Allergies and high protein diets page

[soniayak]

I was reading one of my favorite mags "Mother Earth News" and it had an article about allergies and natural treatments. Their number one treatment was to drastically reduce the amount of meat you eat. They said high protein diets have been shown to INCREASE the inflammatory response and exacerbate allergies. They quoted a few studies. Anyone heard this?

Here's the excerpt from the April/May2010 "Mother Earth News"

"...Eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer animal foods. This is no quick fix, says noted alternative medicine expert Andrew Weil, M.D. but over time, it helps. Animal foods---meats, poultry, fish, milk, cheese and eggs- are high in protein. A high-protein diet makes the immune system more reactive and thus more likely to erupt in allergic reactions. Eating less meat reduces protein intake, which helps calm the immune system. Many Americans think a low-protein diet is unhealthy. It isn't. In fact, Americans eat much more protein than they should. A high-protein diet is strongly associated with the nation's leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Meanwhile, many studies show that a vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet substantially reduces the risk of these diseases- as well as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and Alzheimer's disease. Fruits and vegetables are our main sources of antioxidant nutrients. Researchers at the South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa reviewed the research and concluded that as antioxidant intake increases, allergy symptoms decrease..."

[FairyRae]

IDK--from my own personal research and my own self experimentation, it seems like almost every ailment is curable/treatable through a grain free, lower carb, whole foods, high quality *meat* and *animal fat* based diet. I don't know what studies have been/are being done on all of this, but I can tell you from personal experience that a low protein, high carb (vegetarian) diet served me very poorly for 12 years, (I did eat this way for "health" for many of those years--and probably read some of the same CW propoganda you're talking about) and caused all sorts of allergies/intolerances in my son. Only through adding lots of nutrient dense foods, including lots of meats, fat, and bone broth, have we seen major healing occur. I've read over and over and over again that a no grain, low sugar, meat/fat/veggie based diet seems to be very helpful for everything from digestive disorders and allergies to epilepsy to cancer...

Maybe that info is in relation to poor quality meat/animal protein. I also would love to see a study done on grain free, low carb eating folks who have a mostly meat and plant based diet. I think that is lacking in our society--real info on what meat actually does (when it's not combined w/ crappy veggie oils and tons of grain-based, factory processed carbs...)

I'd personally chalk it up to CW propoganda. The majority of the healing I've read about, specifically in regards to allergies or intolerances was usually related to nutrient deficiencies, and healing was greatly aided by eating LOTS of (good) fatty, high quality, grass fed/pastured meat and foods made from it. Anyway, sorry to be rambly--that's just my .02!

[Stabby]

Without reading the studies I can't say anything at all, seems like a baseless assertion to me.

Brain storm: which proteins do they mean? The proteins in beef or are they talking about gluten and casein. Gluten and cow casein are horrible allergenic junk but they come from grains and dairy which we eschew. It would be dishonest to take a study that uses those two and try to extrapolate that to animal protein which has been deeply entrenched in our genetics for millions of years whereas gluten and casein are within the least 10000.

Animal fat? Arachidonic acid. That is why we stress low omega 6 meats that are fed grass and have adequate omega 3. That doesn't mean not to eat animal fat, it means eat more grass-fed beef and less chicken, take fish oil, eat fish, etc. It's all a delicate balance.

[kuno1chi]

All I know is, this is the first season that I haven't been, "Claritin Girl".
Nary a sniffle...

[StoneAgeQueen]

Sounds like a load of shizzle to me. Allergies seem to be greatly reduced by a primal diet.

[jo]

If you could give us some references to the studies we might be able to give a more informed response. Has the article been published on the internet? Perhaps you could find a link and we can have a read.

[hbeck]

I imagine this could be true, IF you are also eating a SAD with lots of grains and starchy carbs, sugar, processed junk, etc.

Cutting grains and severely limiting dairy (I do whey protein shakes a few times a week and occasionally have raw, unpasteurized cheese) has made my allergies in one of the worst years for it (this year) almost non-existent. A few sniffles here and there, a bit more at work where it's an old building with shit air but I'm totally off the drugs to treat the symptoms. PB diet with high protein (25%+ of calories) fixed it for me.

[soniayak]

Bumped with article added to OP

[stevehtcyl]

My guess would be they aren't using grass fed meat and are using "heart healthy" omega 6 rich wonderful corn fed meat, in which case I would not be surprised.

[Stabby]

Okay well I can make baseless assertions too. Watch:

Vegetarians are all cultists who rape little children and eating a diet full of meat that has been brutally slaughtered with a chainsaw has been demonstrated to heighten IQ by an average of 90 points.