Gluten can promote the development of allergies

Article by: Zentrum der Gesundheit (12.08.2016)  |  Translation: Ute Eden 05.11.2016

Allergies and Intolerances have been increasing steadily, caused by an overreaction of the immune system to foods and substances. Since the reasons for allergic reactions are as diverse as their symptoms, the triggering factors are not always identifiable. There are many adverse reactions which are based on a completely different cause.

Allergies and the immune system 

Many people are affected by allergies in this day and age. The number of people with allergies is increasing steadily and even small children are increasingly affected by the symptoms. The effect of an allergic reaction can be as diverse as its cause. Among the most common symptoms of an allergy are runny nose, severe flow of tears, itching, asthma, headache, gastrointestinal problems, skin rashes and many other phenomena. An allergic reaction indicates that the immune system completely overreacts on actually harmless substances. The best known representatives - allergens or substances - are flower pollen, house dust mites, insect poisons (wasps or hornet ) and metals like nickel. But there are far more allergens.

Nowadays virtually every substance can become an allergen and thus trigger allergic reactions. Particularly people with a weakened immune system will make this experience. An allergy sufferer frequently reacts not only to a single allergen. Over time the extremely strong reactions of his immune system can lead to overreactions in more and more situations. As a result, s/he may display overreaching reactions to an increasing number of substances - with an allergic reaction.

Allergy due to weakened adrenal glands

The adrenal cortex produces a variety of hormones - including glucocorticoids such as cortisone and cortisol. These so-called stress hormones are capable of intercepting allergic reactions due to their anti-inflammatory effect.

However, this only works if the adrenal glands are not already weakened. Weakened adrenal glands are often the result of a diet rich in sugars and carbohydrates. A high coffee or alcohol concentration also makes excessive use of the adrenal glands. However, the primary cause of adrenal weakness is chronic stress situations. Significant chronic stress can lead to exhaustion. The production of cortisone and cortisol decreases and to the same extent the likelihood of allergic responses in the body increases.

Stressful situations can cause an allergy

Allergy sufferers usually have similar experiences with regard to their symptoms. For example, many allergy symptoms are already present at a child's age, but disappear in teenager's years. As soon as a very stressful situation occurs in adult years, such as a high workload, problems with the children, an annoying divorce or the death of a loved one, the symptoms reappear.

The thymus gland - school of defence cells

Vaccines, medicines and chemicals can also be responsible for allergic reactions such as skin rashes, itching, asthma, etc., as these substances significantly impair the important tasks of the thymus gland. The thymus gland is known as the school of T-lymphocytes (defence cells). Because these important defence cells are trained in such a way that they can recognize and neutralize allergens. Thus, these cells make a significant contribution to intercepting or at least reduction of allergic reactions. This demonstrates clearly that the thymus gland plays a decisive role in the development of allergies.

Foreign proteins often cause an allergy

Foreign unrecognized proteins in the bloodstream can cause the body to have an immediate allergic reaction. These proteins include animal proteins among many others. Particularly important here are milk and egg proteins. But also wheat proteins are known to cause an allergy. For this reason, an allergy sufferer must pay particular attention to the food he is eating.

Gluten intolerance can cause an allergy

With an existing gluten intolerance, the body can only poorly utilize and digest the grains containing this protein (gluten). The intestinal mucous membranes are constantly irritated, causing inflammatory processes which greatly degrade those mucous membranes, which are responsible for a good absorption of nutrients. The resulting thinning of the intestinal walls of the intestine allows toxic or otherwise harmful substances to enter the bloodstream directly and more quickly, where they ultimately trigger allergic reactions.

Lactose intolerance and allergies

Milk intolerance is also a widespread phenomenon. Many people are missing a special enzyme from birth  - lactase - which is needed for the processing of milk sugar. In some cases, the production of this enzyme ceases much later. If there is insufficient lactase in the organism, dairy products can not be digested, which results in their decomposition in the intestine. This results in symptoms such as diarrhoea, constipation, flatulence, stomach pain or other allergic reactions. In addition, the milk protein itself - as an unrecognized protein - can also trigger additional symptoms.

Babies are particularly vulnerable to allergy

Incorrect weaning of  infants can be responsible for some gluten and milk intolerances. As the gastrointestinal tract of babies is not yet fully developed, its mucous membranes are even more permeable than those of an adult. Mother's milk protects the child from the penetration of foreign proteins into the bloodstream by practically sealing the gastrointestinal tract, making it less permeable. Nowadays, however, only few children are sufficiently breast-fed by their mothers. Instead, they receive Formulas and pasteurized, homogenized cow's milk contaminated with antibiotics, pesticides and growth hormones. If the babies are fed with foreign proteins too early - such as with animal dairy products, eggs or wheat products, this can already set the course for a lifetime of allergies. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to breast-feed an infant for at least 9 to 12 months.

Wheat products promote allergies

In addition to dairy products, our children receive wheat products far too early. It takes at least four to six months before the digestive enzymes responsible for the processing of starch are built up in the body.  It can be observed that children who often suffer from an immune deficiency (colds, allergies, etc.) usually eat starchy foods far too early.  On the other hand, those children who have been breast-fed for a longer period of time and who where eating fruit and vegetables instead of starch-containing foods, are usually far more stable in their health and rarely show allergic reactions.

Preventing allergies

Unfortunately it is  often the case that parents, who give their children unfamiliar and unknown foods, do not pay attention to how the offspring react to the new stimuli. But do you really believe that your child is doing well to eat the same as you do?

Can you imagine that fried eggs, fried potatoes, hamburgers, potato chips, sweets, cola or other sweet sodas are beneficial to your child's health? Probably not. It is extremely important that the first foods your child gets to eat are as natural as possible. They should be eaten either raw or in a slightly steamed form. In addition, only small quantities of a single food should be offered to the child. This allows one to observe very well, for a period of 2 to 3 days, whether the child gets rashes after eating the newly introduced food or shows other allergic reactions. If there is no such reaction, you can slowly increase the amount of food and combine it with other - already tested - foods.

Healthy foods can also trigger allergic reactions

If you find that your child shows unusual reactions to healthy foods such as broccoli, cabbage, etc., you should refrain from giving them to your child for six to eight weeks. Then you can try again. If your child is still reacting to it, it could actually be that it has a corresponding food allergy or intolerance. However, such allergies are only rarely observed when earlier the food had been properly integrated into the child's diet. If this approach would be used in the conversion of the child's diet, the probability would be very high that the number of allergic children would significantly decrease.

Liver problems weaken the immune system

Other factors in the development of allergies are the so-called liver-stasis  and blood poisoning. If these problems occur simultaneously with a deficiency of certain digestive enzymes or other chronic digestive problems, an increase in allergic reactions will occur. In this case, a holistic liver cleansing should be carried out to relieve the liver, but this is by no means suitable for children. It should be carried out under supervision or accompanied by a naturopathic therapist.

Genetic engineering and artificial additives

The widespread use of chemicals, pesticides, genetically modified organisms and other destructive additives used in food production (e.g. aspartame, glutamate, dyes and preservatives) is often a trigger for the development of allergies.

Allergy from yeast fungi

In case of particularly persistent allergies yeast infections where frequently observed. Yeast fungus spreads in the intestine and irritates the sensitive mucous membranes. The effects of an inflamed and thus permeable intestinal mucosa were explained earlier.

Measures for a tendency to allergy

• Basically, it is important to avoid a known allergen - this applies to all allergens.
• Since food allergies are often attributed to the chemicals, pesticides, additives, genetically modified organisms, etc. they contain, only organically grown foods should be consumed.
• The diet should be very low in sugar and carbohydrate, since the glucose strongly acidifies the body and burdens the intestine immensely. Both factors weaken the immune system and thus promote the development of allergies.
• In an acute phase of an allergic reaction, the so-called juice fasting is highly recommended. This form of healing fast supports the rapid elimination of existing toxins and thus relieves the liver and the immune system.
• Any allergic reaction also has serious negative effects on the intestinal environment. It is therefore extremely important for allergy sufferers to thoroughly clean the bowel once or twice a year. The accumulated toxins, metabolic residues and other pollutants must be dissolved, bound and excreted. There are a number of effective digestive cleansing programs available, which can be carried out at home. If these measures are consistently carried out, the allergy sufferer is on the right path to be able to say goodbye to his painful symptoms as quickly as possible.
• Subsequently, the intestinal flora has to be stabilized again by means of corresponding healthy bacterial strains / pro-biotic.

   (Source: https://www.zentrum-der-gesundheit.de/allergie-ursachen-ia.html )