Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies
Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 10:07AM How can food allergies affect children who have the disorders of autism, ADHD and asthma?
There are (at least) two types of antibodies that can be created by a child's body: IgE and IgG. The IgE antibody normally produces an immediate-food-allergy reaction. The IgG antibody normally produces a delayed-food-allergy reaction.
Immediate-food-allergy reactions can produce hives and anaphylaxis (swelling of the lips, tongue and throat along with trouble breathing). Reactions normally occur within a few minutes of eating the offending food, but can take up to 24-hours to occur.
Delayed-food-allergy reactions normally take at least a few hours or days to occur. The symptoms of this type of reaction can be more difficult to spot. Specifically, delayed-food-allergy reactions can be responsible for the behavioral disorders of autism and ADHD as well as reactions of asthma.
Consider Dr. Kenneth Bock's thoughts in his book, Healing the New Childhood Epidemics where he states, "A very significant advantage of blood testing, as opposed to skin testing, is that it reveals the presence of IgG reactions. IgG reactions typically don't show up during skin testing, because they often don't begin to occur until a few hours, or even a few days, after contact with the food. In contrast, IgE reactions generally occur almost immediately, enabling doctors to spot them during the short duration of the skin testing procedure. IgG reactions are very common, and very troublesome. They are extremely common among kids with 4-A disorders [Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies]. They tend to create less severe symptoms than IgE reactions, but their symptoms still can be very destructive, particularly when IgG reactions to several foods occur at once, causing combined, cumulative damage, or when they combine with IgE reactions."[1]
While hives and eczema can be symptoms of immediate-reaction food allergy, it is behavioral issues that are a symptom of delayed-reaction food allergy. As Dr. Josef Burton explains in Flourishing with Food Allergies, “Reactions can be both visible and invisible. We can see rashes and hives, but there are reactions that are not as easy to identify such as grumpiness and irritability. If a child’s tongue or lips can swell, why can’t his brain swell too? Offending foods probably make our internal organs swell at times that can make it difficult or nearly impossible for a child to do the things we expect, such as sit and study or act the way we expect him to act.”[2]
When an undigested protein particle gets through the intestine walls it goes into the blood stream and the immune system is called upon to “handle it.” Depending upon the child, his or her body breaks down this protein particle the best it can. But during this breakdown process there can be side effects from the chemicals produced by the child’s own body. For instance, Dr. Scot Lewey writes on autism, “Many parents report a casein-free (dairy protein) and gluten-free diet increases eye contact, attention, and mood while decreasing aggressive or oppositional behavior, tantrums, and poor attention. Theories for improvement of casein-free diet include improved brain function due to removal of cow’s milk protein by-products that have opiate-like effects. Casomorphin is protein fragment or peptide sequence derived from casein that is considered to have an opiate like effect. There are several casomorphins produced by digestion of casein from cow’s milk. People who stop eating wheat and dairy containing foods commonly report withdrawal symptoms.”[3]
People who crave certain foods are actually feeding a negative circle of addiction to something that is harmful for their particular bodies. Specifically, “[A]ddictive cravings and withdrawal symptoms are said to exist in many food allergy patients when they stop eating the offending foods. ‘It has been suggested that this may be because some protein fragments formed when food is broken down are similar to endorphins, which the body produces naturally to counteract pain and produce euphoria. Then the allergy sufferer’s body becomes adapted to that level of endorphin activity and so craves the allergen in order to maintain the endorphin levels.’[4]”
Common delayed-reaction allergy foods include:
- ADHD/ADD: Dairy, wheat, oranges, eggs, chocolate, artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, food preservatives and natural chemicals found in apricots, berries and tomatoes.
- Autism: Dairy, wheat, gluten, caffeine, chocolate, artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, soy and corn.
- Asthma: Dairy, wheat, egg, yeast, preservatives, colorings and coffee.
The above list is taken from Dr. Kenneth Bock’s book.[5] He details nutritional supplements to boost the immune system and cleanse the body from heavy metals that can lodge in brain tissues and disrupt normal functioning. Supplementing properly can result in improving and often eliminating the symptoms and behaviour associated with ADHD and autism, which Dr. Bock places on the same spectrum. Additional research, studies, interviews and examples of improving symptoms of asthma, ADHD and autism can be found in Flourishing with Food Allergies, in chapters dedicated to those topics.
To test your child for delayed-reactions, you must do a blood test. (The skin prick test can only find immediate allergic reactions.) Blood tests can locate both the IgG (delayed) and IgE (immediate) antibodies. You’ll need to locate an allergist who understands this and can order and evaluate the results.
[1] Bock, M.D., Kenneth, Stauth, Cameron, “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies. The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders,” Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, New York, NY, 2008.
[2] Anderson, A., “Flourishing with Food Allergies,” July 2008, Papoose Publishing LLC.
[3] Lewey, Dr. Scot, “Autism linked to cow’s milk protein when GI symptoms present: More thoughts on the brain gut connection,” January 3, 2007, <http://thefooddoc.blogspot.com/search?q=Casomorphin+is+protein+fragment+>, (11/9/07).
[4] Thurnell-Read, Jane, “Allergy Equals Addiction, ”<http://www.shareware123.com/articles/part9/allergy_equals_addiction.htm>, (11/10/07).
[5] Bock, M.D., Kenneth, Stauth, Cameron, “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies. The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders,” Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, New York, NY, 2008.
