Pork Allergy

Almost everyone loves to eat pork. Swine meat is the most common meat in the market. Common as it may be for consumption, at present there are very rare cases of pork allergy. The immune system overreacts to the proteins found in pork. It can put up a variety of defense mechanisms (called antibodies) against these proteins that are perceived as “harmful” to the body.

Mechanism of the Allergic Reaction

Like most food allergies, proteins found in pork are what trigger an allergic reaction in humans. Specifically, the 65-kDa protein is the main allergen found in pork meat. For those who have this rare allergy, the body’s immune system reacts to the intake of the allergen stimulating a type 1 hypersensitivity reaction consequently casting symptoms abdominal symptoms, asthma, rashes, sneezing, and breathing problems. Allergy to pork is said to be prevalent in patients with severe food allergy. Those with a bad case of childhood asthma have a higher risk of developing complications from the allergic reaction.

In some cases, the allergic reaction may not be caused by the animal itself, but from the chemicals used to process pork meat such as papain (used as a meat tenderizer) or casein (used as a stabilizer). Certain chemicals and preservatives contaminate and mix with the protein of the food and are the major causes of food allergies. A least common source of pork allergy is the use of antibiotics to the farm animals. When the animal is injected with antibiotics such as penicillin prior to processing, these drugs may potentially enter into a person’s system who may be allergic to that certain drug.

What Your Doctor Can Do For You

What makes it difficult to identify the food allergen in some people is that they may not be aware of the relationship between the offending agent and their symptoms because the symptoms may appear at a later time. More often, people are sometimes confused with what really causes their allergies due to the variety of food they consume. This is why food challenges are performed. Food elimination diets may also be necessary to rule out any other culprits. However, they may take longer periods in order for the allergy to be diagnosed; hence, laboratory tests are the most frequent method of diagnosis.

A skin prick test must be properly conducted by medical professionals to detect if you have pork allergy. Once tested positive, be very wary of the following symptoms:

- Feeling of warmth
- Itchiness and hives
- Abdominal upset
- Headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Wheezing
- Breathing difficulties
- Asthma attacks

A more severe reaction would lead to anaphylaxis where in the body experiences generalized urticaria (hives), sudden drop in the blood pressure, swelling of the lips, tongue, and throat that may cause breathing difficulties. If the swelling continues, the airway may become fully obstructed compromising oxygenation which is highly fatal in a matter of minutes.

Allergies are a medical emergency as they have the potential to progress into anaphylactic shock. Fortunately, they are highly manageable with drugs like antihistamines and corticosteroids to relieve the symptoms. Individuals with food hypersensitivity should avoid the foods that cause their allergies.

What You Can Do

Many people lose their sensitivity to food allergens over time, although not entirely for some. You should always be mindful in what you take.

The safest way to prevent pork allergy is avoidance of pork meat and products that include it in the list of ingredients. Adults as well as children should learn to scrutinize food labels and ingredients carefully.

Some medications and food supplements will help ease the symptoms, such as quercitin, bromellain, vitamin A, eucalyptus, L-carnitine and iron.

Quercitine is more popularly known as flavanoid. These are potent antioxidants that can reduce inflammation, strengthen the immune system and blood vessels, thus improving overall blood circulation. It blocks the histamines effectively. Bromellain will further enhance the absorption of quercitin and must be taken along with it.

Vitamin A greatly improves the immune system’s function. While eucalyptus oil, poured into boiling water (inhalation of its steam) will provide relief of the respiratory symptoms. Iron is vital for blood production and is an important element of hemoglobin (oxygen-carrying substances in the blood).

L-Carnitine will act as a detoxifying agent to the cells and decrease the allergens in our system.

Remember that if you have confirmed your allergy to pork, always find a good doctor specializing in allergies first before practicing the do-it-yourself treatments aforementioned. This article is purely educational and informative. Always guard yourself by being safe.

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Can Stress Induce Asthma?

If you have asthma, consider these scenarios: have you ever had an attack of shortness of breath, wheezing, or coughing, in the midst of worrying about, say, finances or your wayward child? Perhaps you have faced up to a recent layoff, and you are worried about facing up to the pressure of doing well on job interviews, after having been out of the job market for so long. If you have experienced asthma attacks during any particularly stressful situation, you may be wondering: is there a link between stress and asthma?

Interestingly, what used to be defined as a purely respiratory problem has recently been shown to have a certain link to stress. When asked whether stress can trigger asthma attacks, doctors are now willing to say a resounding “Yes!” They concede that stress does not result in asthma in a person who does not have it, but it is proven to worsen the case for people who already suffer from it. They have seen how stressful and anxious episodes in life result in more frequent attacks of asthma, and during such times, control of the disease has been shown to become more difficult.

But is it not all a psychological effect, all in the person’s head? Certainly, this was what doctors used to tell asthma patients, when they were befuddled about the connection between asthma and stress. However, recently, it has been proven that attacks induced by stress are definitely not something that the patient simply imagines is happening. Since it is an inflammatory disease focused on the person’s airways, doctors emphasize the importance of using medication to avoid symptoms or to open the airways when a person undergoes an attack; this may likely be the reason why stress has been so often ruled out as a trigger, since it is not something that is physically tangible.

These recent years, though, researchers have made a study on the different events that may be linked to symptoms of asthma: the list includes public speaking, exams in school, conflict in the family, wide-coverage disasters, or violence. It seems that stress may either affect the physical body directly, or result in people who are suffering from asthma to fail to manage their symptoms as effectively as they could minus the stressful scenario.

For one thing, stress causes physiological changes in a person’s body; this includes the release of chemicals as triggered by the strong emotions. For example, chemicals like leukotrienes and histamine, which are released when a person undergoes extreme stress, are shown to trigger a narrowing of a person’s airways. Also, hormones related to stress are shown to minimize a person’s natural ability to ward off colds and respiratory infections, which are also triggers of asthma attacks.

In addition to these physiological changes, people who undergo stress or anxiety may also forget to take their medication to circumvent an attack. This means that the simple forgetting may have caused the attack, as there is no medication to keep the airways protected.

If you have asthma and you realize a lot of your attacks have been triggered by stress, what do you do? You cannot just very well lock yourself up at home so you never have to face up to stressful situations. As such, you will need to take some steps not only to manage your asthma, but also to manage your stress.

What are the things that stress you out? Many people will likely tick off external factors, such as financial problems, marital problems, or stressful work or school environments. But the bottom line is, it depends on the way you look at things. Church leaders find a common root of all stress, and scientists also affirm the root: it turns out that all stress stem from a certain degree of condemnation over a certain thing or over life in general. Science has shown that when a person feels condemned, his cells wind up fighting each other, much in the same way that cancer cells kill healthy cells. This shows us that stress may be dealt with from the root by dealing with issues of condemnation: this is why many people enjoy complete healing from asthma or other diseases related to condemnation when they realize they have been forgiven, that somebody else was already punished on their behalf, as is taught in certain religions. Then again, it still depends on your personal beliefs and principles, but just be sure to find a way to deal with stress in your life to avoid unnecessary attacks.

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Keeping Respiratory Allergies under Control

Allergies are increasingly becoming more common in the average person’s daily language, perhaps with the increased research surrounding the previously mysterious subject. Allergies are simply hypersensitive reactions to certain substances that are usually harmless. These substances, called allergens, cover a wide variety of items, ranging from animal dander, pollen, feathers, house dust, mites, chemicals, as well as a wide array of food.
Allergic reactions typically include respiratory symptoms, while others can result in a more varied set of symptoms including diarrhea, fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, or stomach ache.

A person suffering from respiratory allergic reactions tends to suffer from a runny or stuffy nose, itchy eyes and skin, sneezing, and red and watery eyes. These and other symptoms of allergy happen because, when the immune system encounters an allergen, it excretes chemicals known as histamines to fight off what it views as an invader. These histamines result in a string of reactions: first, nasal passages may swell and congest, and mucus production is increased. This overactive response to the external stimulus is what causes the runny or stuffy nose as well as other respiratory symptoms.

Allergies may be chronic or seasonal, determined by which allergens are involved in the attack. For example, seasonal allergies are typically viewed as caused by pollen during the spring, when flowers are all in bloom. Chronic allergies, or ongoing ones, are those caused by allergens found in the environment throughout the year, such as dust, feathers, or animal dander. A condition called chronic allergic rhinitis is an allergic reaction that causes the mucous membrane in the nasal passages to be persistently inflamed. This results in a stuffy or runny nose, coupled by frequent sneezing and a high propensity for breathing through the mouth. It also comes with red and watery eyes, as well as other complications like headaches, nose bleeds, and fatigue.

So how do you keep respiratory allergies under control? The following tips should help you:

1. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids. This helps to thin secretions as well as ease expectoration.

2. Respiratory allergies are sometimes related to food allergies. If you do not currently know of any food allergy that you have, check the following items by eliminating one of them for two weeks, to see if there is any improvement in your condition: dairy products, wheat, chocolate, eggs, nuts, citrus fruits and juices, and seafood. Taking out dairy from your daily diet may actually help your respiratory allergies, as dairy tends to thicken mucus as well as stimulate a rise in production of mucus. If you find your allergy to be seasonal, try avoiding whole wheat during the season.

3. Avoid eating much oily food and fats. When a body is under any stress, such as that coming from an allergic reaction, its digestive system tends to be weaker than normal. Fats are tough to digest and can put an added strain on your digestive system. Undigested fats also contribute to the production of mucus and constitute an internal environment that is toxic.

4. Magnesium and calcium are minerals known to alleviate allergic reactions by helping to relax a nervous system on overdrive. With acute symptoms, a supplement with 750 to 1,000 mg of calcium and 500 mg of magnesium may be taken twice a day. The dosage may be continued once a day over a period of two months. This sure beats taking anti-histamines daily.

5. A digestive-enzyme supplement that improves the transport and utilization of nutrients you take in is also a good idea, as allergies are largely linked to the movement of food in the digestive system. These enzymes include lipase, amylase, protease, and pancreatin. Your doctor may recommend doses of these enzymes taken right after every meal.

6. Vitamin C, with its high anti-inflammatory properties, is known for helping with allergic attacks. During acute symptoms, 1,000 mg of vitamin C taken five times a day over four to five days can help. Of course, some allergy sufferers find that mineral ascorbate or esterified vitamin C is easier to take compared to plain ascorbic acid.

If you have tried the above tips and nothing seems to work, perhaps you need to consider one last important thing: be sure to avoid stressful situations, particularly while you are having allergic reactions. Many times, allergic reactions come about not just in response to physical allergens, but even to stressful circumstances. Try to avoid being stressed out for the next few days and see if your symptoms improve.

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Relieving Seasonal Allergies

People who suffer from seasonal allergies would likely have a different response to the subtle changes between seasons. Instead of the usual happy anticipation, they would likely be tensed up and gearing for a whole new round of seasonal allergies, whether it’s that time when winter turns into spring or the cooling weather as summer turns into fall.

Seasonal allergies, faced by over 35 million Americans each year, are typically linked to pollen that makes their way from trees, flowers, grass, and plants, populating the air no matter where a person goes. Symptoms are fairly simple but hardly comfortable for the allergic person: wheezing, sneezing, runny nose, and red, itchy, and watery eyes are hardly welcome incidences on a daily basis.

Many allergy sufferers find relief only from over-the-counter drugs. However, more and more people are becoming more conscious about home remedies and would prefer natural ways of dealing with their symptoms. After all, drugs are known for having side effects, many of which may not yet have been studied adequately.

Doctors agree that nature-based remedies are a useful way of handling mild allergies, and may even be useful for more significant allergies. While some doctors may be more conservative, others believe that there are many possible treatments that are safe to try.

The following home remedies are recently causing a stir in terms of treating seasonal allergies:

1. Butterbur – This European herb has been shown to give impressive results in clinical tests. For example, one group of Swiss researchers tested one tablet of butterbur consumed four times a day and found it to be as effective in relieving symptoms of hay fever as a popular anti-histamine drug. The even better news is that the herb tablet did not give the expected drowsiness that usually comes with anti-histamines. Another study was done by some British researchers to test the effectiveness of the drug against symptoms of allergies to grass.
2. Freeze-dried nettles – This is another herbal supplement that some doctors recommend.
3. Goldenseal – This herb is known for being taken as a tonic. Most doctors recommend taking this with a saline nasal spray. Goldenseal has been known to have astringent as well as local antibacterial properties that help in the process of getting rid of seasonal allergy symptoms.
4. Saline nasal spray – More and more doctors are recommending a saline nasal spray for respiratory allergic symptoms. Saline simply means salt water, so basically the spray contains no other ingredient except sodium chloride mixed with water. It has been shown to be effective in washing out pollen as well as reducing or thinning mucous.
5. Grape seed extract – This nutrient occur naturally in many food items, and comes in especially abundant levels in red wine. This extract may be used as a supplement alongside vitamin C and give extremely helpful results in reducing symptoms of allergy.
6. Quercetin – This is a flavonoid compound which also occurs naturally in many food items. The compound is proven to control the release of histamines as well as other chemicals that trigger an allergic response.
7. Hot spicy food – Interestingly, home remedies for allergies are not limited to herbs and nutrients. Experts believe that spicy food helps in thinning mucous secretions and in clearing nasal passages. As such, you may be able to help relieve your allergy symptoms by using more cayenne pepper or hot ginger, or even by upping the onion and garlic you use in our cooking.

While these home remedies have been shown to be effective in treating seasonal allergies, experts point out that dealing with allergies not only include eating certain foods but also avoiding others. For example, when a certain food seems to cause stomach upset or occasional hives, it may be a good idea to steer clear of such food, particularly during season changes that cause you to be more sensitive to triggers. Among the foods that experts recommend avoiding if you happen to be allergic to weed pollen are bananas, cucumber, melons, chamomile, sunflower seeds, and herbal supplements with Echinacea, as these apparently make symptoms worse.

Lastly, you may opt to try an air filtration system in your home. This can help remove dust and irritating pollen from your personal space, thus giving you a better chance of avoiding seasonal allergies.

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Treatments for asthma, allergies to become safer

Washington: A missing link between the body’s biological clock and sugar metabolism system has been discovered, which may help avoid the serious side effects of drugs used for treating asthma, allergies and arthritis.

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies found that proteins that control the body’s biological rhythms, known as cryptochromes, also interact with metabolic switches that are targeted by certain anti-inflammatory drugs.

The finding suggests that side effects of current drugs might be avoided by considering patients’ biological rhythms when administering drugs, or by developing new drugs that target the cryptochromes.

“We knew that our sleep and wake cycle are tied to when our bodies process nutrients, but how this happened at the genetic and molecular level was a complete mystery,” said Ronald M. Evans, a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory, who led the research team.

“Now we’ve found the link between these two important systems, which could serve as a model for how other cellular processes are linked and could hold promise for better therapies,” he explained.

Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that occur naturally in the body and help control the amount of sugar in a person’s blood, so that nutrient levels rise in the morning to fuel daily activities and fall again at night. They function in cells by interacting with glucocorticoid receptors, molecular switches on the outside of the nucleus, which Evans first discovered in 1985.

In their new study on mouse cells, Evans and his colleagues made the surprising discovery that cryptochromes also interact with glucocorticoid receptors, helping to regulate how the body stores and uses sugar.

“We found that not only are the crytopchromes essential to the functioning of the circadian clock, they regulate glucocorticoid action, and thus are central to how the clock interacts with our daily metabolism of nutrients,” stated Katja A. Lamia, an assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute and former post-doctoral researcher in Evan``s laboratory at Salk.

By taking into account the daily rise and fall of cryptochrome levels, the scientists say, doctors might be able to better time administration of glucocorticoid drugs to avoid certain side effects related to sugar metabolism.

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