Food Allergies Cause Alcoholism

Alcohol addiction can also be perpetuated by hidden food allergies. Food allergies often produce cravings for the foods causing the allergy. William Philpott, MD, PhD who is Board certified in Neurology, Allergy and Psychiatry, explains the body produces endorphins or enkephalins, when stressed by an allergen. The opiate like endorphins, reduce anxiety and perpetuate the addiction.

Joseph Beasley, et. al., (1991) tested 108 alcoholics for allergies in a treatment program in Amityville, New York and found allergies in the following percentages: corn, 75.9 percent; milk, 74.1 percent; peanut 67.6 percent; cocoa, 66.7 percent; whole egg, 60.2 percent; orange, 57.4 percent; tomato, 52.8 percent; shrimp, 48.1 percent; and wheat 46.3 percent. Beasley did not test for rye allergy, but other investigators have found a high percentage of alcoholics are allergic to rye. Many beverage alcohols are fermented from corn, wheat and rye. Distillation can concentrate allergenic cogeners, present in these foods. Hidden allergies to these foods can perpetuate these addictions or trigger violent or unpredictable behavior, which is atypical for the drinker.

These allergies can often be detected with an ELISA/ACT serum immunoglobin test. This test can detect delayed Immunoglobin G reactions to over 100 different foods with one blood sample. Since ELISA/ACT testing is performed on a collected blood sample, instead of the skin, it is not necessary to avoid any intake of a food to be tested for a minimum of four days, while the test is performed.

Complete elimination of a suspected food allergen for a minimum of four days, remains the most accurate method to test for hidden food allergy, and may still be necessary, if preliminary testing indicates an allergic reaction. Food elimination testing requires strict diligence avoiding any processed foods containing the suspected food and thorough reading of all ingredients on labels. Since many of these food allergens are difficult to avoid, in typical American diets, allergy testing helps patients realize the necessity of dietary change.

Food allergies often occur, when alcohol damages the intestinal lining. Increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome) can occur when the intestinal lining is irritated. Undigested proteins can leak through the damaged intestinal lining, and trigger an immune response, when antigen-antibody complexes form. Inflammation occurs when the immune system attacks invaders. These immune reactions can occur, wherever blood transports the antigens, causing depression, headaches, impaired concentration, attention deficit disorder, arthritis and other disorders, which are difficult to associate with the ingested food.

Florida Detox and Wellness Institute has found corn, wheat and milk allergies in some of our alcohol patients. One of our alcohol patients with a milk allergy, drank a glass of milk daily, before learning he was allergic to milk. When milk allergies are found, more detailed testing can be performed to determine whether the cow milk allergy is to whey, casein, butter, cottage cheese, various other aged cheeses and whether the patient is allergic to goat milk and cheese. Although not technically an allergy, mold neurotoxins can cause extreme anxiety and panic disorders, which some alcohol patients self treate with alcohol. Extensive testing of inflammatory cytokines,anti-inflammatory hormones and inflammation markers, including TNFalpha, alpha MSH, VIP, MMP 9 and activated complement can indicate possible problems with mold, Lymes, Babesia, Bartonella, Mycoplasma or viruses. One female Florida Detox and Wellness Institute alcohol patient had to move to a new house, after finding a sheet of mold, hidden behind a wall, in her home.

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