host posted on February 01, 2009 12:51
This Valentine’s Day, I have an anniversary to celebrate. It was in1974 that I really began to understand that fungus was a parasite and its fuel was sugar. I learned this from patients more than books. I was working in an allergy clinic in Los Angeles and, in just that year alone, I probably met 500 allergy sufferers, many of whom had sought allergy relief in clinics before, to no avail. What was different about our allergy clinic? On a hunch that diet really meant something, my boss, the good (great!) G. Howard Gottschalk, M.D. had just sent me to The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO in hopes that I would bring back a viable food allergy test that we could perform in our office laboratory. One of the women I studied with was credited with developing the pap test. She was observing the interaction that ensued when living white blood cells were exposed to dried foods on glass slides. In some cases, the cells would die very quickly after being exposed to certain foods. Bakers and brewers yeast were the most common offenders. Little did I understand the meaning of such violent cellular reactions 35 years ago!
By 1976, we had the technology in our Los Angeles office and Dr. Gottschalk had hired several laboratory technicians to perform the tests. Sometimes individuals would react to a few foods and sometimes to many foods. I would counsel his patients to avoid the foods that reacted and the results were exciting. Some allergy patients had their sinus allergies stop within days of following this new “diet.” What amazed our research team the most was the fact that we were an Ear, Nose and Throat allergy clinic and yet, when patients strictly adhered to their avoidance diet, headaches, backaches, skin problems and even metal problems miraculously improved…until they “cheated on the diet!”
Richard, an engineer, advanced my thinking in this field dramatically. For many years, he suffered from what he affectionately referred to as a “broken heart.” Sporadically, and without any prompting, his heart would rapidly accelerate, he’d get light headed and, on occasion, he would pass out. If he was driving when he felt it coming, he’d pull over and sometimes wake up sweating. Richard loved gambling and sometimes over imbibed in alcohol. He religiously also took brewers yeast supplements daily and ate only fast foods. I know exactly what you’re thinking and you are correct! His broken heart fixed itself when yeast was taken completely out of his diet!
I met a prominent Beverly Hills cardiologist, named Dr. Harold Karpman, who agreed with me that foods, including yeast, could complicate heart conditions...but could they also cause them? Of course, this was the 1970’s and I had so much to learn!
Today I believe that fungus, medications and fast foods contribute dramatically to food allergies as they enable gut permeability. Blood tests for food allergies, although seemingly complex, are really quite simple; they detect the foods that were eaten and that gained access to the bloodstream, where a reaction (antigen-antibody) is noted and often erroneously called “food allergy.”
More than my 35th “enlightenment” anniversary, this is the month we show our loved ones just how much they mean to us. Will you do that with a cardboard box filled with creamy or chewy fungus feeders or will a nice night out for some phase one foods and hand holding suffice? When they were small, my sons used to say, “Daddy, if you really loved me, you’d________.” To them and to all of you whom I respect for following my work and subscribing to this newsletter, I say, “If you really love him/her/them, show it by encouraging health and longevity.” The day after will be so much more rewarding! Happy Valentine’s Day!