9 Hidden Causes of Allergies
This week’s guest post comes to us from Craig Lane of Health Alkemy. Craig is a Master Herbalist, Nutritionist, and Healer with a booming community-centered practice that blends education, herbal medicine, and nutritional advice.
What Are Allergies?
What is an allergy, actually? To me, an allergy is nothing more than a strong reaction to something in the environment, including internal environment.
Allergies take on various forms. An allergy is an adverse reaction to a food, to pollen, to smoke, or to microbes or chemicals. A positive slant on allergies are that they indicate a strong reaction, meaning strength. But the strength is geared towards an autoimmune response, often damaging one’s own body, rather than repairing it.
Food allergies can cause a wide range of symptoms, ranging from digestive problems, to skin eruptions, to canker sores, to acne, to asthma, to mental/emotional problems, to blood sugar issues, to heart problems, to urinary infections, to joint pain. Any system in the body can be affected.
One thing many allergy sufferers have is a histamine issue. But histamine is a “marker” not the road we walk. It is a secondary measured phenomena and those who focus here never get anywhere.
The Biology of Kundalini
An interesting read from The Biology of Kundalini is that histamine links to spiritual awakenings and “sensitive types.” Check out this quote:
“Histamine release is probably most significant during the periods of panic attack when hypervigilance is at its peak. Increased histamine is probably common throughout Spiritual Maturation, but if there was also a threat to life then a greater amount of histamine might be suddenly released. Histamine produces larger pores in the blood vessel walls as the first step in launching an inflammatory response. The increased blood vessel porosity improves brain nutrition in times of emergency, when high performance is needed for survival.”
Jana Dixon – Biology of Kundalini
Curing Allergies Without Shots or Drugs
Many of my clients go crazy during allergy season. They resort to all kinds of drugs for relief. Whereas I opted to suffer and find the root causes. I have learned whenever there is pain and discomfort in my being, it is a warning signal something needs to be fixed. So why would I want to turn off the warning light with a medication?
Not everyone suffers from allergies for the same reason. Read on to see which of following causes explains your allergies.
Nine Hidden Causes of Allergies
1. Genetic Susceptibility
For reasons unbeknownst to us, some people are just set up to be more sensitive to their environment (including foods).
2. Not Breastfed as a Child
It’s well-known that breastfeeding confers significant immune and health benefits to children. Lack of nutrition at this early stage and exposure to dairy, a known allergen, can lead to issues later in life.
3. Immunizations
The hygiene hypothesis holds that growing up in cities, insulated from nature, and inoculated from the environment around them makes people more susceptible to allergies, asthma, certain autoimmune diseases and perhaps even diabetes.
Why? Because good hygiene leaves the body’s immune system underemployed and looking for something to do. Soon, the immune system begins overreacting to pollen, animal dander and other ordinarily harmless substances.
Remedy: Work on lowering immune reactions and detoxify and decongest.
4. Weak Adrenals (AKA Kidney Yang Deficiency)
The adrenal glands can affect almost any system in the body, from blood sugar to stress response, from hormonal balance to mood, and from the ability to heal to the ability to get things done. Weak adrenal function is linked with allergies, poor immunity, low motivation, asthma, more.
Remedy: Rest better, sleep more, do not over-schedule, learn to breathe through stress, use herbs: ashwagandha, eleuthero, ginsengs, Aralia Californica, Elecampane, Gynostemma, Rhodiola, many many others….
5. Low Stomach Acid (Alkalosis)
Remedies:
- Use Apple Cider vinegar 2-3 tsp in 2 oz water with meals
- Take bitters before meals, if bowels not loose
- Use Enzymes, Betaine Hcl, Malic Acid, Pepsin, etc.
- Do not overeat alkaline foods like fruits/veggies during an acute attack, sweet citrus foods the worst
- Use Apple Cider Vinegar, eat moderate amounts of veggies, but do not over juice or consume too much raw food
6. Polluted Environment (internal or external)
Remedies:
- Detoxification- eliminate junk foods
- Eat right amount and types of food you KNOW you feel good on & check your energy/mood/cravings for ALL meals 30-60 minutes after eating. ANY symptom post meal should show a need to investigate what you just ate.
7. High Sugar Diet Leading to Candida & dysbiosis
Remedies:
- Comfrey leaf/root, whole food vitamin C sufficient protine, green juices,
- Under-eating,
- Chronic conditions may require deep internal work on gut lining
8. Overeating & Eating Reactive Foods
Consuming more food than your body can comfortably digest, puts an undue burden on your system. Eating foods that creating symptoms (sinus congestion, headaches, fatigue, or agitation) also challenge the immune system and limit your ability to process normally benign environmental factors including pollen.
9. Hyper Immunity—Autoimmune—Allergic Reactions
An allergy is nothing more than hypersensitivity and reactivity to something outside the body or inside the body—the body has become used to being in this state—test your Immunoglobulins to see.
Remedy: Antronex from Standard Process, Albizia, Quecetin, Apple Cider Vinegar
The Best Herbs & Foods to Treat Allergies
Acute Symptoms
- Ginkgo
- Evening Primrose Leaf
- Raw onion/garlic to tolerance
- Apple Cider vinegar 2-3 tsp hourly in 2 oz water.
- Standard Process Allerplex & AC Carbamide (Allerplex up to 3 hourly)
- Raw Nettles extract
- Yerba Santa—very good to dry up watery secretions
- Green tea or Yerba Mate—can be helpful to temporarily to dry up
Long term Treatment
- Echinacea
- Fenugreek
- Use apple cider vinegar with meals and as needed.
- Comfrey leaf or root extract or tea—to heal gut lining.
- Feverfew: Albizia complex by Mediherb gets good results.
- Vitamin C: whole food, do not use only ascorbic acid.
- Reduce sweets and carbohydrate intake.
- Avoid trigger foods—watch how you feel 30-60 minutes after eating
- Keeping nerves/brain calm—gotu kola, scullcap, bacopa, tulsi, and St John’s wort.
- Use Fresh green juices often/weekly or more.
About the Author of this article:
Craig Lane, founder of Health Alkemy, Certified Nutritionist (B.S. in Nutrition), Massage Therapist (Oriental focus) and Herbalist, has 25 years experience and education in Western medicine, Chinese medicine, and Ayurveda. He has created an integrated assessment system (with medical exam/lab work, iris/sclera assessment and tongue analysis). His skill set is bridging the gap between modern medicine and proven Ancient Health Traditions. In his office they help with Medical Advocacy, lifestyle changes, and helping people have an experience they cannot deny.
For more on Craig Lane please see the following resources
