Page 26 - Summer2010

Food Allergies

A Holistic Approach

By Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD

ood allergies have become very common, and the
trend is up. Most medical practitioners are facing
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Fthis problem on a daily basis more and more. A

recent public survey in the UK has shown that almost half
the population report that they have an “allergy” to one
or more foods. However, the official figures for a “true
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allergy to food” are around 1 percent of the population in

most developed countries.
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The reason for this confusion is that the majority of food reactions, aller-
gies, and intolerances do not produce a typical allergy test profile—raised
IgE or IgG with positive prick test or positive RAST test. Physicians have
made several attempts to classify this group: as “type B food allergy,”
“metabolic food intolerance” or simply “food intolerance,” rather than a
“true” allergy. People who do not test positive to standard allergy tests may
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nevertheless react to many different foods or combinations of foods. Quite
often the person is not sure which food produces the reaction because the
reaction may be immediate or delayed—a day, a few days or even a week
later. As these delayed reactions overlap each other, patients can never be
sure exactly what they are reacting to on any given day. 1,3

26 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2010