FOOD ALLERGIES AND HOMEOPATHY

Homeopathy For Food Allergy

 Ever heard of someone developing a life-threatening allergic reaction from a tiny part of a peanut? Ever heard of someone having an asthma attack just after taking a spoon of cooked mushrooms? Or severe attack of migraine triggered by black pepper. These may sound strange, but are true!

These are intriguing for the medical world too as some important questions remain unanswered. Why some of us suddenly develop a strong allergy to a food substance that we have been eating so often? And why do they start so suddenly in life?

Many people think the terms ?food allergy? and ?food intolerance? mean the same thing, but they do not. Food intolerance is an adverse food-induced reaction that does not involve the immune system. Lactose intolerance is one example of food intolerance. A person with lactose intolerance lacks an enzyme that is needed to digest milk sugar. When the person eats milk products, symptoms such as gas, bloating and abdominal pain may occur.

Although an individual may be allergic to any food, such as fruits, vegetables and meats, these are not as common as the following eight foods which account for 90 per cent of all food-allergic reactions: Milk, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), fish, shellfish, soya and wheat.

The symptoms that the allergic individual produces are individual in nature. They can range from a mild asthmatic attack to a severe life threatening allergic response (anaphylaxis). The complex process of digestion also affects the timing and the location of a reaction. If people are allergic to a particular food, for example, they may first experience itching in the mouth as they start to eat the food. After the food is digested in the stomach, abdominal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea or pain may start. When the food allergens enter and travel through the bloodstream, they can cause a drop in blood pressure. As the allergens reach the skin, they can induce hives or eczema, or when they reach the lungs, they may cause asthma. All of this takes place within a few minutes to an hour.

Homoeopathic treatment of food allergies can be very beneficial as it treats food allergies by optimising the overcharged immune system. Though the treatment may require a more serious approach, most of the allergies can be treated with homeopathy. Homeopathy views food allergies as an expression of a disturbance in the patient?s healing system. Food allergies are not a disease to be cured in themselves, but a reflection of an underlying imbalance.

Food sensitivity or intolerance can be treated by homeopathic medicines that are specific to that particular problem. For example, homeopathic medicine Silicea for milk intolerance in infants, when even the mother?s milk disagrees, or Zingiber for diarrhoea that sets in after eating melons or Antim crudum for headache that comes after eating fruits.

Dr. Vikas Sharma is a Chandigarh based homeopathic doctor .He has been practicing homeopathy for the last 13 years