Curing peanut allergy

A melbourne outfit led by Mimi Tang recently cured some kiddies of their peanut allergy combining a probiotic and a kind of homeopathic therapy – escalating doses of peanut allergen ( in homeopathy the sicker you are the LOWER the dose ) It is a double blind study, the kids are  photogenic so everyone is happy, especially Prof Tang (who is crowing about being the first to do this though I she isn’t. US and UK doctors have done it before without the probiotics – http://homeopathyplus.com.au/peanut.html )

Abstract of the research ( done with Murdoch money ) : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25592987?log$=activity and an earlier review of the topic by Mimi Tang here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3448073/

So being nut allergic and having an allergic kid I immediately went hunting and fortunately the probiotic is common – Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. It’s in vaalia yoghurt. Plan – do the math and then go buy a straight probiotic dose of L actobacillus GG from Ethical Nutrients ( who can label it as helpful for eczema) – “100 grams of Vaalia Yoghurt contains a minimum of 100,000,000 colony forming units of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG or LGG®. ” “Vaalia Innergy for immunity contains 10 times the amount of Lactobacillus GG compared to Vaalia probiotic yoghurt.” http://www.vaalia.com.au/products/product-faqs/

Yoghurt is interesting – it will often make allergies WORSE because it’s a high histamine food ( all fermentations produce histamine ). Certainly I personally found eating kefir was a problem. I was most dismayed to find my allergies worsening because I loooved the stuff although it wasn’t until I read the Low Histamine chef’s articles and found out a large fresh juice ( its the oranges) and leftover prawn pizza = instant sneezing that the penny dropped. Certain strains of lactobacillus make histamine – others don’t. A common one L. casei is a culprit. The Bulletproof Executive has a fully referenced write up of the topic www.bulletproofexec.com/why-yogurt-and-probiotics-make-you-fat-and-foggy/

Histamine Intolerance and Which Bacteria to Avoid

Disturbance in gut biome also plays a significant role in creating the recent rise in histamine intolerance. Histamine intolerance is the result of an imbalance between the breakdown of histamine and its buildup in the gut. This is generally caused by a deficiency in the DAO enzymes (found in intestinal mucosa) that helps metabolize and breakdown dietary sources of histamine.

A histamine overload leads to increased inflammation and many other symptoms including: skin irritation, hives, throat tightening, increased heart rate, nasal congestion, migraines, fatigue, heartburn, reflux, and weight gain.⁴ Unlike other food allergies and sensitivities, the response from histamine intolerance is cumulative and not always immediate, so it is harder to pin point right away.^“

Another excellent review is ” Helpful Bacteria – Should you take probiotics” by David Schardt, Centre for Science in the Public Interest ( US based http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/nah_probiotics.pdf ).

Caveat: – an intact mucosal barrier of the skin both outside and inside is likely needed as it is part of the initiating problem. I will have to ask if kids with eczema were screened out of the peanut trial.

“Animal experiments have confirmed that repeated topical contact with allergens through skin whose barrier function is disrupted could promote allergic sensitization and airway hypersensitivity and prevent oral tolerance induction (6–13)” In fact the peanut patch is another way of inducing immune tolerance ( i guess it’s bit like those expensive injections )

Reccomendations from scientific experts these days are changed more often than I repaint the house. Time magazine reports experts are now backpedalling on avoiding nuts to prevent later allergies “Based on recent findings, the AAP in 2008 changed its advice and now does not say parents should avoid feeding their babies peanuts.” http://time.com/3719341/peanut-allergy-cure-treatment/

and whyeee is modern medicine putting the boot into homeopathy when the underlying tenet ‘like cures like’ in teensy doses obviously works wonders applied to the immune system? There has been a recent escalation of  attempts to discredit this therapy and ban it in the UK, USA and Australia. I am sure they will just have to backpedal on that too as the scientific (versus the much older observational and intuitive) understanding of the immune system increases. Current state of play in Australia here: NHMRC Statement on Homeopathy and NHMRC Information Paper – Evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy for treating health conditions – https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/complementary-medicines/homeopathy-review

Gluten and Thyroid – Dr Tom O’Bryan

YAY! Bernice’s GF Feta, Pea and Dill Quiche with Lentil and Sweet Potato Pastry recipe won the Canadian Lentil Challenge! Thanks to anyone who voted for it.

Second Opinion Series – the thyroid sessions
Yo! Wassup yall! – my teenage son just thought this was so funny when we were listening to an Underground Wellness podcast – till I did point out Sean is actually entitled to talk like a bro. Dr Tom OBryan will be talking about the gluten and thyroid connection on tuesday/wed USA which is wed/thursday australian time. Watch all of the sessions while it’s free ( just click the banner below; you still have 24 hours or so to catch up on the opening presentations too) or grab the complete sessions as a paid download – I’ve previewed this and watched the first couple completely and they are great. Sean Croxton always does a super job of asking the right questions, keeping it fun, relevant and intelligible for the average person. Plus he’s so genuinely supportive of his viewers, be they paying customers or just along for the ride.

The original Gluten Summit with Dr Tom is still available to download for USD $67 and it too was amazing – I learnt so much. ( Any commissions from sales go to Astrotas of course! )

Mystery Dip

So I made this gluten and dairy free  ‘mystery dip’ in a hurry the other day and found it met with a good reception at the March meeting. It was quite a deal tastier after overnighting in the fridge so suggest you also make the day before.

• One cup cold mashed baked sweet potato
• 150 g hot smoked salmon (make sure it’s the sort of smoked salmon with a cooked texture that will flake. i used Huon hot smoked chili salmon. I gues you could subtitute well drained tinned salmon )
• teaspoon ground Sumac (and a pinch to decorate later)
• tablespoon or two of  Red Kelly’s sweet chili and lime dressing ( find it at the Nuthouse Ulverstone, Doula’s Fruit and Veg in Devonport or IGA )*
• pinch seasalt

Blend everything together with a fork ( difficult) or stick blender ( easy) until smooth enough to dip a cracker in.  Sprinkle an extra pinch of sumac on top. cover and refridgerate overnight. Suitable to freeze.

Enjoy with Peckish lime and pepper rice crackers also from selected IGA supermarkets. Alas the Nuthouse doesn’t have this flavour

* who carry astro posters  🙂

Feta, Pea and Dill Quiche with Lentil and Sweet Potato ‘Pastry’

Confession – after watching the movie based on preparing a dish from Julia Child’s classic cookbook every day, my teenage son and i decided it would be a good idea to bake our way through a cookbook. Only we chose Womens Weekly Cakes Biscuits and Desserts! After only a week we realised this would kill us, and I was running out of people to foist the leftovers onto. So I started baking cakes for Astro as a monthly treat.

Our speaker for April is Anita Rossiter who is talking on the gut brain connection. Her healthy diet is not as omnivorous as the standard food pyramid or plate or whatever shape the gov is pushing now. No sugar, no gluten – So I”ll have to lift the bar on Astro $1 a head catering beyond ‘mystery dip’ and the staple packet mix glutenfree choc brownies 🙂 Granted they have no e numbers on the mix and i make it with fresh nuts, freerange eggs and great butter, but i can’t help feeling a wee bit guilty when they are complimented.
I’ve been feeling somewhat intimidated by this. My canadian friend Bernice’s food blog to the rescue! Her sister follows a similar diet to Anita and she’s entering this unique vegetarian quiche with a gluten free lentil and sweet potato crust and these hors d’oevre sized morsels Shrimp Lentil and Turmeric Dumplings in a contest and i think they will please both Anita and our often vegetarian members. Leave a nice comment on her blog if you want to help it win.

Weeds: Guardians of the soil

weeds: guardians of the soil by Joseph A. Cocannouer

that is a link to a free pdf copy from the Soil and Health Library. it is out of print now but I splashed out at abebooks and bought myself a secondhand hardback copy the other day after someone lent me theirs on the annual Astrotas weed walk.

i have yet to find a modern equivalent, and as the soil health librarian, Steve Solomon, an expat american who now lives in Tasmania says;

” The wisest student learns from the originators of a body of knowledge because those who later follow in the founders’ footsteps are not trailblazers of equivalent depth. This is especially true of the writings from many post WWII academics and professors who mainly write because they must publish . . . or perish. Even when the earliest works in a field contain errors because their authors lacked some bit of data or had a fact wrong, their books still contain enormous wisdom. If nothing else, study of older books lets us discover that the conditions that prevail today aren’t the way things always were—whilst on some levels, some things hardly ever change at all. ” Australians may order/contribute electronic copies of out of print books on soil and health from him (including the weed book but the other link is quicker and is a nicely presented copy).

I love weeds 🙂 They do not try to kill me the way our cultivated plants do – i do not know why that is, touchwood. Perhaps it is because i have had a leaky gut and until now have not eaten them.