Allergies and Autoimmunity

I am one of the many people who have bought into the results of my allergy tests based on blood tests taken at my Naturopath Doctor's office. I am also very active in the world of auto-immunity research because as a mother with multiple sclerosis it fascinates me to see what the research is uncovering for us.

Some of the research that has fascinated me the most I got through events hosted by Pats Fund who is focused on funding research in the area of autoimmunity after realizing the numbers are 1 in 5 people suffers from an autoimmune disorder. If you don't know what this means I highly recommend that you look at their site. There are a lot of fascinating links between disorders that aside from being an autoimmune disorder wouldn't seem to have anything in common. Some of the common autoimmune disorders mentioned are diabetes type 1, multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia, celiac, and certain kinds of hepatitis and leukemia. All of this is particular of interest to me because having autoimmunity issues in my family increases the odds of any of these being passed along to my children, even if their chances of getting what I have (MS) is very low, something I do not typically find referenced in the articles I see on the topic.

Frequently I am shocked by how resistant people are to accepting that I or they might be allergic to something. In particular the articles I have read recently in the New York Times that seem to be sharing this doubt as real news rather than looking at the potential impact these subtle allergies are having on us. I am not a scientist but seeing all these allergy test results coming back as I'm watching the numbers of people with autoimmunity issues is really pushing me in the direction of believing there could be a link.

Especially considering that some diseases, though very few, are actually linked with certain dietary habits, for instance diabetes is influenced by our over or under intake of simple carbohydrates. Celiac Disease is absolutely related to gluten allergies to an extreme level. Obesity, is linked with over eating. I see all of these getting slowly accepted as general knowledge but accepting that we really aren't eating well as a whole with our over consumption of wheat, dairy, corn syrup and whatever else could be leading to some of these issues seems to be treated as an illogical conclusion which I believe is ignorant.

So back to my journey which led to getting an allergy test after meeting some other women I admire who are diagnosed with MS and had expressed how much improvement they experienced after taking these tests and changing their diet accordingly. I also got tests measuring the nutrient levels in my body and other measurable antibody levels and so forth which I only mention because these kind of cross reference each other which for me left no room for doubting the results.

Before getting to my results, I feel I should point out that I did not think I was allergic to ANYTHING, my stomach was one of steel I thought. Different kinds of allergies manifest in different ways though, and the first clue that I was dealing with a serious allergy issue was the measure of antibodies in my system which were more than twice the maximum of the 'normal' range. When seeing this along with my allergy test results it started making sense...I like many other people with MS am very allergic to dairy (estimates are that 80% of MS patients are allergic to milk as mentioned in THIS article) along with eggs, almost all grains and beans including soy and rice, beef, and much more.

So now here I am following a strict diet, which I choose to describe in terms of what I can eat rather than what I can't because it is more simple to say, "I eat chicken, fish, fruits, and vegetables." than it is to list off all that I can't eat. Usually I simplify it by saying no dairy, egg, or gluten because those are the big ones.

I am writing this article because my gut is telling me that if we integrated allergy tests like those that I took into the preventative care we allegedly are getting from our PCP that we will drastically see a decrease in disease in this country. Also misconceptions about how important dairy is particularly for people with MS so that we can get our Vitamin D is false, Vitamin D is available by liquid supplement in a very pure and absorbable form that people with or without MS can take without jeopardizing their health by teasing their allergies.

I find it very humorous when the same people telling me that I'm taking my allergies too seriously are amazed at my healthy appearance and slim figure, it's not a trick, when we treat our bodies well and only give them what they can handle they do improve in their form and function.

My diet is specifically designed for me based on my test results, it is not a diet to be followed because one has MS because we do not all have the same allergies despite having a similar diagnosis. Please see a naturopath in your area for more information.

http://www.patsfund.org
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/health/research/12allergies.html
http://www.lauriemischley.com - well known naturopath focusing her research on diet and Multiple Sclerosis, great resource.