Originally published August 31 2009
Solve the Puzzle of Food Allergies: The H Pylori Bacteria Connection
by Kerri Knox, RN
(NaturalNews) Most doctors don't test for or treat the H pylori bacteria except in cases of unrelenting heartburn or in active ulcers and consider it an 'asymptomatic' pathogen that lives with most of us without hurting us. However, research shows that simply having the H pylori bacteria could be a risk factor in the development of the recent epidemic of both immediate and delayed reaction food allergies that so many people are reporting.
The Helicobacter Pylori bacteria, most commonly known as H pylori, are ancient bacteria that have been infecting humans for as long as we have been on the earth. They are present in up to half of the world's population according to some studies, and have been found in nearly every bodily fluid and every organ in humans and even in some animals as well. They have become most famous in recent decades with the findings that most ulcers are caused by an H pylori infection. While the information about H pylori and ulcers earned the discoverers of this phenomenon the Nobel Prize in 2005 for their 1982 discovery, doctors pretty much ignore this bacteria UNLESS a person has active ulcers or has persistent unrelenting heartburn.
But are doctors missing an important connection with the recent rise in food allergies? The incidence of SEVERE food allergies has risen to epidemic proportions in recent decades, with even airplanes and elementary schools declaring themselves 'Peanut Free Zones' in order to help protect people with these serious allergies. Food allergies have become a serious PUBLIC health issue as well as a serious PERSONAL health issue for growing numbers of people.
These obvious food allergies get a lot of attention because of their severity, but less obvious 'delayed sensitivity reactions' are a serious problem for the hundreds of thousands who become exhausted, get joint pains, have 'brain fog' and have other debilitating symptoms after a meal that contains an offending food. Interestingly, research is showing that these two seemingly unrelated phenomena of H pylori and food allergies are actually connected in a cause and effect fashion. Doctors only consider H pylori to be 'symptomatic' when the infected person has heartburn, ulcers or persistent stomach pains. But whether H pylori causes these problems or not, it is an INFECTION, and infections always without exception cause an immune reaction and inflammation. Inflammation in the stomach causes the stomach cells, which are usually as tightly fitted as puzzle pieces, to become damaged and pulled apart leaving gaps and spaces in between. While some tolerate this inflammation well and have no symptoms, people with food allergies and H pylori infection may have food particles actually 'leaking' between the stomach cells into the bloodstream- causing an immune system reaction to these food particles.
"...this increased permeability to antigens could be responsible
for an allergic sensitization to bystander food antigens occurring
in some patients who test positive for H. pylori."
'Food Allergy and Helicobacter Pylori'
Unfortunately, these H pylori carriers often don't have the 'classic' symptoms of heartburn or stomach pains that doctors are taught to recognize as H pylori infection. And even when they do they are often simply given an 'acid blocker' to relieve their heartburn, leaving the H pylori infection to continue causing inflammatory damage that could lead to ulcers and even stomach cancer down the road. In addition, many doctors don't recognize delayed food allergies in their patients either, and they certainly don't recognize that H pylori infection could be the culprit in these food allergies. Sadly, this leaves many to suffer with vague debilitating symptoms of chronic illness, sometimes for decades, that are really just the inflammatory and immune response set off by H pylori along with the debilitating effects of unrecognized food allergies.
For those who suspect that their symptoms may be due to H pylori, both blood testing and stool testing are accurate and inexpensive ways to be tested for this common bacterium. In addition to standard medical treatments of antibiotics for 'eradication' of this infection, there are also effective natural remedies that can control and even eliminate this bacteria altogether, thus eliminating the underlying CAUSE of the food allergies, inflammation and immune reaction that can masquerade as so many other chronic health problems.
References
1)http://journals.lww.com/jpgn/pages/articlevi...
2)http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkt...
3)http://www.easy-immune-health.com/h-pylori-r...
About the author
Kerri Knox, RN is a Registered Nurse and Functional Medicine Practitioner.
With over 14 years of experience in health care, she has the unique perspective of being solidly grounded in Conventional Medicine and being well versed in Alternative Medicine.
She can help you to to find and repair the UNDERLYING CAUSES of illness using cutting edge in home lab testing that finds nutritional deficiencies, hidden infections and chemical and metal toxicities that contribute to ill health.
She can be reached through her websites at:
Easy Immune System Health.com
Side Effects Site
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