Nutrition For Life

How do allergic reactions to food occur?

The allergens in food are those components that are responsible for inciting an allergic reaction. They are proteins that usually resist the heat of cooking, the acid in the stomach, and the intestinal digestive enzymes. As a result, the allergens survive to cross the gastrointestinal lining, enter the bloodstream, and go to target organs, causing allergic reactions throughout the body. The mechanism of food allergy involves the immune system and heredity.

Immune system: An allergic reaction to food involves two components of the immune system. One component is a type of protein, an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE), which circulates through the blood. The other is the mast cell, a specialized cell that is found in all tissues of the body. The mast cell is especially common, however, in areas of the body that are typical sites of allergic reactions, including the nose and throat, lungs, skin, and gastrointestinal tract.

Heredity: The tendency of an individual to produce IgE against something seemingly as innocuous as food appears to be inherited. Generally, people with allergies come from families in which allergies are common — not necessarily to food but perhaps allergies to pollen, fur, feathers, or drugs. Thus, a person with two allergic parents is more likely to develop food allergies than someone with one allergic parent.

Mechanism: Food allergy is a hypersensitivity reaction, meaning that before an allergic reaction to an allergen in food can occur, a person needs to have been exposed previously, that is, sensitized, to the food. At the initial exposure, the allergen stimulates lymphocytes (specialized white blood cells) to produce the IgE antibody that is specific for the allergen. This IgE then is released and attaches to the surface of the mast cells in different tissues of the body. The next time the person eats that food, its allergen hones in on the specific IgE antibody on the surface of the mast cells and prompts the cells to release chemicals such as histamine. Depending upon the tissue in which they are released, these chemicals cause the various symptoms of food allergy. Read more…

Makes 6 servings, 1 1/3 cups each

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
This simple but substantial main-course salad gets its goodness from smoky skillet-blackened tomatoes and a dressing prepared right in the pan—maximizing all the flavor from the tomatoes. Read more…

What is anorexia?

Anorexia nervosa, commonly referred to simply as anorexia, is one type of eating disorder. More importantly, it is also a psychological disorder. Anorexia is a condition that goes beyond out-of-control dieting. A person with anorexia initially begins dieting to lose weight. Over time, the weight loss becomes a sign of mastery and control. The drive to become thinner is actually secondary to concerns about control and/or fears relating to one’s body. The individual continues the endless cycle of restrictive eating often to a point close to starvation in order to feel a sense of control over the body. This cycle becomes an obsession and is similar to any type of drug or substance addiction.

How is anorexia treated?

Anorexia may be treated in an outpatient setting, or hospitalization may be necessary. For an individual with severe weight loss that has impaired organ function, hospital treatment must initially focus on correction of malnutrition, and intravenous feeding may be required. A gain of between one to three pounds per week is a safe an attainable goal when malnutrition must be corrected.

The overall treatment of anorexia, however, must focus on more than weight gain. There are a variety of treatment approaches dependent upon the resources available to the individual. Because of increasing insurance restrictions, many patients find that a short hospitalization followed by a day treatment program is an effective alternative to longer inpatient programs. Most individuals, however, initially seek outpatient treatment involving psychological as well as medical intervention. Read more…

Makes about 1/4 cup

TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes

In this wet rub, we let the aromatic champion take center stage—a sure winner for the garlic lover in all of us. This rub is so versatile, we think it’s great with virtually any meat or vegetable. Use on: Extra-firm tofu, shrimp, scallops, salmon, mahi-mahi, chicken, duck, pork, beef, lamb. Read more…

When is a vitamin not really a vitamin? When it’s vitamin D! The “sunshine” vitamin, aptly named because sunlight is a source of it, is actually a hormone. Vitamin D isn’t found in many foods, and a growing number of experts and vitamin-D researchers think that Americans are not getting enough vitamin D, especially if you slather on sunscreen (which blocks your body’s ability to make vitamin D from the sun) or work indoors (and don’t get outside often).

Why Vitamin D Matters
Vitamin D is best known for its role in bone health; it helps your intestines more efficiently absorb the bone-building minerals calcium and phosphorous that you get from food. Vitamin D then helps to deposit these minerals in your skeleton and teeth, making them stronger and healthier. Therefore, vitamin D helps prevent the fractures associated with osteoporosis, the bone deformation of rickets, and the muscle weakness and bone aches and pains of osteomalacia (the softening of bones).

But a deficiency of vitamin D goes beyond bones—it can cause numerous health problems. Because it’s a hormone, and your body is full of receptors for this hormone, it plays a role in the prevention of many ailments. A lack of vitamin D may lead to:

* Cancer. Emerging research suggests that vitamin D has an anti-cancer benefit. It may stop the growth and progression of cancer cells and be beneficial during cancer treatment, too. Vitamin D is most strongly associated with colon and prostrate cancers, but it may also protect against breast, lung, ovarian, stomach, bladder, esophageal, and kidney cancers.
* Hormonal problems. Vitamin D influences the functions of insulin, rennin, serotonin and estrogen—hormones involved with health conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, depression and premenstrual syndrome.
* Obesity. Some research shows that a vitamin D deficiency can interfere with the “fullness” hormone leptin, which signals the brain that you are full and should stop eating.
* Inflammation. Vitamin D helps control the inflammation involved with periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
* Weakened immune system. Vitamin D plays a role in a strengthening your immune system, especially in autoimmune disorders (when the body attacks itself) like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Read more…