Hayfever and food allergies

[infogirl]

I had a skin test as a teenager for hayfever and it showed that I had a positive +4 for grass mix, +3 for barley and +2 for wheat. I have had various bizarre symptoms for over ten years now which have been put down to acid reflux and fibromyalgia and it never occurred to me that I would be allergic to the food wheat and barley, just pollen. Could this be that I cannot eat wheat or barley? Please help getting no where with GP.

[Luminara]

Infogirl,
Yes, you could be intolerant to food as well as inhaled allergies. Many people develop gut issues due to poor food choices (eating lots of processed foods with sugar and added chemicals). This can lead to leaky gut, which is when large, undigested protein particles move through the intestinal wall, creating an allergic response and can actually get into the brain (which may cause "brain fog" or memory problems, among other things). The immune system cells may also become sensitive to your own body proteins, which look similar to some types of gluten molecules. If those proteins are in your muscles or joints, it could feel like pain (as in fibromyalgia). The acid reflux may be partly (or wholly) due to low stomach acid -- which leads to poor protein digestion!

There are a couple of resources I suggest:
Chris Kresser, an accupuncturist in the San Francisco Bay Area writes lots of great articles about diet and health, including leaky gut. Here is a good one to start with: http://chriskresser.com/beyond-paleo-6

NeuroModulation Technique (www.nmt.md) is a process of retraining the body to NOT react to allergies, to actually "fix" the immune system so that it behaves appropriately. I have practiced this modality for over 8 years and see people's allergies go away again and again.

So, don't lose hope! Check into those two things to start. Traditional medical docs are not trained in knowing about leaky gut or alternative, successful modalities like NeuroModulation Technique. There's so much more out there....