Total Allergen Load Theory
It seems reasonable enough... it's what our pediatrician has referred to as a dose reaction. Or, what our chiropractor alluded to when he says, "food allergies are a result of a complex system of interactions." Basically, the Total Allergen Load Theory suggests that a single exposure to a single allergen may not trigger an allergic response but if the same body is exposed to multiple stressors on the immune system in a short period of time, this person may experience an allergic reaction.
Think of your child's immune system as a glass. The amount of water in the glass is the total load of allergens in the system. Water can be added to the glass but at some point, it will overflow. The overflow point is the point when your child experiences allergic symptoms. In this analogy, immunotherapy makes the glass taller. Strict avoidance prevents more water from filling the glass. And, stress on the body makes the glass shorter.
The Creighton University Medical School website provides this illustration: a child drinks milk everyday without any reactions. When ragweed is in the air and he continues to drink milk, he starts to react to milk. If he were to avoid the milk during ragweed season, this theory suggests he will lessen the "allergic load" and reduce allergic symptoms.
Your child's allergy load can be increased by exposure to several allergens in small amounts, or a combination of allergens to which he is mildly allergic and some to which he reacts severely.
In his article Stewart Hare, an author and nutritional therapist makes an interesting point, "A common misleading factor about overload is that the last overload factor that is introduced is the only culprit for producing symptoms." So, maybe T was never really allergic to strawberries but had strawberries after he had dairy products and after rolling around with the dogs!
The Total Load Theory could explain why we coasted through the winter and have had allergy flare-ups this spring. It also validates my detox approach for treating our food allergies.
Think of your child's immune system as a glass. The amount of water in the glass is the total load of allergens in the system. Water can be added to the glass but at some point, it will overflow. The overflow point is the point when your child experiences allergic symptoms. In this analogy, immunotherapy makes the glass taller. Strict avoidance prevents more water from filling the glass. And, stress on the body makes the glass shorter.
The Creighton University Medical School website provides this illustration: a child drinks milk everyday without any reactions. When ragweed is in the air and he continues to drink milk, he starts to react to milk. If he were to avoid the milk during ragweed season, this theory suggests he will lessen the "allergic load" and reduce allergic symptoms.
Your child's allergy load can be increased by exposure to several allergens in small amounts, or a combination of allergens to which he is mildly allergic and some to which he reacts severely.
In his article Stewart Hare, an author and nutritional therapist makes an interesting point, "A common misleading factor about overload is that the last overload factor that is introduced is the only culprit for producing symptoms." So, maybe T was never really allergic to strawberries but had strawberries after he had dairy products and after rolling around with the dogs!
The Total Load Theory could explain why we coasted through the winter and have had allergy flare-ups this spring. It also validates my detox approach for treating our food allergies.
Labels: cause of food allergy
posted by Ria at 7:45 PM
1 Comments:
My family has never had environmental allergies before, but we're suffering like mad this spring. My environmental-allergy friends say that this spring is all wacky because of the weird weather - everything is blooming at once.
BTW - I have a post up about food allergy week on 2 of my blogs, and have written our family's story if anyone wants to read:
http://www.ourgaggleofgirls.com/recipes/?page_id=201
Post a Comment
<< Home