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The Relationship Between Allergens, Food Intolerances And Cancer

This article is geared towards people who may not even know they are intolerant or allergic to certain foods or environmental factors. It is estimated that over 54% of Americans have allergies.

But the information here does not necessarily apply to the 15% of the population who may have dangerous allergies or anaphylaxis.

Clearly, if you are so allergic to something that it causes your throat to swell, causes you to feel faint, dizzy, nauseous or have a rapid pulse, along with wheezing, hives and itching, then you have more pressing concerns than its long-term effects on your cancer risk.

In those susceptible, such a drastic reaction can be related to foods, including peanuts, shellfish, eggs, milk, wheat, tree nuts, soy and fish. Alternatively, insect stings, different drugs or latex can be a trigger.

If you are having any such reaction, please consult a doctor immediately.

What affect do allergies have on cancer?

With that said, there is conflicting information available on the impact that food intolerances or allergies have on your risk of cancer.

It appears to be related largely to the type and duration of the allergic response. In short, it appears that extended exposure to allergens has a negative impact, whilst brief and limited exposure appears to have a potentially positive impact.

This is perhaps due to the difference between the short-term activation of your immune system, versus the longer-term and sustained exhaustion of your immune system.

Coeliac disease and cancer development

An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which analysed data collected from 1969 to 2008, followed 30,000 sufferers of coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is a chronic and severe form of gluten intolerance that affects approximately 1 in 100 people in the US. Less severe symptoms are visible in as many as a third of the US population, hence my recommendation to avoid wheat.

The research showed that wheat and gluten intolerance isn’t just restricted to causing gastric disturbances, it can also have an impact upon your risk of heart disease, cancer and premature death.

The study divided participants into three groups: those with gluten sensitivity, those with intestinal inflammation but not full-blown coeliac disease, and those diagnosed with coeliac disease.

The study discovered that having a long-term persistent allergic reaction significantly increased the likelihood of death. Those with gluten sensitivity had a 35% higher risk of death, those with full-blown coeliac disease had a 39% increased risk, and for those individuals with intestinal inflammation, there was a 72% increased risk of death.

Many people have a gluten intolerance, but they are not aware that this is the cause of their symptoms. Irritable bowel disease is more obvious, but other symptoms may include osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, anaemia, MS, autoimmune disease and cancer.

“Part of survival is eating foods that nourish you and identifying foods that poison you.” ― Steven Magee

There is a particularly high correlation with lymphoma, which is a cancer of the immune system. There is also a correlation between neurological problems and gluten intolerance, including autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, migraines and dementia.

If you don’t think this affects you, then look again. A study of blood tests, which compared 10,000 blood tests from 50 years ago to 10,000 tests conducted on people today, showed a 400% increase in full-blown coeliac disease. With many more samples also showing elevated TTG antibodies, which appear when your body is having a reaction to gluten.

The most common symptoms include undiagnosed skin rashes and digestive disturbances, but it is not always obvious.

Gluten is contained in a number of grains, not just wheat, so if you are gluten intolerant, you should also avoid barley, rye, oats and more. Gluten is even found in beer, some cosmetics, some vitamin tablets, some salad dressings, some soups, etc.

Avoiding gluten will take more information and guidance than is provided, so please seek medical advice if this affects you. Certainly, you can request a gluten intolerance test from your Doctor.

How can allergens protect you from cancer?

“Having a food allergy doesn’t mean your body is broken. In fact it means your body is highly intelligent”

With regard to other allergies, such as contact allergies, a study of over 17,000 adults by the National Allergy Research Centre in Copenhagen showed that those who had contact allergies were statistically less likely to develop cancer in later life than those who did not have allergies.

The researchers successfully used data from Denmark’s National Cancer Registry, which recorded every single case of diagnosed cancer since 1943.

Approximately one third of the participants tested positive to contact allergies, when researchers exposed a small patch of their skin to various allergens.

The lead researcher, Kaare Engkilde, explained that “People with allergies seem to have less cancer or have fewer different cancer types than patients who don’t have allergies.”

“The reason for this is uncertain but it might have to do with the immune surveillance theory, which speculates that patients with allergies may have a more ready and observant immune system that could lead to earlier detection of cancerous cells.”

Given that allergic reactions are basically a heightened immune response to foreign compounds, such as dust, pet fur, nickel or other agents, those individuals with allergies may have an immune system that is already on high alert for any foreign materials or indeed tumours.

However, whilst having contact allergies correlated with reducing cancer risk overall, (with particular emphasis on skin and breast cancers), not every type of cancer was negatively affected. There was an increase in the likelihood of bladder cancer.

Types of allergic reaction can impact cancer development

Perhaps the most comprehensive review of the relationship between allergies and cancer has been conducted by Cornell University, which evaluated the data from well over 600 previous studies.

The research team discovered that not only did it vary from one allergy to another, but the relationship varied depending on the type of allergic reaction. Most importantly, they questioned the approach of inhibiting the symptoms of allergy, which is very common in modern medicine.

They discovered that the allergic reaction helped the body to eliminate toxins and remove the allergen.

For example, sneezing, runny nose and watering eyes all help to cleanse your system, removing the allergen that triggered the reaction. Suppressing the symptoms does not deal with the problem, it simply masks it.

They found that organs which had direct contact with the environmental particles that caused the allergy, actually had the least amount of cancer in those people with allergies. These included the mouth, throat, colon, rectum, cervix, pancreas and glial brain cells.

Tissues that were more isolated from allergens, such as prostate, breast or meningeal brain cells did not show a reduction in incidence.

There are always exceptions to the rule, however.

Unfortunately, asthma sufferers did suffer from higher rates of lung cancer, because the “asthma obstructs clearance of pulmonary mucous, blocking any potential benefit of allergic expulsion”. But other lung-related allergies did show protective effects.

The research team were very clear that if allergic response is the body’s natural defence against disease and foreign materials, then why would switching off this mechanism via artificial intervention be a good idea?

Yes, we get the short-term relief from the symptoms, but a runny nose, cough or skin breakout is just your body’s way of eliminating toxins and unwanted materials.

What can you do to maximise your health?

Well, I believe that knowledge is power, so having yourself tested for food intolerances and allergies gives you a good starting point.

After all, for many people, (but not those with dangerous allergies), the occasional exposure to an allergen appears to be relatively harmless or even beneficial, but long-term persistent exposure is clearly detrimental to your health.

When you have your allergy test results, you can avoid inadvertently exposing yourself to something you are intolerant to on a daily basis, such as gluten, as this can negatively impact upon your cancer risk and health.

If you enjoyed this article, then why not take a look at Cancer Uncensored – Your Step By Step Guide to Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Cancer Survival.

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Cancer Uncensored