Allergies

[Guest guest]

First, let me say that I can't offer you an authoritative answer to

your question, and you shouldn't accept anecdotal evidence about such

a broad topic. But I think I can help you think about how to answer

the question, and I can offer you a lot more to think about.

 

I assume that you are asking (1) whether vegans become more sensitive

to common food allergens with greater (or lesser) frequency than

nonvegans, and NOT (2) whether people choose to become vegan because

they experience more frequent or more severe food allergies, and thus

eliminate animal proteins as a safety precaution. The latter may be a

rational outcome of well-informed hyper-allergenic adults or parents.

The former can be answered from either an appropriate and

comprehensive epidemiological study (which I've never seen on this

topic), or from a look at what causes allergies, and by then turning

to specific studies on common allergens.

 

What causes allergies? Our bodies are protected from infections by

our immune system. We produce a type of protein, called an antibody,

which recognizes the germs causing an infection. There are a number of

different antibodies, and the one that causes an allergic reaction is

called IgE. IgE triggers is the release of histamine, which leads to

the allergic reaction.

 

IgE antobodies are normally produced in response to infections caused

by parasites, like those that cause malaria. But some people produce

IgE to other things like pollen, which leads to hay fever, and to some

foods, which leads to food allergies.

 

Researchers believe that proteins in foods that mimic proteins present

in viruses and bacteria are most likely to be misread as viruses and

bacteria, so the body produces IgE antibodies in response.

 

Cow's milk is a leading allergen, and a review of that substance and

how it has been modified may be helpful in understanding how it can

trigger allergy attacks.

 

Milk is widely believed to cause allergic reactions because bovine

IgE-I mimics human IgE-I so successfully.

 

From www.notmilk.com, " There are hundreds of millions of different

proteins in nature, and only one hormone that is identical between any

two species. That powerful growth hormone is insulin-like growth

factor, or IGF-I. IGF-I survives digestion and has been identified as

a key factor in cancer's growth. IGF-I is identical in human and cow. "

 

Researchers have linked milk to allergies in practice:

" Dairy products may play a major role in the development of ALLERGIES,

asthma, sleep difficulties, and migraine headaches. " -- Israel Journal

of Medical Sciences 1983; 19(9):806-809 Pediatrics 1989;84(4):595-603

 

" In reality, cow's milk, especially processed cow's milk, has been

linked to a variety of health problems, including: mucous production,

hemoglobin loss, childhood diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis,

arthritis, kidney stones, mood swings, depression, irritability,

ALLERGIES. " -- Townsend Medical Letter, May, 1995, Julie Klotter, MD

 

" At least 50% of all children in the United States are allergic to

cow's milk, many undiagnosed. Dairy products are the leading cause of

food allergy, often revealed by diarrhea, constipation, and fatigue.

Many cases of asthma and sinus infections are reported to be relieved

and even eliminated by cutting out dairy. " -- Natural Health, July,

1994, Nathaniel Mead, MD

 

" Most formula fed infants developed symptoms of ALLERGIC rejection to

cow milk proteins before one month of age. About 50-70% experienced

rashes or other skin symptoms, 50-60 percent gastrointestinal

symptoms, and 20-30 percent respiratory symptoms. The recommended

therapy is to avoid cow's milk. " -- " Epidemiological and

Immunological Aspects of Cow's Milk Protein ALLERGY and Intolerance in

Infancy. " Pediatric-Allergy-Immunology, August, 1994, 5(5 Suppl.)

 

Worse yet, Monsanto created Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH or

rBST), a genetically engineered hormone, to increase milk production

by 8-17 percent when it is injected into cattle. Use of rBGH on dairy

cows increases the rate of mastitis, a bacterial udder infection, by

25%. Mastitis leads to increased use of antibiotics, including

important ones used to treat humans, like penicillin. The overuse of

antibiotics is already a serious problem in the livestock industry –

giving rise to new strains of " superbugs " that are becoming more

resistant to antibiotics and are strongly linked to hard-to-treat

illnesses in people.

 

One article had this to say: " Taking the increase in milk yield into

account, the total increase in the secretion of IGF-1into milk of one

udder half was 6-fold [after injecting the cow with rBGH]. " –

Prosser, C. G., Fleet I. R., A. N. Corps. " Increased secretion of

insulin-like growth factor 1 into milk of cows treated with

recombinantly derived bovine growth hormone. " Journal of Dairy

Research 56(1):17-26, 1989.

 

The European Union, as well as Japan, Canada, and Australia have

banned rBGH. Codex Alimentarius, the U.N. body that sets food safety

standards, has refused to approve the safety of rBGH three times. But

it sailed through the FDA here.

 

And the antibiotics given to cattle cause other problems: " The public

health reasons for limiting as far as possible the use of

antimicrobials in dairy cows are the risk of: an increased incidence

of allergic reactions from drugs and their metabolites in consumers of

milk and dairy products; an increased selection of bacteria resistant

to antimicrobials. " -- European Commission. " Report on Public Health

Aspects of the Use of Bovine Somatotrophin. " 15-16 March 1999. Food

Safety - From the Farm to the Fork.

 

For a shocking history of how Monsanto helped get rBGH approved, see

here: http://www.notmilk.com/fdatestim.html

 

As an aside, allergies aren't the only concern for milk drinkers:

" The role of IGFs in cancer is supported by epidemiological studies,

which have found that high levels of circulating IGF-I and low levels

of IGFBP-3 are associated with increased risk of several common

cancers, including those of the prostate, breast, colorectum, and the

lung. " -- Yu, Herbert and Thomas Rohan. Review. " Role of the

Insulin-like Growth Factor Family in Cancer Development and

Progression. " Journal of the National Cancer Institute 92:1472-89, 2000.

 

In other words, IGF-I has been called a key factor in prostate cancer,

breast cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer.

" Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), in particular IGF-I and IGF-II,

strongly stimulate the proliferation of a variety of cancer cells,

including those from lung cancer. High plasma levels of IGF-I were

associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Plasma levels of

IGF-I are higher...in patients with lung cancer than in control

subjects. " -- Journal of the National Cancer Institute, vol. 91, no.

2. January 20, 1999.

 

" IGF-I plays a major role in human breast cancer cell growth. " -- E.A.

Musgrove, Eur-J-Cancer, 29A (16), 1993

 

" IGF-I has been identified as a key factor in breast cancer. " --

Hankinson. The Lancet, vol. 351. May 9, 1998

 

" IGF-1 accelerates the growth of breast cancer cells. " -- M. Lippman

Science, Vol. 259, January 29, 1993

 

In China, remote villagers refer to breast cancer as a " rich woman's

disease " because only " rich women " can afford to drink milk.

 

As a further aside, if you wonder how Monsanto could possibly subvert

the FDA's checks and balances on our health, see this:

http://www.xetex.com/diabetes/Monsanto.html

and this:

 

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monsanto%27s_High_Level_Connections_t\

o_the_Bush_Administration

 

So if you are asking yourself if you or your children " Got allergies? "

or " Got cancer? " , it may be wise to ask if you " Got milk? "

 

 

 

, jefferymhill wrote:

>

> Are vegan children more prone to allergies? If so what's reason

> Jeffery M. Hill

>

> V-Dimension, Inc

> direct: (877)865-3735

> fax: (866)649-2647

> email: jeff

>

> www.v-dimension.com

>

> Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

>