The idea that specific foods could cause headache is not new. As early as 1905, the Australian medical pioneer, Dr. Francis Hare, reported that head pain could be the result of eating incompatible foods.1 This observation was not pursued at the time by the medical profession. In 1927, two prominent American allergists, Drs. Albert G. Rowe and Warren T. Vaughan, both published articles implicating specific foods as the cause of allergic headaches.2-3

My own first medical paper, published in August, 1935, dealt with the subject of “Allergy in Migraine-like Headaches.”4 In it, Dr. John M. Sheldon and I, both then associated with the University of Michigan Medical School, observed that two-thirds of the migraine patients at the University Hospital in Ann Arbor obtained relief of their headaches by eliminating various foods from their diet.

These results were certainly better than those achieved by conventional medicine. Today, however, even better results can be achieved through the diagnosis of chemical susceptibility and of some common food allergies, which had not then been identified.

Allergic headaches do not discriminate in the site they attack. Every conceivable kind of headache—bilateral, frontal, as well as those radiating into the nape of the neck or the jaws—has been identified and controlled on the basis of clinical ecology. Since certain physicians have promoted alleged “antiheadache diets,” it is important to emphasize again that there is no mass-applicable shortcut to controlling such painful syndromes. What affects one patient does not trouble the next. There is simply no substitute for working out one’s own food allergy picture, using the methods explained later in this book.

A patient is rarely aware of the environmental source of his illness. He may see no relation between eating and headache, since the effects can be delayed. Or he may know that his headache is somehow related to his food intake, but that intake is so complex and varied that uncovering the actual source may seem like an impossibility. Or he may know that a particular food relieves his headache pain, not realizing that it may also cause it and that the “relief” meal is nothing but his maintenance dose.

The physical manner in which allergies cause headache is not entirely known, nor is this information crucial to either patient or physician. One possible explanation is that allergic reactions often cause water retention, or edema. When bellies or ankles become bloated, this is discomforting and disfiguring. But when the brain swells, it pushes against the inflexible skull, and pain results.

This theory receives support from the observations of Dr. Bernard S. Zussman, of Memphis, Tennessee, who had an allergic patient with a hole in his skull from an earlier brain operation. Whenever this patient ate a food to which he was allergic, his brain would literally swell and expand slightly out of the hole. Perhaps patients who speak of feeling “soggy” or “water-logged” in their heads are being more scientifically accurate than they imagine.

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Hard plastics, such as the older Bakelite and Formica, are, accordingly, rarely incriminated as the cause of chronic illness. The worst offenders are soft materials, such as the plastic used in pillow and mattress cases, upholstery materials, shoes and handbags, and so forth. Naugahyde has been particularly troublesome for some patients. Plastic brushes, combs, powder cases, shoes, and other articles of clothing also occasionally become the source of chronic health problems in patients.

Flexible plastics used in the storage of refrigerated food are particularly menacing. One young child was brought to me for skin problems. It turned out that his mother was a salesperson for a well-known brand of plastic containers. She was shocked when I blamed this product for contributing to her son’s skin problems. Elimination of the plastic containers, however, brought a dramatic improvement in his rash, and this woman soon sought another line of work.

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In the case of rhinitis, the allergen can be carried to the nasal membranes in the bloodstream, producing symptoms 6-10 hours after the meal, or even later – up to 24 hours in some patients. Alternatively, the action of chewing food in the mouth may transmit allergens into the nasal cavity, thus provoking a response in the nose directly.

Without doubt, most sufferers from rhinitis, asthma and associated problems are responding to airborne allergens alone. But a significant proportion suffer from food sensitivities that contribute to their symptoms, and food may be the sole cause of the problem in some cases. Until fairly recently, most doctors did not appreciate the importance of food in producing such symptoms and many children were diagnosed as having ‘intrinsic asthma’ – that is, asthma with no obvious external cause – when their wheezing may have been due to food. Similarly, atopic eczema has usually been treated with corticosteroid creams, which are successful for some but not the most severely affected. Trying to identify potential food triggers may be a better approach for such children.

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As you progress with the breathing exercises the increased oxygenation of the body will, along with the diets, raise your resistance to the point where the airways will clear naturally and the drugs can be discontinued. However, you have to get the oxygen in there first. Make sure you are on the Metabolism-Balancing Program and Formula Six supplements and if you have mucus in the nose, throat or chest, take two garlic and horseradish capsules (or tablets) with breakfast, lunch and the evening meal. These herbs are effective mucus clearers.

The best time is first thing on rising after you’ve had your three, four or five 230 mL glasses of fresh water (warm or at room temperature). Make sure you are in a well-ventilated room. If it’s not too cold open the window but close the door, this will prevent draughts.

If it’s warm, you may do the exercises outside under a tree, or by a fountain, or on the beach. If you’ve slept in, do them before lunch in the park. Don’t do them for at least three or four hours before bed. They give you energy which makes falling asleep difficult. Try and do the exercises every day but don’t get upset if you can’t. Even three or four times per week will do you good.

Poor posture will undo some of the good from your doing deep breathing exercises and will make it difficult to break the habit of shallow breathing. Slumping forward over desk and computer rounds the shoulders, which constricts the expansion of the rib cage. It also forces the lower ribs down into the abdomen cramping the action of the diaphragm. This gives rise to shallow breathing which predisposes to anxiety and panic (oxygen deficiency and carbon dioxide imbalance). Anxiety and panic gives rise to shallow, upper chest breathing.

Think back to the last time you were startled by someone or were frightened by something you saw on TV or at the movies. How did you breathe? Chances are high that you drew a sudden, upward breath in the top of the chest. I doubt very much that you drew a slow, relaxing, belly breath. It pays to keep away from anxiety-producing TV programs and life situations as much as possible while learning to breathe with the diaphragm.

Sit back after the evening meal in a relaxed posture and allow your belly to breathe unencumbered. Make use of your work chair’s backrest as much as possible.

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It is the prolonged stress of over-work, bad life situations, bad diet, dehydration, shallow breathing, negative attitudes and even too much of doing what we enjoy that does the damage. When going too hard at what we enjoy causes our body to become racked with pain and the symptoms of disease, we have stress with distress. At this point it’s time to back off and accept that what once may have made us feel good is now making us feel bad. The stress hormones that in the short term gave us a buzz are now breaking down too much tissue and causing metabolic imbalances. It’s now time for their levels to begin to drop. Rest and a change of attitude is now indicated.

Stress is a bit like drinking champagne. A little bit at a party makes you feel merry and light headed, too much makes you feel ill, depressed and heavy headed the next day. In this way the enjoyable things in life can distress us in the same way as the more easily recognised distresses previously mentioned.

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One of the great joys of my job is to watch the thirst for alcohol and the appetite for synthetic drugs reduce on the Metabolism-Balancing Program and Formula Six and to witness its complete disappearance after ninety days on the Anti-Candida/Anti-Allergy Program. I’ve witnessed the remarriage of divorced couples, the coming together of broken families and the launching of new careers when significant changes to diet were made and allergies were cured. Reformed alcoholics lose their cravings for sweets on the programs.

The whole issue of allergies and their effect on society and productivity must be brought out into the open and given serious consideration for it is a serious problem. It is hoped that you will use the information in this book to inform others who you recognise as being allergic and in need of help.

I remember one very intelligent and imaginative young woman who was the whiz kid of the company think tanks. She enjoyed a drink and by all accounts could put it away. Being young her brain cells were still vital and there were no obvious signs of insidious alcohol damage. However on a trip through Asia she caught hepatitis B from which developed eczema (not a bad case) and a tendency to catch colds easily. What really worried her was that now, although she could still come up with brilliant ideas and hold them in her head while developing them, at the meetings, when under pressure to deliver, they would simply disappear and she couldn’t recall them.

At the time of seeing me she was depressed. She was losing her pre-eminence as ‘the brains in the place’ and her self-confidence and self-esteem were suffering as well. She proved to be (among other things) allergy addicted to yeast and wheat and avoidance of all fermented foods, wheat products and alcohol and the taking of Formula Six saw her capacity to think under pressure return. Realising she was lucky to be young enough to get a second chance she resolved never to touch alcohol again for fear that she’d lose the razor edge of her thinking faculties again.

And there’s every chance she would have, for alcohol, over the longer haul, will permanently damage the brain cells in a way that only marijuana can match. Although she liked the effect alcohol had on her and the fun and camaraderie associated with it she decided she wanted the mental stimulation of being good at her job and the rewards of her achievements more. Realising she couldn’t have them both she chose what, for her, was the more desirable of the two.

Many people in her situation choose to return to alcohol when they’re well and over time regain their allergy addiction to it. Some enter the allergy addictive state without experiencing a serious illness but rather through the regular practice of a few drinks after work to relax which eventually leads to the imperative drink at the business lunch and in time to that nip of whisky in their morning coffee that no one knows about. All the time there is an inexorable decline in their productivity which they, for a while, manage to disguise by a series of easily recognised ploys—buck passing being the major one. The problem with alcohol is that in time it damages the brain cells permanently so that the good results from anti-allergy programs are harder to achieve and the incentive to stay on them is reduced.

Remember that you kill 10 000 brain cells every time you get drunk.

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AARON (12)

Minimal brain dysfunction—on vitamins (Formula Six) and anti-allergy treatment.

Mother’s report: ‘Gets As and Bs for effort more instead of Cs and Ds. Can feel the difference when he misses taking the vitamins (Formula Six). Grownup and out—more mature, confident, happy, relaxed and settled. Can concentrate better and keep up with dictation.’

Teacher’s report: ‘Improved approach and application to school-work. Healthier; better appetite, colour, skin, hair and energy; more relaxed before exams and better marks than when on antihistamines (prescribed by doctor).’

BEN (12)

On vitamins (Formula Six) only—no anti-allergy treatment. Comments on final Educational Report from consultant psychologist who assessed Ben via the Woodcock Johnson Mathematics Test and the Basic Number Screening Test (Form B): ‘The standardised tests indicate that Ben has made significant improvement over the past nine months. He is now functioning above his age level.’

Mother’s report: ‘Coping better all round, more enthusiastic, doesn’t have to be pushed to do homework. Doesn’t get upset at the prospect of having to do it. Doesn’t get as upset if he can’t do it. Can sit for an hour or so without whingeing. Is more motivated and wants to try learning to spell more words at a time. Absorbing his work. Remembering his times tables for longer. He’s trimmed down, lost puffiness and improved muscle tone. Maths test marks are up in sixties as opposed to forties previously. He’s keen to attempt problem solving and is getting the problems right where as before he’d be too frustrated to attempt them.’

Ben was able to overcome his allergy by raising his resistance with the vitamins.

SOPHIE (12)

On vitamins (Formula Six) only—no anti-allergy treatment yet. Mother’s report: ‘After four weeks appetite has improved and cravings for sweets has gone. Moods seem to have been improved.’

After twelve weeks: Has improved dramatically, has gone from being unconfident to someone who is really excelling. Test marks have improved significantly. Gone from middle of the pack to close to top of the class. Tried out for swimming team which is something she would never have tried before. Gone from being negative, niggly, irritable, unco-operative to a positive person.’

Sophie is still on the program and will be sent for allergy tests soon as she still has the allergic shiners around her eyes and a few symptoms of upper respiratory tract allergies. Sophie presented with a long history of ear, nose and throat infections which affected her hearing. She had her first antibiotic at age six weeks and had been off and on them ever since.

Sophie is a good example of how supplementing the program with vitamins and minerals can so raise the body’s resistance to allergies and yeast infections that they can be significantly contained. As a result Sophie will test allergic to significantly less factors than she would had she gone for the tests at the onset. This means her Anti-Allergy Program will be far less restrictive. This is good because it’ll be easier to stick to and it’ll be more nutritious, which is what she needs given that she’s entering the growth spurt.

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Glue ear is becoming increasingly more common. So common that it has given rise to a slang name for novice surfers on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They are known as ‘grommets’, after the little plastic tubes so often inserted through the eardrums of sufferers to restore hearing. Dr George Shambough, Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology at North Western University in the USA, claims the insertion of plastic ventilation tubes is the most frequent surgical procedure undertaken with anaesthesia today.

Glue ear results from a build-up of mucus and other fluid behind the eardrum. This warm, stagnant pool is a breeding ground for bugs and the ear infection otitis media often results. The effect of antibiotics on such infection is limited, with recurring infection being the big problem. As any parent knows the pain and tinnitus (constant ringing) of ear infections can contribute to irritability, headaches and fatigue from sleepless nights in both children and parents.

Whereas there’s no denying that plastic tubes ease the discomfort by balancing the air pressure on either side of the eardrum there is a better way: a change of diet. My treatment of glue ear has been overwhelmingly successful—dietary treatment addresses the cause of the problem rather than the effect.

Glue ear results from a build-up of mucus in the nose and throat clue to colds, ‘flu, allergies and Candida infections. Slowly the mucus drains from these areas clown the eustacian tube to the inside of the ear where it dams up against the eardrum, reducing the ability to hear. Most of this draining takes place during sleep where the combined effects of prolonged mouth breathing (which tends to dilate the oral opening of the eustacian tube) and the side lying position favour the drainage of mucus to the eardrum.

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Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs are not very effective at reducing the pain and stiffness of this type of arthritis, which frequently affects housewives in the fingers, athletes in the knees and ankles, bricklayers in the lower back and sedentary people who carry a bit of weight.

Metabolic arthritis results from imbalances in the body’s metabolism caused by poor nutrition, an under-active thyroid gland, allergies, Candida albicans infections, auto-immune aberrations, serious bacterial or viral infections or a combination of two or more of the above. Most metabolic arthritis has allergy or Candida yeast infection as its principal cause.

I have found that 70 per cent of the people I treat for joint pain and stiffness and/or muscle pain have a sensitivity to the nightshade group of plants. This sensitivity can exist despite the fact that no definitive allergy to any of the nightshades shows up on the cytotoxic food test.

The only feasible explanation I can come up with is that the chemical solanine that occurs naturally in the nightshade plants irritates the tissues of the joints and muscles.

Solanine is a potent poison preservative which accounts for the long shelf life of the nightshade foods. Fungi and bacteria don’t readily decompose them. They tend to stay away as too much contact with them causes their own poisoning.

Those who have a sluggish liver find that the chemical-neutralising effect of such a liver is somewhat limited and those chemicals that should normally be broken clown by the liver have the opportunity to spill out into the general circulation and cause toxic inflammation. Solanine is one chemical that is often not neutralised when the liver is under-functioning.

The chemical-neutralising capacity of the liver is significantly reduced when there is an excess of fat and alcohol in the diet and a deficiency of vitamins, minerals and oxygen. I have found time and again that the chemical-neutralising capacity of the liver is significantly increased when the Metabolism-Balancing Program and regular exercise in the fresh air are taken up and the deep breathing exercises are practised daily.

The nightshades include: potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco (smoking must be given up), paprika, cayenne, chili, red and green peppers, eggplants and belladonna. An important part of the treatment of arthritis is the removal of this food group from the diet.

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Anne came to see me about an itchy eczema and red bumps that had the appearance of small pimples. She had the puffy dark rings (fluid retention) under her eyes that so many allergy sufferers have and suffered from periodic itching and stuffy nose.

Anne had a serious, somewhat intense personality. She was a worrier and tended to exaggerate and ‘awfulise’ life situations. Her skin condition was an emotional trauma and she was desperate to get rid of it. She was depressed by the fact that so far nothing had worked—she felt let down by medical science.

I gleaned all this at the first consultation and as the school formal and end of year exams were close decided to hold off starting the combined Anti-Candida/Anti-Allergy Program until the stress of these events had abated. The end of the year formal was causing significant excitement and concern which would cause Anne’s skin to flare up and down in accordance with her moods.

Within three weeks on the combined Anti-Candida/Anti-Allergy Program (she was allergic to malt, oafs, peanuts, capsicum, tomato, rye and all fermented foods) her eczema was completely gone. Only the little nerve bumps remained, giving her skin a mildly clogged appearance.

As her attitude was contributing to her problem Anne began reading the necessary books to help change her attitude and lower her stress levels. Along with the mental relaxation exercises the changes in altitude began to reduce the level of neurokinin in her skin and the acne type bumps began to reduce in size and number. So effective was this regimen that her skin remained 80 per cent clear even when she broke her program a couple of times while on school camp. Tiffs with her parents were the only thing that would now cause the skin to flare up. Anne was at that difficult stage in a young person’s life where the need for closeness and support of parents conflicts with the growing need for some independence, space and distance from them. She would complain to me about parental restrictions and it was obvious they frustrated and angered her.

At this stage breaks away from her parents would see the skin clear up 100 per cent, only to return slightly when she made contact with them again.

By working on her attitude, tiffs with her mother have become less numerous and communication with her father has improved.

Although Anne periodically experiences outbreaks of the pimply bumps she has technically overcome her allergy. The rash has cleared up. Because neurokinin is a substance that is generated by intense emotions and not by allergenic substances floating in (he blood the inflammatory reaction it produces is technically not an allergic one.

On last contact Anne was doing really well. The rash was no longer bothering her and the pimply bumps only appear when she is upset or sleeping on a mattress and pillow that does not have a dust mite cover (she’s allergic to dust mites as well).

Anne is a good example of the power of the mind over the body and how thoughts and feelings can change the chemistry and metabolism of it.

Some allergic people find that eating the things they are allergic lo while tired or under stress can cause them to react to their former allergenic foods and bring back the histamine rash. This has happened to Anne a number of times yet when having a fun lime in restaurants relaxing with her friends she can eat what she likes and not experience a break-out other skin.

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