‘allergy’ Tagged Posts

A Short Review On Gluten Allergy

Allergies can sometimes be simple to control, but that does not mean that the patient has mild symptoms. There are many over the counter remedies that...

 

Allergies can sometimes be simple to control, but that does not mean that the patient has mild symptoms. There are many over the counter remedies that are known to help patients treat seasonal allergies, one of the most common types of the condition. Another allergy that is increasing in numbers is the gluten allergy. With proper tests, it is fairly easy to diagnose and the symptoms are sometimes easy to recognize.

Patients often have the allergies for a while before the patient and doctor realize the patient is having a reaction to gluten. Many of the symptoms are shared with other ailments, making it difficult to narrow down the suspects. The main sign of gluten allergies is frequent stomach problems such as upset stomach and constipation.

One of the signs of being allergic to gluten is the energy level of the patient. Fatigue can be often point to different conditions as well, so a few more symptoms are needed to require an allergy test.

Other signs of sensitivity to gluten is weight lose, bloating and constipation. If the patient is suspected of having a gluten allergy, tests should be done by the doctor. Treatment options will be discussed between the physician and the patient.

Treatments often include a lifestyle change. In order to avoid the triggers of the symptoms, the doctor will often put the patient on a diet that can help. Exercise and medications may play a part in the treatment as well.

Some of the symptoms of gluten allergies are often the same signs of other health conditions. The doctor is the only one that can diagnose and treat the allergies; so many tests may be in order before the doctor can narrow down the cause of the patient’s symptoms.

Many people across the world have allergies and have to learn how to keep them in check. There are a couple of symptoms that point to a gluten allergy and if the gluten allergy symptoms are noted, they should be tested.

categories: gluten allergy,wheat allergy,gluten intolerance,food allergy,food allergies,food allergies,food allergy,gluten allergy,health,nutrition,allergy

Treating Persistent Coughs Is Necessary

 

During common flu, you are usually afflicted with persistent cough and painful throat. These symptoms should not be ignored and one should consult a doctor immediately and get these treated accordingly.

The body’s defence mechanism instigates coughs to clear the air passage in the throat which prevents appropriate air flow to the lungs. Physiological problems alone do not cause coughs, sometimes psychological problems can also trigger them. Cough caused due to physical problems are generally either allergic in nature, caused by external pollutants or other influences, or a symptom of some ailment the person is suffering from. The other types of coughing are the ones driven psychologically and are generally habitual. This type of coughing habit is called Streruphilia and is not caused by any physical ailment or disorder.

Cough can often be acute or chronic, based on its typical characteristics and on the basis of the span for which it lasts and its intensity. Painful and recurrent coughs which stay for less than three weeks can be due to either infectious or non-infectious diseases. Examples of ailments of one time nature that cause painful coughing are pneumonia and sinusitis and examples of ailments causing chronic coughs are bronchitis and asthma.

In order to make sure that you get appropriate treatment for your cough problem, you have to visit a doctor to identify the nature and cause of the complication. Antihistamines, antibiotics and cough suppressants are a few of the medications often prescribed by the physicians to provide relief from acute coughing. In several chronic cases where the cough is persistent, the treatment or therapy can even stretch for months to be able to cure the problem.

Like with all physical ailments, it is always better to take precautionary measures to prevent cough rather than having to bear the pain and undergo prolonged treatment later. Positive lifestyle changes can protect you from cough problems and for that you should give up smoking and intake a proper, balanced diet.

Find out more about the most effective treatment for your Allergy and Cough problems from qualified and experienced ENT specialist.

Ward Off Allergy With Proper Treatments

 

You may be suffering from an allergy if your physical symptoms are skin rashes, a running nose or persistent coughs and sneezing. An allergy can make life quite miserable, depending on its intensity. Your body exhibits allergic symptoms when it is trying to fight external allergens. There can be lots of factors that can cause an allergic outbreak, such as a specific food item like milk, soy or other dairy products, contact with certain allergens like dust and pollutants, hairs of household pets, pollen etc or even some medicinal drugs.

Self medication and diagnosis are both extremely risky and undesirable in case of allergies, for which the very first thing that should be done by the person is to immediately consult a medical professional. After the root cause of the allergy is identified, the doctor can begin the treatment of the allergy with the right combination of medicines.

Antihistamines and other anti-allergic medicines prescribed by an expert are the most popular and affordable types of allergy treatment. Once the allergen is identified, it is always recommended to remain away from it. Wearing a face mask in dusty environments, for example, while cleaning the house or stepping out in a dust-filled environment, can keep your allergy at bay if it is triggered by dust particles. With an effective air purifier installed in your home you can get rid of allergen from the air you breathe in.

Maintain a list of medicines that cause your allergy when you meet your doctor or specialist and ensure he is aware of your allergies before he writes out new medicines. For those with food related allergies, a cautious control over your diet and attention to foods that have caused you allergies in the past will help greatly.

If your allergy is severe and the medicines fail to have any significant impact on you or if you do not want to risk another reaction then you can also resort to regular vaccinations to keep the allergy under control. This way you would not have to shut yourself up in your room to protect yourself from the allergy inducing agents.

Find out more about the most effective treatment for your Allergy and Cough problems from qualified and experienced ENT specialist.

Reishi Alcohol Extract vs. Hot Water Extract

 

Medicinal mushrooms have been immensely popular in Asia for millennia. Today, Americans are waking up to these powerful nutraceuticals. In the wake of this new awareness follow issues of product quality claims made by competing brands.

This information applies to all species of medicinal mushrooms. For practical purposes, this article will focus on the most popular medicinal mushroom species, red reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), over which the most intense battle of conflicting claims is being fought.

The first and perhaps obvious caution is to stay away from cheap mass-produced brands of medicinal mushrooms that may only contain dried and pulverized mushrooms, in which case the medicinal compounds are still inaccessible behind the mushrooms’ cell walls.

There are many real therapeutic brands on the market, though. But even among them, there are significant differences. They all claim to be the best, naturally, because they all want to sell their particular brand. So let’s sift the data, get the facts straight, and clear up misleading information that is out there.

There are primarily three ways to extract the medicinal compounds from red reishi. Each method pulls out different compounds, all of which have been proven by scientific research to be therapeutically important.

1. Hot Water Extraction (polysaccharides, etc.)

2. Alcohol Extraction (triterpenoids, sterols)

3. Fermenting (arabinoxylanes, etc.)

The most important hot water extracted compounds are the polysaccharides. Studies have shown them to possess strong anti-tumor properties, help boost immune system and be powerful antioxidants. [1]

The alcohol soluble compounds are mainly triterpenoids, a large group of related compounds. Scientific studies suggest they help stabilize cholesterol, blood pressure and clotting. Most importantly, they are the anti-inflammatory compounds so critical to many of reishi’s suggested uses, including arthritis, allergies and asthma. [1]

Less researched are the “secondary metabolites” that come from fermenting reishi. “Secondary” because they result when the original medicinal compounds get broken down by bacteria. These new compounds have been shown to possess therapeutic properties that are unique, including immune enhancement, anti-tumor and blood-sugar regulation. [2]

This article is intended to give general guidelines to help you choose an effective reishi product, not to recommend any particular brand. But there are at least two reishi companies on the market which both state only hot water extract is useful while alcohol extracts are of no value.

They do that, of course, because they wish to sell their products. However, there is no scientific validity to those claims. All three extraction methods listed above yield important medicinal compounds.

When looking for the best reishi extract, find one that uses at least the first two extraction methods in combination: Hot Water and Alcohol Extraction. Even better may be a brand that includes all three methods listed.

As a last point, when you look for the best reishi extract, one thing to look at is the form it comes in. For example, any reishi extract that fully dissolves in a water-based liquid such as coffee probably only contains hot water extracted reishi. So while reishi/ganoderma coffee certainly makes for a superbly delicious and healthy cup loaded with polysaccharides, it won’t include the important anti-inflammatory triterpenoids.

On the other hand, alcohol tinctures can actually contain both water soluble polysaccharides and alcohol soluble triterpenoids. The way you know is that the polysaccharides will fall out of solution because of the alcohol, and will make the tincture cloudy. That’s alright though; you just need to shake before you take. Capsules and tablets may be one or the other or both. The only way to know is ask the manufacturer or read their information.

[1] Boh B, Berovic M, Zhang J, Zhi-Bin L. “Ganoderma lucidum and its pharmaceutically active compounds.” Biotechnol Annu Rev. 2007;13:265-301.

[2] Tang YJ, Zhang W, Zhong JJ. “Performance analyses of a pH-shift and DOT-shift integrated fed-batch fermentation process for the production of ganoderic acid and Ganoderma polysaccharides by medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum.” Bioresour Technol. 2009 Mar;100(5):1852-9.

Dr. Rafael has worked with natural health since the’90’s, currently focusing on medicinal mushrooms. He partners with Cordyceps Reishi Extracts, LLC on premium reishi extract and cordyceps extract plus the increasingly popular mesima mushroom and many more.

categories: herbs,herbal,nutrition,wellness,alternative medicine,medicine,antioxidants,arthritis,asthma,diabetes,allergy,blood pressure,cholesterol,cancer

Milk Allergy Explained

 

Cow’s milk is one of the most usual allergy-causing foods in kids, and it’s the foremost origin of allergic responses in quite young babies.

Milk allergy affects roughly 2 percent to 3 percent of babies globally, and its symptoms and signs may be significant enough to cause misery not only for an allergic child, but also for the child’s family. However the pleasant news is that most kids outgrow the milk allergy by the age 2 or 3.

Allergic reactions typically show a couple of minutes to a few hours after you consume milk ” but every now and then it can be days before symptoms and sign occur. Signs and symptoms range from soft to terrible and may include wheezing, vomiting, hives and digestive problems. Rarely, milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis – a severe, life-threatening reaction.

Milk Allergy Symptoms

Three types of milk linked allergy symptoms have been acknowledged:

1. Symptoms start speedily after ingesting cow’s milk. Responses mainly affect the skin, causing hives and/or eczema.

2. Symptoms begin some hours after ingesting cow’s milk. Symptoms of this type are mainly diarrhea and vomiting.

3. Symptoms begin more than twenty hours after ingesting. The central symptom for this type is diarrhea.

Symptoms of milk allergy can affect the skin, causing rashes or hives; the digestive tract, causing bloating and diarrhea, and the respiratory system, causing runny nose and asthma.

Here is a more complete list of symptoms:

* vomiting

* hyperactive behavior

* diarrhea

* asthma

* hives

* runny nose

* rashes

* stuffy nose

* ear infections

* bloating

* watery eyes

* eczema

* allergic shiners (black around the eyes)

* recurrent bronchitis

* failure to thrive

The just mentioned symptoms are not limited to people suffering from milk allergy. Once one become familiar with food allergy symptoms, you probably become aware of that quite a few foods share a variety of regular symptoms, such as: bloating, rash, and runny nose.

What is the Difference of Milk allergy and Milk Intolerance?

It is central to differentiate a real milk allergy from milk protein intolerance or lactose intolerance. Unlike a milk allergy, intolerance doesn’t involve the immune system. Milk intolerance triggers different symptoms and need dissimilar treatment than does a true milk allergy. Common signs and symptoms of milk protein intolerance or lactose intolerance include digestive problems, such as bloating, gas or diarrhea, after consuming milk.

Milk Allergy Prevention and Cure

The only way to prevent an allergic reaction is to avoid milk and milk proteins altogether. This can be hard, as milk is a widespread food ingredient. Despite your best efforts, you or your child may still come into contact with milk.

Medications, such as antihistamines, may reduce signs and symptoms of a milk allergy. These drugs can be taken after exposure to milk to control an allergic reaction and help relieve discomfort. If you or your child has a acute allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), you may need an emergency injection of epinephrine (adrenaline) and a trip to the emergency room.

If you’re at risk of having a life-threatening reaction, you or your child may need to carry injectable epinephrine (such as an EpiPen) at all times.

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How to Tackle Gluten Allergy

 

Gluten Allergy, Celiac disease, or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is an auto-immune disease in the intestines, which is triggered by gluten, a protein located in various cereal grains. For that reason, individuals with celiac disease have to adhere to a gluten-free diet. Be sure to study the gluten allergy symptoms and if you suspect gluten allergy contact your doctor.

Where is Gluten Found? The foremost resource of gluten in the diet include wheat, rye, and barley. Oats may be tolerated in very small amounts by certain patients with celiac disease, although those with severe disease in general don’t.

Dairy foods might not be tolerated when persons with celiac disease has active symptoms, since lactose intolerance frequently develops. However, this is due to the lactose sugar in the dairy foods, rather than the proteins, which can cause milk allergy.

What Common Foods are Gluten-Free?

Foods such as soybean flour, tapioca flour, rice, corn, buckwheat and potatoes are usually safe for people with celiac disease. See below for more information regarding a gluten-free diet.

Why Follow a Gluten Free Diet?

* Even if there are no evident symptoms, celiac disease can cause critical vitamin and nutritional deficiencies, since the intestines may not be able to absorb important nutrients if gluten is being eaten.

* Rates of certain cancers of the gastrointestinal tract are much higher in people with celiac disease, and there is evidence that this risk is decreased with a gluten-free diet.

* People with active celiac disease are at increased risk for other auto-immune conditions, (such as diabetes mellitus type 1, Graves disease and Hashimotos thyroiditis) especially those with continued gluten exposure.

* Mothers with untreated celiac disease are at increased risk for having a low birth weight baby.

How to Follow a Gluten-Free Diet? First, reading all labels on prepared foods is imperative. Do not eat any foods that contain the following:

* Hydrolyzed vegetable protein

* Flour or cereal products

* Vegetable protein

* Malt and malt flavorings

* Starches (unless specified as corn starch, which does not contain gluten)

* Various flavorings, which can be derived from cereals containing gluten

* Vegetable gum

* Emulsifiers, stabilizers derived from cereals containing gluten

Next, especially when eating at a restaurant, avoid the following:

* Breaded foods

* Creamed foods

* Meatloaf and gravies

The following are good choices for a gluten-free diet:

* Broiled or roasted meats (beef, poultry, fish)

* Plain vegetables

* Plain salads

* Potatoes (white, sweet, yams)

* Corn

* Rice

* Beans

* Fruits

* Breads and baked goods made from alternative flours (rice, soy, tapioca, arrowroot, potato)

* Breakfast cereals containing only rice, corn, grits or hominy (Such as puffed rice). Some people with celiac disease may tolerate oats as well.

Are There Other Advice Regarding Nutrition?

It is a good idea to see a dietician or nutritionist on a regular basis to ensure that your gluten-free diet is well balanced and meeting nutritional needs. Your doctor may also prescribe various vitamin supplements to make up for any nutritional deficiencies. Since bone loss is a common problem in people with celiac disease (due in part to vitamin D deficiency), frequent monitoring with bone density scans is recommended.

Consider buying a cookbook with gluten-free recipe ideas, and visit various sites specializes in the support of people with celiac disease.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for personal care by a licensed physician. Please see your physician for diagnosis and treatment of any concerning symptoms or medical condition.

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