Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Food allergy is a well treated using naturopathic medicine. Food allergy is an immune system reaction that occurs when you ingest a food you are sensitive to, and your immune system mistakenly identifies components of that food as harmful.
Allergy reactions occur when, on exposure to an offending food, antibodies (specifically IgE antibodies) cause the release of histamine and other chemicals into your bloodstream, resulting in the symptoms of an allergic reaction (e.g., tingling sensation in your mouth, anaphylaxis). A food allergy is distinct from a food “intolerance” which may be the result of a variety of causes (e.g., absence of an enzyme required to fully digest a food, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.), but is not an immune system reaction. Foods commonly causing allergic reaction include cow’s milk, hen’s egg, peanuts, tree nuts, and fish and shellfish. Complications of food allergy can include anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis (eczema) and migraine headaches.
You should seek out professional healthcare if you experience food allergy symptoms shortly after eating.
Seek emergency medical care if your food allergy symptoms suggest anaphylaxis. If it is left untreated, anaphylaxis may result in coma or death. Symptoms of anaphylaxis include:
• Constriction of airways
• Throat swelling or sensation of a lump in your throat making breathing difficult
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or loss of consciousness
• Rapid pulse
• Shock
Symptoms of food allergy
Possible symptoms of food allergy include:
• Tingling sensation in the mouth
• Swelling of the lips, face, tongue, throat or other body parts
• Wheezing, nasal congestion or difficulty breathing
• Abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting
• Hives, itching or eczema
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting
Treatment of food allergy Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the ultimate goals of food allergy treatment are to manage exposure to offending foods and decrease (and if possible eliminate) intensity of reaction to offending foods.
Natural medicines should not be used to treat acute anaphylaxis.
Conventional treatment for food allergy may include a variety of medications, including over-the-counter or prescribed antihistamines to reduce symptoms of minor allergic reactions. Severe allergic reactions are treated using epinephrine injections (e.g., EpiPen®) and emergency hospital treatment. For treatment of routine food allergies, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications (i.e., antihistamines), or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your food allergy symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine a typical approach to treating food allergy may be to identify and manage exposure to offending foods using a supervised elimination and challenge protocol, using botanical [herbal] medicines to decrease severity of symptoms and to use homotoxicological medicines to decrease your sensitivity to offending foods.
Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
• Nutritional supplements
• Cleansing protocols
• Homeopathic medicines
• Homotoxicological medicines
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Acupuncture
• Lifestyle counseling
References
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Food Allergy [Online]. [cited 2010 Jan 18]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-allergy/DS00082