantage of a gluten-free diet is that it is anti-inflammatory, meaning the diet helps the body’s natural mending process. And that’s very important to elite athletes like the Garmin-Cervélo riders who spend days building their fitness by tearing themselves down through racing and training and then adapting to those workloads with rest and nutrition.”

While these cyclists were accustomed to carbo-loading on wheat products to get ready for races, the benefits of giving up gluten has led some of the riders to confess that they’ll never eat pasta again. Kevin Reichlin, the team physician, reports that: “I believe that the high amounts of wheat products that are normally consumed by bike racers at the Tour (de France) have an inflammatory effect in the body. I believe that most people have either an overt (reaction) to wheat products… or at least a sub-symptomatic inflammatory response to wheat products.”

Lagging Research

Medical research, as I noted before, still has a long way to go to catch up to the many benefits of going gluten-free. And it has only recently begun to recognize the widespread nature of our problems with gluten. But a case study of a volleyball player suffering from celiac noted that “Certified athletic trainers and other health care professionals should be aware that the occurrence of celiac disease is higher than once thought.”¹

A common benefit of going on a gluten-free diet is the fact that you also give up many processed foods. Cookies, candy bars, cakes and breads almost always contain wheat and gluten. Just cutting back on those low-nutrient foods, even without the benefits of giving up gluten, can provide a health boost. But be sure and don’t overindulge in gluten-free alternative processed foods. Personally, I generally stay away from all grains and don’t usually enjoy gluten-free baked goods.

If you are an athlete looking for gluten-free alternatives to gluten-rich foods, a quick chart that can help is located at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1323299/table/i1062-6050-40-4-360-t02/

Give up gluten and you may find yourself feeling as pumped as Dennis Hallman, a mixed marshal artist nicknamed “Superman,” who recently told USA Today, “I can train and not be completely worn out. I can train full-time now. Prior to that, I could never run more than 15 minutes on a treadmill, ever; not in my life. Now I can do full workouts and keep my heart rate up for a long period of time and have quick recovery.”

Food allergies affect approximately 11 million American adults.  These allergies result in symptoms that are often profound and immediate, such as swollen throat with respiratory emergency, rash, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Food allergies can be the most serious causing chronic illnesses, and life-threatening symptoms. Some well known food allergy culprits are peanuts, milk, wheat, corn, and sugar.

Other allergic reactions that are not as dangerous, but definitely troublesome, are the typical “hay fever” symptoms of runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneezing. These are commonly caused by freshly cut grass, pollens, or other vegetation in the spring or fall.

If you only think of these obvious symptoms when you think about allergic reactions, you’ll be falsely reassured. Allergies are manifestations of an immune system on fire and can present in many different ways, some subtle, some very obvious. The “fuel” that sparks your immune system or keeps it on fire is mostly what you eat, inhale, or otherwise come in contact with on your skin.

When it comes to food allergies, immune hypersensitivity begins with your small intestinal lining, which is an extremely important filter for approximately 98% of what enters your mouth. Just as your skin protects you from the outside world, your intestinal lining must decide what molecules to allow into your blood stream and what molecules to block.

Intestinal cells can be easily worn and weakened, and the gut lining inflamed or damaged. Receptor cells become hyper-reactive and trigger an allergic response via immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies and fighter white blood cells. As long as the intestinal lining remains inflamed, the production of antibodies against formerly innocuous foods seems to continue to get worse over time. This phenomenon is referred to as “leaky gut syndrome.” The various factors known to contribute to leaky gut syndrome are listed below:

• Antibiotics cause overgrowth of resistant bacteria, yeast, and even parasites.
• Alcohol and caffeine wear down the mucosa causing inflammation.
• Parasites (giardia, cryptosporidium, blastocystis hominis, or bacteria like H. pylori, klebsiella, citrobacter, and pseudomonas) are known to incite inflammation.
• Chemicals (dyes, preservatives, and peroxidized fats).
• Enzyme deficiencies (e.g. celiac disease, lactase deficiency, and low stomach acid).
• Non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like Motrin® and corticosteroids.
• Highly refined carbohydrate foods (candy bars, cookies, cakes, soft drinks, white breads, white rice, etc.) that are devoid of fiber. It is the fiber which ferments to produce the short-chain fatty acids acetate, propionate, and butyrate that aid in healing the intestinal mucosa.
• Mold and fungalmycotoxins in some stored grains, stored fruit, and refined carbohydrates.
• Lack of digestive enzymes from the mouth, stomach, and mostly the pancreas.
• Lack of lactobacilli and minerals derived from fermented foods and whole foods.

These antibodies that are produced stimulate an “allergic response,” commonly known as auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, thyroiditis and other “incurable” conditions.

Other chronic illnesses like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, celiac sprue, and even cancer are also thought to be a result of something triggering the immune response. The scientific literature is replete with evidence of this effect in skin disorders such as psoriasis and eczema.

How to detoxify allergens and reverse allergy

Food particles make their way from your small intestine to your liver (to be detoxified) via your large portal vein. Your liver is then forced to “detoxify” what might be harmful before it continues on through your body’s blood stream. If your liver can’t detoxify everything it filters, then these molecules will be stored—usually in fat-soluble tissues of your skin, brain, muscle, other organs, and fat pockets. The obvious fat pockets are the problem fat or “storage fat” areas visible on most aging adults.

From there your immune system can further react and stimulate inflammation in your body. This effect can continue all your life, contributing to chronic illness.

Other causes for an immune system on fire

Are there other causes for an immune system on fire? You bet. However, they are much more difficult to discover without specialized testing of your blood and urine.

I prefer an alternative approach through bio-energy science. It stems from acupuncture, in which your body is known to have subtle bio-“electric” pathways. When there are blockages in these pathways, known as the chi meridians and centers, your body gets out of balance and symptoms of allergy result. By identifying and removing allergic triggers to the immune system on fire I have personally seen many patients experience dramatic symptom reversal with this approach.

The most well known method of identifying and then eliminating allergies via the bio-energetic technique is called NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique). Practitioners skilled in NAET or similar techniques achieve 80% success or better. Go to www.naet.com to learn more and find a NAET practitioner in your area.

Other immune system triggers are:

• Pollens, perfumes, dust, or other manufactured chemicals
• Foods, vitamins, drugs, and food additives
• Bites, stings, injected drugs, and immunizations
• Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites
• Painful memories from the past or present

The extent of the problem

How is immune hypersensitivity a commonly overlooked hidden health problem? Conditions such as asthma, eczema, autoimmune diseases, and other varied allergic conditions, are clearly an immune system on fire. These are the classic outward manifestations of immune hypersensitivity. Yet few practitioners would even consider finding the inciting triggers.

In Multiple Sclerosis, for example, it is the myelin sheath of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves that are inflamed and degenerating. In Systemic Lupus, several organs including the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, blood vessels, nerves, and skin are involved. Their symptoms are usually extreme fatigue, arthritis, unexplained fever, rashes, and kidney malfunction. Similarly, in Grave’s Disease (hyperthyroidism) the thyroid gland over-produces the hormone thyroxin for a few years…and often spontaneously resolves without treatment! Though auto-antibodies circulate in the blood stream, these also slowly resolved by addressing the hidden causes discussed here.

For heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, the immune system is involved, causing what we know today as inflammation. This inflammation however is chronic and low grade, such that the vessels of the heart and brain have “scarring” known as atherosclerosis. It is akin to the scarring of arthritis, the scarring of ulcerative colitis, and the chronic scarring inflammation of the lungs in a person with chronically persistent asthma, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema. Clearly, the serum markers for immune globulins and inflammation are elevated in these patients, yet modern medicine calls most all of these “idiopathic” conditions in which there is no real known cause.

For intestinal diseases, markers of inflammation in the blood correlate with healing of the intestinal lining. In a study where pectin (dietary fiber) feeding was the treatment, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-8 decreased while concomitantly there was a significant increase in villus height and crypt depth of the small intestinal wall microvilli. This effect of “living food” on the immune system reinforces their relationship in healing the small intestine and colon.

Who hasn’t experienced a tension headache from certain chemical smells, certain foods (refined sugar), or a medication side effect? Hypersensitivity (allergies) seems to contribute to the mechanism of recurrent pain, yet little is available in the published literature to explain it.

Nutrient supplements to reduce allergies

One of the most important recommendations is to chew your food well. Your own ability to digest food is far greater than any supplements you may take as long as you give your body the opportunity. Beyond this, you will want to know about the following nutrient supplements that are known to calm an immune system on fire:

• Digestive Enzymes at the start of each meal reduce allergy triggers that occur at the intestinal wall.
• Bromelain (papaya enzyme) can be used as a digestive enzyme that has anti-allergy benefits.
• Betaine HCL also gives the digestive process a boost. Watch for any acid feeling if you have a sensitive stomach. Many times betaine HCL is mixed with digestive enzyme supplements.
• Probiotics are bacteria that are actually GOOD for you. They keep a healthy balance of intestinal flora and secrete butyrate which aids in keeping “leaky gut” damage to a minimum. Take this once daily after a meal when your stomach acid is lowest.
• Alkaline Minerals are useful as co-enzymes in metabolic reactions. They also promote alkalinity with foods that are overly acid-forming.
• L-Glutamine at 1000mg three times daily is proven to aid in healing the intestinal lining cells.
• Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid formed naturally by the fermentative action of microflora bacteria on high fiber food in the human intestinal system. Butyrate is reported in the medical literature as the preferred source of oxidative fuel of the cells of the intestinal lining.
• Fresh Juices, or green drinks, are the highest nutrient dense foods available. If a green drink powder is used, look for brands with Spirulina, Chlorella, and Barley.

If you transition into a diet high in nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, and legumes you can slowly but surely reverse autoimmune inflammation any likely most of your allergy symptoms. You should also eliminate refined sugars, refined oils, and processed foods and add the nutritional supplements listed earlier to your diet.