Why Do People Become Allergic, And Why Are Allergies On The
By Jane Thurnell-Read, Thu Dec 8th

Allergies are on the increase - a third of the populationbelieve that they suffer from allergies, and even though some ofthese people may be mistaken, everyone agrees that eczema,asthma, hay fever, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. are now moreand more common. So, what has happened?

It is often unclear why a person has a tendency to be allergicor intolerant to a range of substances. Medical practitionerstalk about ‘atopic individuals’ - atopic means ‘out of place’.To the unknowing this sounds like a medical diagnosis, but infact all it means is: You have a tendency to have allergies; youmay have several different symptoms caused by your allergicreactions; this often runs in families; we don’t know why.Describing someone as an atopic individual is not sayinganything the person does not already know about themself!

Genetic Predisposition problems undoubtedly do run infamilies, so there may be a genetic component, although theexact mechanism is not clearly understood. Some small geneticmutation can cause the immune system to be triggered moreeasily, so that family members sharing this mutation will allhave a tendency to allergic reactions, although not necessarilyto the same substances, but this does not explain the rise inthe incidence of allergies in recent years.

Severe Virus Infections A severe virus infection can lead todamage to the immune system, so that the individual is morelikely to develop allergies in the future. Again, although thismay explain why someone has allergies, the incidence of virusinfections is not on the increase.

So we have to look elsewhere to explain the rise, and there areseveral completely different possibilities.

Parasites One theory now being proposed is that the lackof the proper enemies (liver fluke, tapeworms, etc.) has led toan idle immune system finding inappropriate work in allergicreactions. There are many antibodies produced in the body toprotect it against invasion by harmful organisms. IgE antibodiesdeal effectively and quickly with the extreme danger ofinfection by large parasites, such as tapeworms. Parasites’effect on health can be devastating, so over the yearsindividuals with efficient IgE mechanisms have lived toreproduce and pass on their genes at a greater rate than peoplewith a less efficient IgE mechanism. The IgE antibodies are alsoinvolved in allergic and hypersensitivity reactions, so peoplewith these inherited efficient IgE mechanisms are more likely tosuffer problems than people who have inherited a lessefficient system. This super-charged immune system was a plusfor an asthma sufferer’s distant ancestors inhabiting a worldwith many life-threatening parasites, but now leads to a‘trigger-happy’ immune system firing off inappropriately.

Other practitioners (notably Hulda Clark in ‘Cure For AllDiseases’) take the opposite view, and see many symptomsas being a reaction to an infestation of parasites.

Excessive Cleanliness The obsession with the danger of ‘germs’is thought to have led to an increase in allergies. Much of thisobsession with cleanliness seems to be driven by the media andadvertising. Headlines about ‘killer bugs’, and advertisementsthat claim a product kills even more germs have led many peopleto buy more and more products to wipe out these dangerousenemies. A view now gaining ground among many researchers andsome doctors is that a certain level of dirt is good for us,particularly during infancy and early childhood when the immunesystem is maturing.

T-helper cells in the immune system recognise foreign antigensand then secrete substances to activate other cells to fight theinvader. In pregnancy the T-helper cells that attack invadersdirectly without producing antibodies (Th1 cells) are lessactive, as these could lead the mother’s system to reject thefoetus. This means that the T-helper cells that are responsiblefor antibody reactions (Th2 cells) are more prominent. These arethe ones that are involved in allergic reactions. The new baby’simmune system has the same emphasis as the mother’s had duringpregnancy. It is believed that the exposure of the very young tosome level of ‘dirt’ is beneficial in that it helps to rebalancethe immune system to emphasise the T-helper cells that are notinvolved in the process.

In an excellent article (‘New Scientist’ July 18th 1998) GarryHamilton talks about ‘the gentler side of germs’. If the youngare not exposed to ‘dirt’, the immune system does not go throughthis rebalancing process, and a tendency to can result.Linda Gamblin in ‘The Bible’ cites several medicalresearch projects, which support the idea of allowing childrento be exposed to dirt and minor infections to help protectagainst allergies.

Vaccination Our children are now being vaccinated against abigger and bigger range of diseases. While some of these areserious, many are mild illnesses that were once considered partof a normal childhood. Many alternative practitioners considerthat these childhood illnesses help to prime the immune systemso that it is better able to cope with a whole range ofillnesses later in life. This view is not accepted by most ofthe medical profession, and indeed it would be

difficult toprove. However, there is some evidence that vaccination altersthe ratio of T-helper cells and T-suppresser cells. This wouldbe likely to have an effect on the vaccinated child’ssusceptibility to reactions. It is also known that mostvaccines stimulate the branch of the immune system that isconcerned with the more extreme immune reactions to invaderssuch as parasites (‘New Scientist’ July 18th 1998).

Ubiquitous Presence Of Some Foods Before the advent of freezersand airfreight most people ate local foods in season. Now mostfruit and vegetables are available all year round, so that oursystems are exposed to the same foods continually withoutrespite.

There has been a dramatic increase in people experiencing soyaallergy, since soya has become a common ingredient in manyprocessed foods. In Europe and North America rice isrelatively uncommon, whereas in Asia where it is consumed morefrequently it is much more common.

Technological Developments Developments that make modern lifemore comfortable have also led to an increase in allergies. Withthe advent of air conditioning, central heating and wall-to-wallcarpeting house dust mites and moulds such as alternaria have anideal environment in which to thrive. Modern offices with sealedwindows mean that everyone is exposed to the perfumes worn byother people. The increasing use of plastics, formaldehyde,benzene etc. have led to all of us being exposed to an amazingvariety of chemicals.

Contamination By Environmental Pollutants The chemicals indiesel fumes are known to damage the outer membranes of pollens.This means that when the pollen is breathed in, the pollenproteins are immediately in much closer contact with thedelicate membranes in the mouth, nose and lungs than they wouldbe if the pollen had not been damaged in this way.

It has now also been suggested that the immune system isreacting to some harmless substances because they have beencontaminated by environmental pollution: the immune system doesnot recognise the food, for example, if it has molecules fromtyre rubber attached to it. These molecules sometimes appearsimilar to enzymes produced by parasites and so the immunesystem attacks the ‘parasite’.

Although more and more evidence is accumulating for a role forenvironmental pollutants, this does not explain why New Zealand,which is relatively unpolluted, has one of the highestincidences of asthma in the world.

Electro-Magnetic Pollution An increase in electro-magneticpollution has run parallel with the increase in allergies. Thescientific jury is still out on the danger of mobile phones,power lines, etc., but many people are becoming more concernedabout our constant exposure. People who are sensitive tocomputers, etc. often also show many symptoms typical ofallergic individuals. In some cases correcting this sensitivityto electro-magnetic sources, results in all or most of theadverse reactions disappearing. (I recommend health kinesiologyfor this.)

Stress The pace of life is quickening all the time: moderntechnology gives us more possibilities and many of us want toexperience as many of these as we can. A survey found that halfof the 950 young people in their 20’s interviewed said that theywould feel a failure if they did not own a home by 26, were notmarried by 27 and not both rich and parents by 29. Many of theinterviewees said they were prepared to sacrifice a healthy dietand way of life to achieve this. These expectations andpressures are not conducive to long-term health and can alsolead to stress and allergies. Pre-packaged, processed foodseaten in front of the television, too much alcohol, too littlefresh air and exercise all take their toll.

Sometimes particular traumatic events can explain a particularallergy. One of my clients was allergic to wool and tea. Shetold me that when she was a small child she had pulled a cup ofhot tea on to herself. At the time she was wearing a woolsweater, and the tea soaked into the sweater and burnt her verybadly.

Diet It is now well known that bottle-fed babies are more likelyto be prone to problems than breast-fed ones. Sudden orearly weaning can contribute to the problem too.

Sadly the modern diet may be abundant in calories, but there ismore and more evidence that it is low in some importantnutrients. People are eating more pre-processed foods, which maybe nutritionally compromised.

Soil is becoming depleted of some minerals, because they havelong been taken up by plants grown in the soil. If the mineralis not in the soil, it cannot be in the plant, and so it is notavailable in the foods we eat either.

It is unlikely that there is one simple answer as to why peopleare allergic, intolerant or sensitive in general or toparticular substances. Research is still being carried out inthis fascinating area. Fortunately with the tools that areavailable it is not necessary to know why someone has allergyproblems in order to be able to detect and correct them.

About the author:Jane Thurnell-Read is an author and researcher on health,allergies and stress. She has written a book on allergies-"Allergy A to Z" which is available from Amazon, and all goodbook stores (ISBN 0954243927). It is also availble from her website http://www.healthandgoodness.com