food addiction chemistry
 

So why are foods that you're allergic to/sensitive to so darned addictive?

The process is complex, but many researchers feel it's coming clear. A food allergy reaction begins in the stomach with enzymes. We each have certain enzymes to digest particular proteins (and by particular, I mean VERY particular--a person can be allergic to East Coast shrimp but not West Coast shrimp); we can also, in effect, "use up" our supply of enzymes for a particular protein by overconsumption of that protein.

Wheat, dairy, and chocolate all have proteins. Yes, the amounts in chocolate and wheat seem small from the protein-counting dietary perspective, but from the enzymatic perspective, it's plenty to trigger the full-blown allergic reaction. The digestion of these "bad" proteins causes the release of a series of peptides which provide feedback to the brain. Some normal peptides that tell us we're full may not be released at all.

But some other peptides are released that are very similar to heroin in their effect: exorphins. As the brain receptors take in the molecules, we get high briefly. (at the same time, realize, if the food was high carb too, we also get a brief blood sugar high, then a precipitous drop). However, after the exorphin high comes a low...and if we feed that low with another dose of bread, chocolate, or LC cheesecake, the high that results is much less (the receptor reuptake mechanism hasn't done its thing yet--it's the same reason that you can't get high taking LSD several days in a row). I suspect most of us have had this experience--we start eating more and more of our "beloved" food, trying to get high again, but the food becomes less and less satisfying; often we quit only when physically ill from overeating, still unhappy and unsatisfied.

Other peptides may be released that make you high while still others are released that block the action of normal brain chemicals, perhaps making the user miserable at one level and high at another. One doctor says, "It has been suggested that gluten hydrolysates, digests of wheat protein, have mixed opiate agonist-antagonist activity and, like two drugs with mixed narcotic activating and blocking actions (nalorphine and cyclazocine), produce dysphoria and even psychotic symptoms"

This last is quite interesting--research is being done into this mechanism to explain autism and schizophrenia, among other serious "mental" illnesses. Schizophrenia rates apparently increase in any population as the dietary intake of potatoes increases--fascinating, eh?

Leaky gut syndrome (which we all get to some degree with grains) may also contribute to the process. There's a lot of research that needs to be done and little that has been done. Some of this is coming out of Japan (perhaps market forces from the food industry don't block this reseach as much there). The good news is that drug comanies have reason to do the reseach because specific replacement enzyme therapy might be profitable.

Yes, there's a genetic component to this, too. You inherit your digestive enzymes. You inherit a risk of food allergy (though the parent and child can have two totally different food allergens). You can inherit the likelihood of food allergy that comes from over-exposure through generations of overexposure. Thus, european/middle eastern ancestory makes you more likely to be allergic to wheat, barley, all gluten. Asian folks tend to develop over-exposure allergies to rice. Allergies to lactose are more common when ancestors didn't get milk (First people/Native americans and Black folk have this allergy) but allergies to casein, a protein in dairy, are more common among Northern Europeans. (that's apparently the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" rule of dairy allergies and ancestory!)

So what to do? 1) Identify then avoid your dangerous foods. 2) try taking an inexpensive digestive enzyme tablet (like Beano) with your LC tortilla or carbolite bar or LC cheesecake--it may help replace the enzymes you're missing. 3) just understand that this is a real, physiological process. this can help some people not go back for "seconds" after a cheat; if we know our brain chemistries will re-settle in a day or two, perhaps we can hang on that long.

See also http://www.nutramed.com/eatingdisor...ictivefoods.htm , http://www.2.waisays.com/zombie.htm, and http://home.iprimus.com.au/rboon/FOODALLERGIES.htm for some more detail. Definite thanks has to go to two of my students (who shall remain nameless) whose research projects on food allergies and schizophrenia clued me into the current research and led me to my own reading.

Veeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrry interesting, Raz! Thanks a lot!!

inheriting food allergies
 

I often wondering about the inheritance of food allergies from parent to child, because I have seen traces of this genetic principle take effect in my own family.

My mother is highly sensitive to sugar and to carbohydrates. Her doctor placed her on a specific LC diet to alleviate some of the experiences she was having due to the way she was eating.

Sugar and Carbs didn't seem to have much of an effect on me until I got into my 20's...then it became obvious that I need/want to avoid the same foods that my mother avoids.

I can get a lot of advice from my mother about what works for my body in a LC menu because we are so genetically similar. What works for her USUALLY works for me, too!

Thanks Razzle, but I have a question.
 

Is it possible for your body to gain some of those enzymes back if you avoid the foods that you are allergic to for some time?

Also my doctor told me that there is a difference between allergy and intolerance. If it's just intolerance, could you possible eat those foods in moderation after avoidance for a period of time?

The reason I ask, I have been tested and found to have the dairy intolerance, but I have been using whey protein shakes with no apparent problem. However, yesterday I had some ice cream (oops) and within 2 hours the rumbling started and I made several mad dashes within the next 10 minutes. Therefore the ice cream caused problems, but the whey shakes don't. This has me baffled.

Carol

Really want to know!
 

carol, some people who stay off their food allergens for a long time can later eat small amounts of them once a week or so--some people cannot. Daily consumption will just make the problem worse. You may be allergic to lactose and not casein, or otherwise be avoiding your allergen with the whey shakes. Allergies can be very, very specific.

There really is no difference between allergy and sensitivity, except a difference of degree. Your doc may be trying to reassure you that you have no danger with your dairy allergy of anaphylactic responses. The sort of responses one gets to food allergens range from irritating (hives) to life-threatening (anaphylxsis) to ones doctors might say are imaginary (cravings and migraines). In the last case, the doctor saying this is not an allergy symptom would simply be ignorant of recent research--not a crime, but irritating when they pretend to know everything when in fact they do not.

I havent anything scientific to add, just an anecdote....

Artsy..Just before my son was born, I was working with a Dr who had an interest in allergy. Discussing it, it turned out there may be some benefit keeping babes away from 'cow' proteins till 1 year of age. Modified baby milk was ok cos the protein is altered in the process.

So I decided not to give my babes any milk till 1 year. This upset my health visitor as the fashion at the time (14 yrs ago) was to introduce milk and dairy at 6 months. I breast fed them 9 months then they had formula from a cup.... getting onto dairy at 1 year.

did it work ? well they are healthy but it may be a coincidence, we do know hardly any kids without asthma, but we are not an asthmatic family...
However its interesting to note , that when DD was born 5 yrs later, the new advice was to introduce dairy at 1 year. I feel I was a pioneer for that one, now Im pioneering LC !!

so it may be that the particulat protein you react to is not present in whey ?? or it has been 'altered' in processing.

the lactose thing!!
 

Hey guys!! Yes that lactose intolerance thing is tricky, I dont suffer from it, but many people in my family do. What they all seem perplexed about its how different foods fair better than others. Milk does it for one, icecream the others. I do believe it has to do with the content of lactose in the dairy product.

I also, have seen people like my father who was extremely lactose intolerant stop eating any milk or ice cream for 20 years. For whatever reason, he did pick it back up and ENDULGE on it for the last 20 years of his life with NO problem. :confused:

Funny thing!

:roll:

Canada is participating in a huge study where 6000 babies of diabetics (and also apparently high risk to develop Type 1 diabetes) will be studied. They will be supplied with a powdered formula and fed that for their first year. They must not be given milk. Some of them will receive a milk formula and others will get a non-dairy formula. It is hoped that the findings will help clarify whether or not exposure to cow milk protein makes children more likely to develop the problem.

At least they are looking into it. :wave: