The Allergy Epidemic
It Is Destructive In and Of Itself.
It’s Also A Primary Contributor to the Other 4-A Epidemics
Allergies are among the most powerful and destructive of all the interwoven forces
that compose the new childhood epidemics.
Allergies contribute immeasurably to the epidemics of autism, ADHD, and asthma.
Allergies are a destructive epidemic in their own right. They can kill children, and
make them miserable with symptoms.
The Scope of the Allergy Epidemic
Food allergies have increased by approximately 400% in the last 10 years. Fatal
allergies notably more common, and kill about 200 people annually.
75 million Americans have allergies.
This 75 million people represent one-fourth of the American public.
In the overall incidence of the 4-A epidemics, only the crippling force of toxins
matches the damage that is done by allergies.
People generally tend to underestimate the harm that allergies do, perceiving
them only as minor annoyances. Most people associate allergies with only their
mildest, most common symptoms because allergies themselves are so
common, and their symptoms are so prevalent.
The harm of allergies is also often underestimated because of the fact that
allergies are usually not the only element that contributes to various disorders.
Allergies get lost in the crowd of combined factors that cause disease.
Nonetheless, the vast majority of all children with autism, ADHD, and asthma have
serious allergies. As a rule, these three disorders can not be overcome without
alleviating the damage done by allergies.
A Survey By The Autism Research Institute On Allergy
The Autism Research Institute recently polled a large group of parents of autistic
children about food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances. They found that the
following percentages of autistic children improved when certain reactive foods
were removed from their diets.
THE FOOD FACTOR % OF PATIENTS % OF PATIENTS % OF PATIENTS
IMPROVED DETERIORATED UNCHANGED
________________________________________________________________
Gluten & Casein 65% 3% 32%
Yeast Proliferating 54% 3% 43%
Additives 54% 2% 44%
Chocolate 49% 2% 49%
Dairy Products 50% 2% 48%
Sugar 48% 2% 50%
Wheat 49% 2% 49%
Eggs 40% 2% 58%
Making The Connections
Allergy + ADHD + Asthma
The incidence of allergies is also very high not only among kids with autistic
symptoms, but also among ADHD kids. It’s extremely rare for me to treat an
autistic child or an ADHD child without finding evidence of a reaction to at least one
allergen. In addition, practically all asthmatic kids react to certain food or airborne
allergens.
In certain instances, ADHD kids don’t actually have the classic features of that
disorder at all, but instead have allergic symptoms that mimic ADHD symptoms.
These symptoms include:
- Restlessness
- Insomnia
- Poor cognitive function
- Depression
- Hyperactivity
These mental and emotional reactions to allergens are sometimes referred to as
cerebral allergies, because their most obvious symptoms are neurological.
Allergies also often mimic other disorders, besides ADHD. For example, they can
cause symptoms that are extremely similar to those of irritable bowel syndrome,
even among people who don’t have classic IBS. Because allergies so often
mimic symptoms of other disorders, they are sometimes referred to as “the great
pretenders.”
Allergies also play an important role in the causation of a wide variety of disorders
and diseases. Unfortunately, the role that they play in disease causation is
frequently overlooked,since many doctors and patients tend to underestimate the
power of allergy.
