Allergies

Many people who think they have food allergies do not, according to a front page article in this morning's Times. The true number is only 5% of adults and 8% of children, according to a new report on allergy diagnosis, commissioned by the federal government."Yet about 30 percent of the population believe they have food allergies. And, Dr. Riedl said, about half the patients coming to his clinic because they had been told they had a food allergy did not really have one . . . People who receive a diagnosis after one of the two tests most often used . . . [skin prick test and IgE antibodies] . . . have less than a 50 percent chance of actually having a food allergy, the investigators…

I love the Really? column in the Science Times section of the NY Times. In April Anahad O'Connor reported that studies are showing that alcohol worsens allergy symptoms due to the histamines and sulfites they contain. Wine is the worse offender, and women are twice as likely to be affected as men.2005 Swedish StudyA 2008 Danish study showed that drinking 2 glasses of wine daily doubles risk of symptoms, even for those who are otherwise unaffected.Other foods that release histamines included cheese, pickled/fermented foods & yeasty foods: breads, cider and grapes. Maybe the grapes are causing the issue with the wine.Chinese medicine is quite effective at treating allergies. In my clinic, I generally do a combination of individualized herbal formulas and acupuncture. During the allergy season we…