What are allergy barriers and how do we fix them?
Allergies are becoming more and more common. Any person with allergies should ask this question; “why do I have allergies in the first place?” When we have allergies it is a sign of dysfunction in the body. Allergies are not normal. Yet most people spend all their time and money treating allergy symptoms while the causes go untreated. Giving your money away is a win for Big Pharma companies who are in the business of marketing and selling symptom treatments that merely mask the symptoms (sometimes) but leave a toxic trail of misery and side effects. Allergy medications don’t actually work, they only appear to work by causing malfunction in a normal body process.
What are allergies
There are two main types of allergies: One type of allergy symptoms are caused by a white blood cell reaction called an Immunoglobulin E (IgE) reaction. This IgE reaction results in immediate hives, swelling, breathing problems and even deadly anaphylactic shock. True IgE immune reactions can kill you soon and sometimes require emergency medical intervention.
The other type of reaction that is called and allergy but is not a true allergy is a sensitivity. Sensitivities are an Immunoglobulin G (IgG) reaction. IgG sensitivities can take 24 to 72 hours to show up. Something you came in contact with or ate up to three days ago could be kicking your allergy symptoms today. If this is something you are eating daily, like wheat, dairy, or sugar, there could be a never ending symptom response.
Mercury causes allergies
Mercury is a neurotoxin and allergy causing substance that has a known scientific and medical history to wreak havoc in the human body. Mercury prefers to bind with sulfur groups in the body, interfering with many protein-related processes, causing a rise in homocysteine levels, causing histamine reactions and can even destroy nerve cells at low doses and in a very short time.
The intestinal system contains a plethora of friendly bacteria which help with digestion of food, build the immune system and even make neurochemicals to run the brain. Mercury is a mutagen – meaning that it causes mutations in organism structure and function. When mercury reaches the intestinal tract, it causes good bacteria to mutate and interferes in their roles in the digestion of proteins and other critical body processes. This interference also allows improperly digested protein to absorb into the blood stream causing the immune system to react to this material as a foreign protein. This causes an antigen/antibody reaction which manifests itself as an allergic reaction.
Where does all this mercury come from?
Vaccines play a huge part in our body mercury burden. Mercury amalgam tooth fillings off-gas mercury constantly – and more so as they age and as you chew food. Diapers, Kotex, Q-tips, Bandaids, medicines like Piroxicam, Neosporin, eye antibiotics, ophthalmic suspensions and solutions, nasal preparations, sprays and misters, pediatric formulas, various cosmetics, and many popular OTC antiseptics like Mercurochrome, Merthiolate, and also hides in ingredient lists as sodium ethylmercurithiosalicylate, Merzonin, ethyl (2-mercaptobenzoato-S), mercury sodium salt, mercurothiolate, merfamin, thiomersalate, thiomersal; and thiomersalan [(o-carboxyphenyl)thio] ethylmercury sodium salt.
Solutions to allergies
To control allergies, conventional medicine typically gives allergy shots with as many as two shots a week for up to three years or more with a meager 40% success rate and around 20 deaths per year. Alternative to this is NEAT (Natural Elimination of Allergies) to alleviate both IgE and IgG reactions in as few as 4-5 visits with no shots and an 87% rating of “good to excellent” and no deaths. But neither of these methods works without good barrier functions and proper support of endocrine glands.
Building allergy barriers
Allergy barriers separate the inside of our bodies from the outside world. Our basic allergy barriers are the skin, lining of the respiratory system and the lining of the GI tract. These first-line allergy barriers are supposed to only let elements like nutrition, oxygen and water in. Compromise barrier function and toxins and pathogens enter. Food sensitivities may only be a symptom of an intestinal compromise. Remove the offending food and you successfully treat the symptom, heal the lining of the intestines and you actually cure the cause of the symptoms.
Treat respiratory allergy symptoms by drinking at least half the body weight in ounces of water daily. Adequate water intake is critical for barrier control. Dehydration causes allergy barriers to fail.
Maintaining bedroom humidity at 40-45% all night will prevent mucous membranes in the air pathways and lungs from drying out while sleeping. Air filter systems remove allergenic particulates before they get a chance to enter the respiratory system.
Treat digestive allergy symptoms with digestive and pancreatic enzymes, sufficient stomach acid and a healthy intestinal bacteria balance. Candida overgrowth is a fungus that eats holes in the intestinal barrier allowing partially processed food particles to cross into the blood stream, bringing food sensitivities. Removal of candida from the intestines and restoral of the intestinal barrier brings relief from many food allergy symptoms.
Treat skin allergy symptoms with adequate water intake and essential fatty acid found if fish oils. Metabolites in fish oils are critical for buffering allergic responses and maintaining skin, respiratory and intestinal barrier functions. There is also a critical bio-film in all outer cells in the skin, lungs and intestines that is damaged with antibacterial soaps, chemical inhalants and antibiotics. Using natural soaps, cleaning products and taking probiotics all help defeat allergy symptoms.
Treating allergies with herbs and supplements
Did you know that fish oil can prevent allergies? The latest university study found that the optimal window for fish oil to prevent allergies is while the fetus is developing in the womb.
Honey is a liquid allergy pill that can reduce any allergies to plant pollen. As a skin moisturizer when mixed with eggs and some tapioca flour, honey is an effective skin moisturizer for people with sensitive skin.
For allergies, cayenne contains quercetin that is a natural antihistamine. The opposite of what you’d expect, cayenne has anti-inflammatory properties for the prevention of throat and nasal irritations.
Medicinally, stinging nettle is great for allergies. Stinging nettle contains natural antihistamines and anti-inflammatories that help to ease hay fever, nose and sinus type allergy symptoms.
Tea tree oil is a wonderful anti-allergy, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral agent that works great for a topical ointment for almost every skin condition to kill bacteria, fungus, skin mites and even minimize flare-ups of skin allergies.
Devil’s Claw is a popular anti-inflammatory and arthritis treatment that can be taken orally for allergy relief.
Bentonite clay can eliminate food allergies and skin or contact allergies while it remineralizes cells and tissues, alkalizes the body and is effective in protecting our bodies against radiation. Drink it or take it in capsule form.
The Super-Herb astragalus can kick start an ailing immune system and help protect against allergies. Astragalus is both adaptogenic and immunomodulating with secondary actions that are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, cardiotonic, diuretic and hepatoprotective.
Look to the thyroid!
A low thyroid function brings lowered alergy barriers as cellular function runs slow and cold.
Authored by cancer nutritionist Craig Stellpflug NDC, CNC
Dayspring Cancer Clinic Scottsdale, AZ
Copyright 2012 Craig Stellpflug© Permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute this article but only in its entirety
Sources for this article
Kail, Konrad, N.D. 2000. Allergy Free: An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide. AlternativeMedicine.com Books
http://www.medsurgnursing.net/ceonline/2007/article12365370.pdf (multiple Chemical Sensitivities)
Bach J. NEJM 2002; 347:911-920