Allergy Awareness

Asthma treatment: Olympic athlete hopeful Hannah Lupton improves after vocal training

Hannah Lupton of Preston, whose sporting career was thrown into jeopardy after she was diagnosed with asthma has got her breath back thanks to pioneering treatment.

Asthma treatment: Olympic athlete hopeful Hannah Lupton improves after vocal training

Asthma vaccine: Farmyard bacteria could stop children developing condition

Scientists believe the discovery could prevent 1.1million children in the UK from getting the condition.

Asthma vaccine: Farmyard bacteria could stop children developing condition

Breakthrough in the battle to conquer coeliac disease

Coeliac disease, the intolerance to gluten, has blighted the lives of millions of people. Now scientists have cracked the mystery as to how it happens.

Breakthrough in the battle to conquer coeliac disease

A jab to beat hay fever: 'Holy grail' of vaccines could even prevent asthma and eczema

The one-size-fits-all injection could even ward off peanut allergies. But the news will be particularly welcomed by Britain’s 15million hay fever sufferers.

A jab to beat hay fever: 'Holy grail' of vaccines could even prevent asthma and eczema

Allergies 'slash risk of cancer': They help to boost immune system, say experts

Scientists believe that adverse reactions stimulate the immune system, helping to ward off other potentially fatal conditions.

Allergies 'slash risk of cancer': They help to boost immune system, say experts

Common pesticides linked to ADHD in children

Children exposed to chemicals used on crops and in household products could have a higher risk of attention-deficit disorder, according to U.S research.

Common pesticides linked to ADHD in children

Food "superallergies": The First Italian Study Proves That They Can Be Cured With The Incriminated Allergen

Read the full article here - http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/99970.php 

Overcoming Allergic Reactions To Soy

Read the full article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/99764.php

Citric Acid Allergy

This is an interesting one. From the information I have been able to gather Citric Acid is commonly used as an acidity regulator. It can be produced either naturally from citrus fruit or it can be a derivative of wheat starch.

At the moment I have not been able to find any tinned tomatoes in the supermarket that do not contain Citric Acid. Most soft drinks also contain Citric Acid. In fact most products in the supermarket seem to contain Citric Acid.

Personally, Citric Acid (and citrus fruit) triggers my asthma, so I avoid it. The only tinned tomato product to date that I have found that does not use Citric Acid is a catering sized tin of "pizza base topping" which is made from 100% tomatoes (nothing else - woo hoo!)

As I react to both Citrus fruit and wheat I do not know which derivative I react to. What I do know is that Citric Acid is also known as Acidity Regulator E330.

To confuse matters further the health guide on Mutual Benefit Marketing has this to say

On my previous blog there were some interesting comments about this post left by some of the readers. I have taken the liberty of copying them here.

Oak Smoke Flavouring Contains Phthalic Anhydride.

I bought some relatively harmless sounding Smoked Salmon as a treat for myself not thinking there would be much in that I could react to. The ingredients list was fairly simple: Salmon (97%), Salt, Sugar, Oak Smoke. I've never reacted to any type of fish so I was pretty taken aback when I started to swell around my mouth and face, broke out in welts and started to get breathless.

From investigating around the web I discovered that when Oak Smoke is listed as an ingredient it is because it is an added flavouring. Tests have been completed on aqueous oak smoke and it has been found to contain (amongst other things) Phthalic Anhydride.

Phthalic Anhydride is known to irritate the skin, eyes and upper respiratory system, in fact it's pretty nasty stuff -

http://avogadro.chem.iastate.edu/MSDS/phthalic_anhydride.htm

From now on I'll be checking to make sure that if I am eating so-called smoked food it has actually been smoked and not just flavoured.

Can A Breastfed Baby Have Allergies?

Quite basically, yes, and they can have intolerances too.

Last time I was pregnant, my allergies/intolerances seemed to reduce in severity. Initially they got worse, then as the pregnancy progressed they improved and I didn't react anywhere near as violently as I had done previously - hence the drop in the blog submissions!

When my baby was 3-months old she had not stopped coughing, wheezing or having snuffly nose since she was born - so I started looking into the possibilty that she may have a dairy allergy. Not to my milk but to the few milk proteins that are passed on to her through my milk. I found out that other allergens which can be passed on through breastmilk are wheat, eggs, citrus and peanuts.

I rarely ate peanuts so it had to be something that I had in my diet every day. My egg allergy was disgnosed at 6 weeks old, so I went wheat, dairy and egg free again, in the hope that it would help clear up my snuffly baby.

An interesting article called "Milk: Does it Really Do a Body Good?" written by Dr Jay Gordon can be read at http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/milkdrJ.htm. It is quite informative and discusses the contents of milk, symptoms of intolerances/dairy and reactions of breastfed babies to changes in the diet of their mother.

I still watch what I am eating as once my hormones levelled out after giving birth my allergies/intolerances returned, but at a level which I am more able to tolerate. I like this because it means once a week I cheat and eat something 'naughty', the next day I don't feel great but for the most part it's bearable and I can continue with life quite normally, for me!