Page 51 - Spring2020

history of tick bites in the preceding six researchers blame entirely different tick species as the guilty parties.
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months was far from unusual, given that U.S. epidemiologists also note that “large numbers” of meat allergies
the patients all resided in an area “endemi- are occurring “well outside” the areas populated by the tick species
cally infested with several tick species” in question. 5
where they presumably encountered ticks 4. A fourth point is that the Australian researchers—and subsequent
on a regular basis. Moreover, “ticks have research efforts—have never been able to confirm that something in
had millions of years to figure out how to tick saliva is responsible for the development of alpha-gal antibodies.
bite without triggering their victims’ im- One of the world’s leading alpha-gal experts states, “Tick saliva is
mune response” [emphasis added], and brilliant stuff. It has loads of substances, but if you ask me which
tick bites were never previously associated substances are critical, I don’t know. It’s something we are working
with allergic reactions. No one has offered on.”
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5
a hypothesis to explain this “first example
of a response to an ectoparasite giving rise THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
to an important form of food allergy.” Those who study the phenomenon of anaphylaxis are often frustrated
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Clinicians shrug off this point, saying “no by the sizeable proportion of cases that lack an identifiable cause, not least
one knows why some people who are bitten because it “makes standard allergen avoidance measures ineffectual.”
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are susceptible to developing IgE antibodies In a 2013 survey of anaphylaxis prevalence in Americans, 39 percent
and why others are not.” 17 of reported cases fell into the “idiopathic” (cause unknown) category.
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2. Second, of the twenty-five patients in the With the emergence of alpha-gal, allergy experts have breathed a sigh
study, one participant reported a tick bite of relief, seizing on tick bites as a convenient explanation for some of
six months after the onset of meat allergy; the cases “that would previously have been classified as ’idiopathic.’” 27
in the 2009 study in the U.S., one in five But have researchers properly considered other explanations? The
participants reported no tick bite at all. In fact that alpha-gal reactions are not limited to red meat but also include
four reported cases of alpha-gal allergy in allergic/anaphylactic reactions to products with mammalian-origin
Switzerland, the researchers observed that ingredients such as gelatin—including cosmetics, medications and vac-
only one out of four cases had a history of cines—provides a major clue that something else may be going on. A
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a tick bite and speculated that “other ways website for the allergy-afflicted is up-front in describing alpha-gal as a
of sensitisation may also take place,” par- medication allergy as much as a red meat allergy and singles out gelatin-
ticularly in childhood-onset patients. 24 containing vaccines as a prominent suspect. (The article by Kendall
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3. Third, the Australian researchers “inferred” Nelson on chickenpox and shingles vaccines in this issue of Wise Tradi-
that one species of tick was the likely culprit tions points out that gelatin is used as a stabilizer in eleven U.S. vaccines.)
but admitted that they could not prove it That vaccines might bear significant responsibility for the alpha-gal
because no laboratory method existed to phenomenon warrants consideration for a number of reasons. First, the
check. In the U.S. and Europe, meanwhile, explosion in food allergies that started around 1990 coincides temporally

THE CHALLENGING PATH OF AVOIDANCE
Worryingly for those diagnosed with alpha-gal, clear labeling is apparently “not a requirement of the FDA [Food
and Drug Administration],” and manufacturers often have “no method of accurately determining whether or not an
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ingredient [is] sourced from mammalian products.” The list of gelatin-containing drugs and supplements is particularly
long and includes the clotting drug heparin, pancreatic enzymes, thyroid supplements, intravenous fluids, suppositories
and magnesium stearate, among many others. 7,30 Other products that alpha-gal sufferers may have to watch out for
include toothpaste, lotions, sunscreens, antibiotics and whey protein powders. 47,48

In a blog post about farm life, a woman diagnosed with alpha-gal poignantly describes the difficulty of not only
having to give up mammalian meat but also dairy products:
Yes, I cried. It’s just that I already have a laundry list of food allergies. And, it was summer. And, it was grilling
season. And, I do love a good steak. . . . My favorite food in the world is milk. I drink more milk than anyone I
know. I love it. I crave it. My ancestry is Scotch/Irish. A lot of blood type O. Freedom fighters. Meat eaters. Milk
drinkers. In particular I love goat milk. I have two angel goats I milk twice a day. . . . So, this was particularly
hard for me. 49

SPRING 2020 Wise Traditions 51