Conventional Treatment:
People with allergies and sensitivities are typically advised to avoid exposure to particular allergens, such as tree and grass pollens, dust mites, molds, specific foods such as nuts, shellfish, gluten, wheat, milk, eggs, soy products, latex, or environmental and household irritants, or dogs and cats. Conventional treatment also includes medications such as antihistamines and bronchodilators, in addition to weekly allergy shots (desensitization immunotherapy). Doctors may also recommend that people with severe allergies wear a medical alert tag and carry an auto-injector syringe of epinephrine (Epi-Pen®) for use during an attack.
Complementary Treatment:
Recommended Vitamins, Supplements, Herbs & Other Nutritional Products
Shopping Tips
Helpful: G.I. Flora 90 caps (GI) -
G.I. Flora - Probiotics may be important in the control of food allergies
Helpful: Ora-Thymus 140 mg 100 capsules (ORATH) -
Ora-Thymus
Helpful: Carlsons Finest Omega-3 Fish Oil (200 ml) -
Omega-3 200ml per bottle - Natural Lemon Flavor
Helpful: Dr. Grossman's Combo (Both Formulas) -
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Self Help:
Helpful nutritional supplements:
· - Probiotics* (food allergy): Probiotics may be important in the control of food allergies because of their ability to improve digestion, by helping the intestinal tract control the absorption of food allergens and/or by changing immune system responses to foods.
· - Thymus extracts: Thymomodulin is a special preparation of the thymus gland of calves. In a double-blind study of allergic children who had successfully completed an elimination diet, 120 mg per day of thymomodulin prevented allergic skin reactions to food and lowered blood levels of antibodies associated with those foods. These results confirmed similar findings in an earlier, controlled trial.
Dietary changes that may be helpful
A low-allergen diet, also known as an elimination diet or a hypoallergenic diet is often recommended to people with suspected food allergies to find out if avoiding foods that commonly trigger allergies will provide relief from symptoms. This diet eliminates foods and food additives considered to be common allergens, such as wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, citrus fruits, nuts, peanuts, tomatoes, food coloring and preservatives, coffee, and chocolate. Some popular books offer guidance to people who want to attempt this type of diet. The low-allergen diet is not a treatment for people with food allergies, however. Rather, it is a diagnostic tool used to help discover which foods a person is sensitive to. It is maintained only until a reaction to a food or foods has been diagnosed or ruled out. Once food reactions have been identified, only those foods that are causing a reaction are subsequently avoided; all other foods that had previously been eaten are once again added to the diet. While individual recommendations regarding how long a low-allergen diet should be adhered to vary from five days to three weeks, many nutritionally oriented doctors believe that a two-week trial is generally sufficient for the purpose of diagnosing food reactions.
Strict avoidance of allergenic foods for a period of time (usually months or years) sometimes results in the foods no longer causing allergic reactions. Restrictive elimination diets and food reintroduction should be supervised by a qualified healthcare professional.
Lifestyle changes that may be helpful
People with inhalant allergies are often advised to reduce exposure to common household allergens like dust, mold, and animal dander, in the hope that this will reduce symptoms even if other, non-household allergens cannot be avoided. Strategies include removing carpets, frequent cleaning and vacuuming, using special air filters in the home heating system, choosing allergen-reducing bed and pillow coverings, and limiting household pets’ access to sleeping areas.
Nutritional Supplement Treatment Options
Probiotics, noted above, have been reported by one group of researchers to successfully treat infants with food allergies in two trials: a double-blind trial using Lactobacillus GG bacteria in infant formula, and a preliminary trial giving the same bacteria to nursing mothers. Probiotics may also be important in non-allergy types of food intolerance caused by imbalances in the normal intestinal flora.
Thymomodulin is a special preparation of the thymus gland of calves. In a double-blind study of allergic children who had successfully completed an elimination diet, 120 mg per day of thymomodulin prevented allergic skin reactions to food and lowered blood levels of antibodies associated with those foods. These results confirmed similar findings in an earlier, controlled trial.
According to one theory, allergies are triggered by partially undigested protein. Proteolytic enzymes may reduce allergy symptoms by further breaking down undigested protein to sizes that are too small to cause allergic reactions. Preliminary human evidence supports this theory.Hydrochloric acid secreted by the stomach also helps the digestion of protein, and preliminary research suggests that some people with allergies may not produce adequate amounts of stomach acid. However, no controlled trials have investigated the use of enzyme supplements to improve digestion as a treatment for food allergies.
Many of the effects of allergic reactions are caused by the release of histamine, which is the reason antihistamine medication is often used by allergy sufferers. Some natural substances, such as vitamin C and flavonoids, including quercetin, have demonstrated antihistamine effects in in vitro, animal, and other preliminary studies. However, no research has investigated whether these substances can specifically reduce allergic reactions in humans.
Contraindications
Refer to the individual herb for information about any side effects or interactions.
Integrative Options
Acupuncture may be helpful in the treatment of some types of allergy. Studies of mice treated with acupuncture provide evidence of an anti-allergic effect with results similar to treatment with corticosteroids (cortisone-like drugs). A preliminary trial found a significant decrease in allergy symptoms following acupuncture treatment. It was found that the decline in symptoms coincided with a decline in laboratory measures of allergy. Relief persisted for two months following the treatment. Other preliminary trials have also demonstrated positive results. One controlled trial reported a reduction in allergic complaints following acupuncture treatment, but the results were not statistically significant. In the future, controlled trials with larger numbers of subjects may help to determine conclusively whether allergies can be successfully treated with acupuncture therapy.
Provocation-neutralization is a controversial method of both allergy testing and treatment. Treatment consists of injecting minute dilutions of foods, inhalants, or (in some cases) chemicals into the lower layers of the skin. This approach is not the same as traditional desensitization injections given by medical allergy specialists. Preliminary and double-blind research suggests treatment of allergies by provocation-neutralization may be effective, though negative double-blind research also exists.
Allergy treatment using extracts of allergens taken orally is another controversial method advocated by some alternative healthcare practitioners. Most but not all double-blind trials have found this approach effective for house dust allergy. Preliminary and double-blind trials have reported success using this method for other allergies as well.
Treatment of food allergies using very small but increasing daily doses of actual foods has been reported, and in one controlled trial 12 of 14 patients successfully completed the program and could tolerate previously allergenic foods.
All desensitization programs require the guidance of a healthcare professional. While none of these approaches has been unequivocally proven, several show promise that people with allergies may be treatable by means other than simple avoidance of the offending food or inhalant substance.
What tests can detect allergies?
Several tests or procedures are used by physicians to detect allergies. Most of these tests remain controversial. Some clinicians (cited below), however, believe some of these tests can be effective.
Elimination and reintroduction
The most reliable way to determine a food allergy is to have the patient eliminate a suspected food from the diet for a period of time and then reintroduce it later. Once a food is eliminated, the symptoms it may be causing either improve or resolve, typically after several days to three weeks. The body then becomes more sensitive to the food, so when the food is reintroduced, the symptom is more likely to recur. This tool shows with a high degree of certainty which foods are problem foods. The testing requires a great deal of patience and, as with all other forms of allergy testing, is best undertaken with the help of a physician who can monitor the diet. Reintroduction of an allergenic food has been reported to lead occasionally to dangerous reactions in some people with certain conditions, particularly asthma—another reason this approach should not be attempted without supervision.
