[Sca-cooks] Re: allergies vs. sensitivities

[Tara Sersen Boroson]

Stefan, an allergy is a reaction moderated by immunoglobulin E, IgE.  
When an offending protein is detected, the body initially sends IgE to 
battle it.  IgE binds to mast cells and causes them to release 
histamine.  Histimine causes swelling of tissues.  That's why one of the 
first reactions is swollen skin reactions like hives.  It also causes 
swelling of organs such as the lungs.  The reaction is often quick and 
vicious, and can result in death *very* quickly.  After sending in the 
IgE troops, the immune system sends other immunoglobulins, IgA, IgD, 
etc. to bind the actual proteins.

A sensitivity can also be moderated by the immune system, such as in 
celiac disease where gluten (a class of proteins in grains) causes an 
IgA response.  Immune responses other that IgE are not histemic - they 
only attack the offending protein directly.  IgE is the only one that 
goes after the mast cells.  Although that's less immediately deadly, the 
immune response still has a lot of ugly aspects.  That hyperactive 
immune system will often attack other bodily systems.  In the case of 
celiac, it attacks the lining of the gut, severely damaging the cilia 
and causing them to stop absorbing food.  It can also trigger other 
immune responses - these autoimmune disorders often cascade.  Celiac is 
closely related to hypothyroidism, such as hashimoto's disease, where 
the immune system starts attacking the thyroid.

Not all sensitivities are immune driven.  Lactose intolerance, which 
affects almost all african americans, a huge percentage of asians, and a 
goodly percentage of caucasians, is only digestive.  It ranges from, 
like me, a mild sensitivity where if I eat two slices of pizza and an 
ice cream cone after having had milk for breakfast... I might have a 
reaction, on up to my cousin who has to take LactAid in order to handle 
a teaspoon of half-and-half in his coffee, and further, to a friend from 
my husband's work who can't handle any dairy at all even with LactAid.

True allergies are really scary, because they can result in death very, 
very quickly and are often sensitive to extremely small amounts of the 
offending protein.  Children have had reactions to peanut proteins 
because they touched a place on a lunch table where another child had 
had some M&Ms in the previous lunch period (M&Ms have peanut oil in 
their shells).  Sensitivities can also be severe.  A friend's mother, 
who has celiac, can wind up in bed (or rather, on the toilet,) for 
literally days if she is served a salad that had the croutons picked out 
instead of having a salad made for her fresh with no croutons at all.  
The reaction can be fairly swift.  However, while celiac can be deadly 
if unmanaged in the long run (people have died from malnutrition because 
their guts were unable to absorb any nutrition from their food due to 
severe damage from gluten,) it's not going to cause an anaphalytic 
reaction and death within minutes.

Peanut allergies and the like scare the shit out of me.  Knowing how 
truely deadly they are, and how contact sensitive and airborn particle 
sensitive many children and adults are, it makes me nervous even though 
I know I can prepare food under extremely tight scrutiny.  My older 
daughter smears food all over the house - peanut butter, cheese, 
scrambled egg.  Our sunblock has tree nut oils in it.  (Our previous 
brand also had peanut oil.)

Sensitivities I take very, very seriously... but they don't frighten 
me.  While some celiac people are contact sensitive (they will react to 
glutens in cosmetics, for example,) the contact sensitivities aren't 
usually as severe.  They may react from kissing someone wearing lipstick 
with gluten (and, yes, people do react to that,) but they're not likely 
to react from touching a table where someone else had recently eaten a 
sandwich.  And if they do react, the result will be uncomfortable and 
maybe even very painful, but won't be deadly.  I would be horrified if I 
slipped up and accidentally caused someone pain due to a sensitivity.  
But, it doesn't frighten me because I know I'm not running the risk of 
killing that person.  I prepare food for people with food sensitivities 
all the time (particularly celiac disease, which is why I've used it as 
an example so much,) and am comfortable with my knowledge of ingredients 
and food handling methods.

-Magdalena vander Brugghe
who's actually making it to Pennsic this year - with girlies in tow!

-- 
Tara Sersen Boroson

'Normal' is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car you are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car, and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it. -Ellen Goodman

[T]o admit authorities, however heavily furred and gowned, into our libraries and let them tell us how to read, what to read, what value to place upon what we read, is to destroy the spirit of freedom which is the breath of those sanctuaries. -Virginia Woolf