The inability of the body to manage inflammatory levels of prostaglandins and cytokines causing immune hyperactivity is one of the challenges that face us in modern society.  There are more and more things that cause reaction and inflammation to burden the body attempting to seek balance.  Usually by age 40 there begins to be chronic elevated inflammatory levels resulting in joint and muscle (musculo-skeletal) conditions.  Adrenal hormones are increased to attempt to balance the levels of inflammation, resulting in anxiety and panic syndromes, and finally general adrenal exhaustion.

The ability to buffer acidity (pH) through proper ionic calcium supplementation is one of the most important mechanisms that we must support in our body.  By keeping the body alkaline and balanced, we may reduce in the inflammatory responses resulting from acidosis (abnormal condition of excess acid in the body).

Another solution in reducing inflammation is to unburden the body of its chronic immune burdens, especially that of allergies.  Many environmental allergies that we suffer from are actually secondary allergies being driven by primary allergic responses, principally to foods.  It has always been obvious in clinical practice that when basic food allergies are corrected, environmental sensitivities vanish.  For example, by simply taking a person off of a basic food allergy, like milk or wheat, oftentimes there will no longer be an environmental sensitivity to cats or dogs.  The basic four food allergies are wheat, milk, corn and soy (followed by beef, tomato, peanuts, chocolate, and eggs).  The hypo-antigenic diet consists of eliminating these nine foods.

Usually within three days of elimination, chronic inflammation reduces and the elevated adrenal responses down regulate.  Although change will continue for months after eliminating a basic food allergy, change is felt immediately, sometimes as increased energy, clarity of mind, digestive wellness, and a reduction of symptoms.  By simply reducing these items experimentally for two weeks at a time and then reintroducing the allergen, it is apparent as to whether a food allergy is occurring.  Upon re-introduction of an eliminated food allergy, one may notice an immediate inflammatory response such as a rash, itching, or burning eyes.  It may also cause aching in the body.  Sometimes two or three days after the re-introduction of the food allergen, a virus or cold or immune issue may occur. This means that the food allergy caused inflammation in the gut lining, which lost its ability to be sealed and impermeable, allowing resident virus in the lumen of the intestine to leak into the blood.  Then the body has to manage a viral process.

In practice this has been so successful that I no longer respect the environmental allergies until after these basic food allergies have been eliminated.  Once the inflammatory levels of the body have had an opportunity to normalize, then one may determine what allergies are actually real and what allergies were just secondary to an elevated inflammatory system.

As always, oftentimes answers are simpler than we have suspected.  Basic food allergies are oftentimes the result of genetic predispositions, blood types, and unique metabolism.  Reducing inflammation will lengthen our lives, reduce discomfort (especially of the musculo-skeletal nature) and spare the immune system to be active in ways that protect us from more important issues than chronic inflammation.