Lyme Disease, Allergies and Intolerances

What’s going on?

It cannot escape your notice, even if you’ve just arrived from Mars. That a high percentage of the UK population has some sort of allergy or intolerance. I’ve never seen or heard as many people with a runny nose or constantly sneezing, it’s a national sport nowadays. That includes me.

This didn’t happen when I was a kid (I’m 50 now), yes there were a few people who had eczema, asthma and hay fever, but not in the numbers we have today. It’s definitely at more than pandemic proportions.

It’s another modern illness phenomenon that’s affecting a high number of the globe. But Why? 

Over the past few years, there have been a few well-documented deaths due to reactions to certain food types, and ingredients. The Pret-A-Manger incidents spring to mind. According to www.allergyuk.org, the UK has the largest rate of allergic conditions in the world. 20% (about 12 million) of the population has an allergy. Not only that but over 150 million Europeans have chronic allergic diseases. 

The future doesn’t look rosy either the current prediction is by 2025 half of the EU will be sneezing, coughing, wheezing, burping or scratching.

Think about it. We in the western world are meant to be the standard-bearers, the beacon of medical hope. We apparently have the best of the best that modern medical advances can offer. That’s the story that we’ve been sold anyway.

Is this what we voted in government after government for, to increase illness?

Allergies and Intolerances

I will give examples of a few different allergies and intolerances. How they affect the immune system, digestive system, and symptoms of allergic reactions. Please bare in mind I’m not going into great detail it’s just a quick overview.

Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease.

About 4% of the global population have a doctor-diagnosed wheat gluten intolerance, and it’s growing. Everyone at some level has some kind of celiac gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance, that’s my untrained opinion. You only have to look at the symptoms and then watch what people suffer from them to varying degrees, to see the impact.

Some people can definitely handle eating gluten because their digestive systems can take it better than others. But it doesn’t mean it’s good for them. There are an estimated 500,000 people suffering from celiac disease that’s 1% of the UK. But that’s the tip of the iceberg.

So, what is Gluten? Gluten is a protein found in wheat products and other cereals, like spelt and barley. The very word should be a warning GLUTEN. Gluten helps food maintain shape because it acts as a glue. It sticks to your intestines, blocking essential receptors that take nutrients from food. It also cuts through your intestines. Our intestinal cells regenerate very quickly, but the food passes through the wound before it closes.

Food is then loose inside the body. This will cause an autoimmune response, simply because it’s not meant to be there. That’s why over time we become sensitive to certain foods we’ve eaten for years without a noticeable problem.

Gluten is used as a food additive to thicken up, soups, gravies and ready meals for example. If you are celiac even a small amount of gluten will cause a severe reaction.

Symptoms of Celiac Disease according to www.coeliac.org.uk  and Gluten Intolerance

• Severe diarrhoea, excessive wind and or constipation.
• Persistent or unexplained gastro symptoms and gastrointestinal symptoms. Such as vomiting and nausea.
• Stomach pain (recurrent) cramping or bloating.
• Iron, B12, or folic acid deficiency.
• Anaemia 
• Tiredness
• Sudden or unexpected weight loss. 
• Mouth ulcers.
• Skin rash (dermatitis herpetiformis)
• Miscarriages 
• Neurological (nerve) problems such as ataxia (loss of coordination, poor balance and peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the hands and feet)

Asthma

The British Lung Foundation says over 8 million or 12% of the population have been diagnosed with asthma. Tough 5.4 million are having treatment for asthma in the UK. It affects as many as 339 million people globally. It’s life-threatening as it kills 1000 people a day around the world. The UK has one of the highest rates in Europe.

Here in the UK there are 160,000 new asthma cases diagnosed every year. That’s a big scary number. Asthma was not a major issue at the turn of the 20th century. It is another modern pandemic.

Currently, in the UK £1 billion a year is spent on asthma.

Most common signs of asthma are:

• Coughing, especially at night, during exercise or when laughing
• Difficulty breathing
• Chest tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound in your chest when breathing, especially when exhaling)

Different Types of Asthma

Adult-Onset Asthma, Allergic Asthma, Asthma-COPD Overlap, Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction (EIB), Nonallergic Asthma, Occupational Asthma.

Dairy, Casein Allergy and Lactose Intolerance.

People who are lactose intolerant share a lot of the same symptoms as celiacs. It is thought that 65% of the adult population have symptoms of lactose intolerance. Casein is a protein found in milk and other dairy products. A casein allergy occurs when your body triggers an autoimmune response in an attempt to fight off the protein. 

Lactose is a sugar that we cannot digest if we can’t produce the lactase enzyme.

My opinion milk is for babies, and cow’s milk is for calves, just my opinion. Also, milk is not as clean as we think, it’s got synthetic growth hormones (to increase milk yield), antibiotics, wormers and whatever the cow ate that was contaminated is also in the milk.

In fact cows, milk contains up to 20 drugs and chemical contaminants. These enter the process during production or packaging. Veterinary drugs, heavy metals, mycotoxins and pesticides that enter through animal feed.

So is it any wonder more and more people have these illnesses when milk has a cross-contamination issue. My question is are we really intolerant or allergic to milk or is the issues being caused by what contaminates the milk?

Dairy, Casein Allergy Symptoms

• Swelling of lips, mouth, tongue, face or throat.
• Skin reactions, such as hives, rash, red itchy skin.
• Nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, coughing wheezing.

5 most common symptoms, people with lactose intolerance suffer with:

• Stomach Pain and bloating
• Diarrhoea
• Increased Gas
• Constipation.

So, it’s no surprise that more and more people have these illnesses when milk has a lot of cross-contamination issues. Some of these additives are toxic to humans yet we are drinking gallons of milk imagine the amount of lactose we drink over a lifetime. 

Given the overwhelming evidence, casein allergies and lactose intolerance are probably caused by the amount of toxins that are put into the animal, the feed, and during production. Also, these 2 illnesses are another tip of another iceberg.

Seed and Nut Allergies

Sometimes it’s not just as simple giving up eating the food that causes us issues. Nuts or seeds are used in snacks, processed foods, ready meals or take away food and it’s not always clear what the ingredients are. There could be nut contamination from the factory during production.

Peanut and tree nuts are used in some snacks e.g. refined peanut oil – crisps, biscuits, and cakes. Peanut and Tree nut allergy can cause severe life-threatening anaphylactic shock to the bodies immune system. 

Tree nuts are; almonds, walnuts, cashews, or basically any nuts that grow on trees.

Common Symptoms of Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy:

• Abdominal pains, cramps, nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Difficulty swallowing, 
• Itching, mouth, eyes, or skin
• Nasal congestion, or a runny nose and sinus problem
• Shortness of breath and respiratory issues
• *Anaphylaxis (not common)

Lyme, Allergies and Intolerances.

We found that if there was even a remote chance of any food causing any form of inflammation then we took it out of our Lyme diet. So nuts, seeds, gluten and dairy went along with nightshade vegetables. Even if tests hadn’t shown these as an issue, they still went.

Why? Well, we had to go back to basics to take out all foods that might be an issue and start from ground zero. We gave our digestive and immune system a rest.

For example, nuts contain high amounts of an amino acid called Arginine but are low in Lysine. Under normal circumstances, Arginine causes no problems. But it has been shown to stir up infections which in turn causes inflammation and illness. 

So if you have Lyme a low Arginine high Lysine diet is necessary. We had to learn this ourselves and develop a diet to suit.

In the next Lyme, Allergies and Intolerances post, we will go into more detail about the above and explain about foods with naturally containing histamines, tyramine, salicylates, latex, amines and more. And the effect it can have on even healthy people but more so with Lyme disease.

Health Bunker

Today in the UK there are over 2m people diagnosed with food-related allergies and growing.

And as I’ve said in previous posts. The UK spends about £130 billion a year that’s £1 trillion in the last 8 years on health alone, for what, our health to get worse? Are we getting value for money? Is this a wise move, is this what we want for our children? The short answer is, NO.

If you have a food intolerance or an allergy, is it just bad luck? Or are these modern-day epidemics happening because we are exposed to more and more toxins, GMOs, pharmaceutical products, bad diets and industrial chemicals?

My money is not on the ‘bad luck’ theory. We are self-harming or even worse. We are being subjected to life-threatening damage and disease, by the very people who are meant to be protecting us.

Food for thought, excuse the pun.

Eat Well. Be Well.

Dom and Nic
Health Bunker
It’s Your Life. Own it!

*Disclaimer – Please note, we are not Doctors or trained medical professionals. We are not giving medical advice. Check with your Doctor or health practitioner before trying anything.

References

celiac.org
https://celiac.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Global-prevalence-of-celiac-disease_GGH_2018.pdf

www.asthma.org.uk
https://www.asthma.org.uk/about/media/facts-and-statistics/

blf.org.uk
https://statistics.blf.org.uk/asthma

acaai.org
https://acaai.org/asthma/asthma-symptoms

www.asthma.org.uk
https://www.asthma.org.uk/about/media/news/asthma-uk-study-1.1bn/

https://www.worldallergy.org

www.allergyuk.org
https://www.allergyuk.org/information-and-advice/statistics

WebMD
https://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergy-statistics

www.foodallergy.org
https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/facts-and-statistics

www.dailymail.co.uk
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2012050/The-cocktail-20-chemicals-glass-milk.html

www.anaphylaxis.org.uk
https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Peanut-Oil-Allergy-Factsheet-Nov-2017.pdf

www.foodallergy.org
https://www.foodallergy.org/common-allergens/tree-nut-allergy

Food Standards Agency FSA
https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/fsa170306.pdf