If you have read The Answer or my paper on gluten intolerance, then you have an idea. If not, then here is a brief explanation. I feel certain now that any individual that has inhalant allergies has serious food “issues” that preceded them. These food issues are what are referred to as food intolerances, which also lead to food allergies. The three foods that do the most harm to the gut are wheat (and other glute-containing grains), cow milk (with it’s main protein, casein), and soy. These three foods all have substances that are used in industry as adhesives. Soy protein, for example, is used as the adhesive to stick your rear-view mirror to your windshield.(That’s some powerful stuff.) These glues stick to your duodenum after they leave your stomach, despite that organ’s valiant attempt to break it down (thus, the heartburn).

Once the glue is stuck to the delicate villi of your intestine, the immune-system is called in to help dislodge it. In the worst cases, as in those with celiac disease, this immune response is very serious leading to severe atrophy of those villi. In the process, antibodies are formed to the glue from the various foods leading to what we call food allergies. This is why the FDA list of childhood allergens stacks up the way it does: cow milk is number one, wheat is number two, and soy is number four (glue, glue and more glue). But, what is number three? Eggs. Eggs represent the first secondary allergen, meaning that we become allergic to them because of the damage done to the gut by the first three. The cow milk and soy formulas do the initial damage to the gut and allow any other proteins that pass through it to be exposed to the blood and immune system in forms that the body doesn’t recognize. Eggs are usually the first protein fed to a baby after being on formula and the immune system reacts to it as a foreign substance once the intestine has been damaged by the formula. Celiacs, for example, are renowned for having multiple food allergies, exhibiting reactions to 5, 10 or up to 30 foods. The reason for this is now clear.

The other thing happening in this damaged gut is the malabsorption of essential nutrients. The duodenum is responsible for absorbing all calcium, iron, iodine, vitamin C, B-complex, and most trace minerals (zinc, boron, manganese, magnesium, etc). These are all vital to good health, of course.

Therefore, once the combination of problems reaches a critical level, the immune system goes into what I call “safe mode”. As stated in The Answer, the immune system is overworked and underpaid. Once in safe mode, it starts to react to other foreign proteins that try to make their way into the body through the respiratory tract. I believe down to my socks that this is the origin of inhalant allergies. Why else would the immune system of one individual react violently to something normal in the air, like oak pollen, while someone else’s doesn’t?

We need to put it out of our mind that allergies are caused by a “malfunctioning immune system” and that “some day we’ll find the gene that causes them and remove it.” That, folks, is INSANE!!! Your body does not make that kind of mistake. Allergies are there for two main purposes: to warn us that something has gone wrong and to try to protect us from further harm. It is that simple. NOW we know that allergies are also warning us that the damage is taking place in the gut and that we have serious food issues, as well.

Therefore, the rationale behind long-term use of antihistamines should be closely re-examined. Is it the right thing to do to keep blocking the histamine that is trying desperately to limit the entrance of more allergens? Should we keep using the nasal spray that simply opens up the congested nasal passages and lets more and more of the offending substances into our lungs? Come on. We’re smarter than that…… aren’t we?