Herbal Health

Alternatives to commonly eaten foods

For sources of the more unusual foods, and addresses for mail-order purchases, see pp331-4. In all recipes, follow either the metric or imperial measurements, not a mixture of the two.

MILK

Goat’s milk can be bought in some healthfood shops and goat’s-milk powder is available by post. Because supplies are not covered by the same sort of regulations that govern cow’s-milk production, there is a risk of infection, and it is a good idea to boil goat’s milk before use, especially if giving it to children. There are two other drawbacks to this product: it has a very rank ‘goaty’ taste that takes quite a bit of getting used to, and it often provokes reactions in people who are already sensitive to cow’s milk.

Sheep milk is available in healthfood shops in some areas. It has a much less powerful taste than goat’s milk and is pleasantly creamy. Unlike cow’s milk, it freezes well, so you can buy it in frozen form. This milk may provoke cross-reactions in those sensitive to cow’s milk, but it is less likely to do so than goat’s milk.

Soya milk is made from pulverized soya beans, and its origin is evident in the flavour. Most brands have some sugar added. It is obtainable from most healthfood shops. To make your own, mix 165 gm (5 oz) of soya flour to a paste with a few spoonfuls of water, then slowly add 1 litre (1 Vi pints) of water, bring slowly to the boil, stirring continuously, then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add a teaspoonful of honey; store in the refrigerator. Soya can readily provoke allergic/intolerant reactions, so it is not advisable to eat too much of any soya product. Soya desserts and ‘yoghurt’ are also available. Sugar-free forms of soya milk, and concentrated soya milk, both are available by post.

Creamed coconut is obtainable from Indian or West Indian groceries, and some healthfood shops. It can be used as a substitute for cream, if mixed with a small amount of warm water. Or you can just grate it directly on to fruit salad, chopped bananas etc.

Ground almonds can also be made into a cream substitute. Mix it to a paste with water and a little honey, then add more water until you get the right consistency.

Cashew nuts (unroasted) can be ground in a blender and mixed with water to form a cream substitute. Add honey and vanilla to taste. Dilute further to make cashew ‘milk’.

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Stage 1 – the ‘healthy-eating’ diet – should run for at least a month, but it can be continued for as long as you wish. Some flexibility is allowed during this stage – you can have the occasional meal off, but take all forbidden items in moderation, and avoid alcohol, tea and coffee. Stage 1 will go on longer than a month if you improve substantially on this diet -but in this case you will not be proceeding to Stage 2.

If you are going on to Stage 2, you should maintain the ‘healthy eating’ diet until you are ready to start.

Stage 2 will run for about three weeks if you don’t respond to the exclusion phase. If you do respond, then it will continue for two to three months. There must be no deviation from the diet during Stage 2.

Stage 3 will run for about three weeks if you don’t respond to the exclusion phase. If you do respond, then it will continue for two to three months. There must be no deviation from the diet during Stage 3.

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One important messenger molecule is interferon, whose main job is to combat viral infections. Interferon makes cells resistant to viruses. Some of the less beneficial effects of interferon only came to light when it was used as a medicine. Hepatitis B is a debilitating viral disease that is very difficult to treat. The discovery of interferon led to its use in hepatitis B, because it can stimulate the body to mount a more effective attack against the virus. But the patients who were receiving large doses of interferon suffered from unpleasant side-effects, including severe fatigue, headaches, dizziness, abdominal discomfort, bowel disturbances, nausea and joint pain.

This list of side-effects is remarkably similar to the symptoms of a mysterious and controversial illness that goes by the name of post-viral syndrome (PVS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or myalgic encephalitis (ME). In looking for the causes of this illness, most doctors have concluded that it must be psychosomatic. However, most cases seem to follow on from a viral infection of some sort, and 50 per cent of patients show a high level of antibodies to viral proteins. The parallel with interferon side-effects suggests an alternative explanation to the psychosomatic one – that the immune system has over-reacted to a viral infection and is continuing to produce excessive amounts of interferon. Alternatively, other lymphokines might be responsible for producing the symptoms – several others have similar effects.

If this is the case – and there is no definitive proof that it is – then interferon might also play a role in food intolerance. Perhaps there is some unknown immune reaction to food which stimulates the body to produce interferon, or other lymphokines, in damaging amounts. It is interesting that many PVS patients have been greatly helped by an elimination diet – it would seem that reactions to food are contributing to their symptoms. Some have also been helped by treatment for Candida overgrowth .

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Before any dietary investigation is started, however, the possible role of airborne and contact allergens should be considered. This involves a certain amount of detective work, thinking over times when the child is better, or much worse, and looking for clues as to what is causing these changes. Bear in mind that eczema is likely to fluctuate considerably anyway, and not every change will be in response to a change in the allergen load. What you should be looking for are major changes that occur regularly in response to a particular event – a marked improvement during holidays for example, or a deterioration when staying in a particular house.

If you feel that some airborne or contact allergen might be contributing to the eczema, then take whatever steps you can to eliminate it before embarking on dietary investigations. Reducing dust, damp and moulds in the house, keeping wool off the skin, avoiding low-temperature washing powders and rinsing clothes thoroughly after washing are basic measures that anyone with an eczematous child should try. If there are pets, then removing them temporarily, or keeping them away from the child, should be added to this list.

Non-specific irritants may be even more important than allergens, and these too should be eliminated. Simple measures include putting pure cotton clothing next to the skin, not using too much soap, and avoiding contact with chemical preparations as much as possible. Keeping a child’s fingernails short reduces the damage done by scratching, and not allowing the house to get too hot is also helpful – heat aggravates the itchiness in the skin. Special cotton clothing, and mitten-pyjamas, which alleviate the effects of scratching, can be bought by mail-order.

All these measures may take a little while to have any effect and you should allow several months to elapse before coming to any conclusions. If the eczema is still troublesome, it may be worth trying an elimination diet.

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Jane’s story

Jane’s health problems began as a baby. She had colic and vomited often, and at the age of three months developed eczema on her face and arms. Her mother had hay-fever every summer and her father had suffered from asthma as a child – both complaints are common allergies. Even before Jane was born, their family doctor was well aware that they were an atopic family – in other words, they were prone to allergies. As Jane grew older she developed asthma and hay-fever, although only mildly. Her asthma seemed to get worse when there was a cat in the room. Using extracts of grass pollen and cat fur, and inserting minute amounts of them under her skin (a skin-prick test), the doctor found that she was indeed allergic to both these substances – her arm came up in a red, itchy bump where the extract had entered the skin.

Once or twice during her early years, Jane’s mouth and tongue swelled up enormously after eating, and she had to be rushed to hospital. After thinking carefully about what she had eaten on these occasions, Jane’s mother concluded that it was peanuts that had caused this alarming reaction. The doctor used skin-prick tests again, and they confirmed that Jane had a food allergy -she was extremely sensitive to peanuts. Other skin-prick tests were negative, so it seemed that she could eat most foods safely.

Even though Jane avoided peanuts carefully from then on, there were occasional problems. One day when Jane was about eight, and her parents were holding a party, she handed round a bowl of nuts to the guests. Later she rubbed her eyelids, and they soon began to swell and itch furiously. Although her hay-fever and asthma subsided as Jane grew older, her sensitivity to peanuts remained the same.

As an adult, Jane had a successful career which involved a great deal of travelling and eating out. Wherever she ate she had to be careful to avoid anything with peanuts – even the slightest trace of them. All was well until Jane now in her thirties, ordered some cheesecake in a restaurant. She had asked the waiter if the brown powder on the surface of the cheesecake contained any nuts, and he assured her that it was pure chocolate. Usually it was – but t he chef had run out of chocolate that day and had been forced to use something else. Unfortunately for Jane, that something else was finely grated nuts, including some peanuts.

Within seconds of taking her first mouthful of cheesecake, Jane’s mouth itching. Her tongue began to swell and her breathing became difficult. She could no longer speak, and, as the swelling blocked her windpipe, she began to turn blue. Within minutes she had collapsed on the floor.

The colleagues she was dining with were horrified and had no idea what to do, but a stranger at the next table intervened. By an extraordinary, and lucky chance he was a doctor. Grabbing a spoon from the table, he pushed the handle over the edge of her tongue and managed to open up the blocked windpipe. As he did so, Jane gradually turned from blue to pink, but she was still in a state of collapse (known as anaphylactic shock) and her face still horribly swollen. Meanwhile, someone had telephoned the hospital, and another doctor arrived with the life-saving medicines that Jane needed. These were injected and she slowly regained consciousness.

Thereafter, Jane was even more careful about avoiding peanuts in her food. She realized that she could easily have died had it not been for the presence of a doctor. By scrupulously avoiding peanuts she has remained well.

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