борьба с депрессией

Soya-based ‘cheese’ spreads are

available in some healthfood shops. Tofu is a more traditional soya product that can act as a substitute for soft cheese. See remarks above about soya.

The following foods are not like cheese in taste, but are useful substitutes for cheese in filling sandwiches or making quick snacks:

Hoummous, if made to a thick consistency, is a very good sandwich-filling or spread. Mash 280 gm (10 oz) of cooked, drained.chickpeas with a potato masher, add 5-6 dessertspoons of olive oil, 2-3 dessertspoons of lemon juice, 2 pinches of salt and a clove of garlic, if liked. If you use tinned chickpeas this only takes a few minutes to make. Or you can cook the chickpeas yourself (see p303), to make a larger quantity, and freeze some.

Pate is useful, although most contains preservatives. Making your own is not difficult, especially if you use a blender.

Taramasalata is a Greek dish, made with smoked fish roe, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. It makes a good sandwich filling, combined with tomatoes, cucumber or watercress. Most taramasalata also contains breadcrumbs and preservatives, and the majority are tinted a bright pink with artificial colourings. Some shops (eg Sainsbury’s) sell uncoloured taramasalata.

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Obviously you cannot abandon all social life during these diets, so you have to be flexible. If you are asked out to lunch or dinner, it is not that difficult to take your own food, and you get over the embarrassment fairly quickly. For picnics and days out, cook the foods that you are allowed and take them in plastic boxes. Packed lunches for work, or when travelling, can be prepared in the same way. If you are doing the diet during the winter months, and want hot food, buy a wide-necked thermos flask – they are very useful and not expensive. As an alternative to tea and coffee, take herb tea in a thermos flask or carry some herb teabags – people serving in cafes and restaurants will usually give you some plain hot water if you ask for it, and watching their puzzled expressions can be quite entertaining.

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Further laboratory experiments show that exorphins can bind to the natural receptors for endorphins – but whether they actually do so in the body is another matter. First they would have to get through the gut wall and into the bloodstream. They would also have to evade protein-cracking enzymes in the liver: endorphins have a special chemical structure at the end of the molecule which prevents such enzymes from attacking them, but exorphins do not.

So can the exorphins have any effect on the body? One experiment suggests that they can. A partially digested sample of wheat protein was fed to human ‘guinea-pigs’, and produced certain measurable changes in bodily function. The experiment was then repeated, with a drug called naloxone being given before the wheat. This drug is known to block endorphin receptors, and prevents peptides from binding to them. When naloxone was given first, the wheat protein had no effect.

Many more experiments are needed before we can reach any firm conclusions about exorphins, but the results so far suggest that they might influence our mood. There is certainly no question of anyone getting ‘high’ on a glass of milk or a slice of bread – the amounts involved are too small for that -but these foods might induce a sense of comfort and well-being, as food-intolerant patients often say they do. There are also other hormone-like peptides in partial digests of food, which might have other effects on the body.

If foods can produce these peptides, then why do they only affect certain people? It is possible that the leakiness of the gut wall is important here – if more peptides get through, more are likely to get to the receptors before they are broken down by enzymes. Any deficiency in those enzymes would also increase the person’s vulnerability to exorphins.

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If you are on the Pill, and suspect you have candidiasis, you should ask your doctor about changing to some other form of contraception. Women who have been on the Pill may have nutritional deficiencies (see p260) and you may wish to take a nutritional supplement of the kind described on p33Q. It is a good idea to wait for one to three months, after coming off the Pill, to see what effect this has – for some women, the Pill itself is the unsuspected source of vague health problems, so the anti-Candida diet may be unnecessary.

Assuming you do need anti-Candida treatment, the first step should be a sugar-free diet – for some people this is all that is needed. If you are taking any medicines in syrup form, ask your doctor if he can prescribe a sugar-free alternative. Artificial sweeteners can be used if required, but it is best to break the ‘sweetness addiction’ altogether if possible. Total abstinence from any sweeteners can cure a sweet tooth permanently – which is much better in the long term. After a few weeks on an unsweetened diet, it is remarkable how disgusting anything sugary tastes.

Stay on this diet for at least a month. If there is some improvement, persist for another month or two – the Candida is slowly dying of starvation, and it may take a little while to finish it off entirely.

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Where and when did the skin problem begin?

What kind of work do you do?

What are your hobbies?

What medications do you apply to your skin?

What household cleaners do you use regularly?

If your problems started just recently, ask yourself:

What purchases have I made recently? (Jewellery, cologne, perfume and other toiletries; new brand of detergent; new sheets or towels.)

What gifts have I received? (Scarves, furs, gloves, sweaters, plus any of the ‘purchases’ list.)

Am I wearing new clothing or cosmetics?

Has my house been sprayed recently with an insecticide?

(Particles could settle on furnishings.)

Have I travelled abroad recently? (Soaps and detergents used outside the United Kingdom often contain metals like nickel or chemicals not used in the same products in this country.)

Like identifying a food allergy, discovering the cause of a skin allergy takes a good bit of detective work – as one fifty-two-year-old business executive discovered. From time to time, he experienced mild burning in his mouth, for no apparent reason. One day, his lips and the fingers of his left hand broke out in an eczema like rash. One month later, the entire inside of his mouth broke out in blisters, his lips became more inflamed and the palm and sides of the fingers on his left hand were severely irritated. When he really thought about it, he realized that each episode occurred during or immediately following an out-of-town business trip. In his travel bag, he kept a tube of red toothpaste that he never used at home.

He called his doctor, who did tests and eventually found that the culprit was cinnamic aldehyde, a cinnamon derivative found not only in red toothpastes but in many other dentifrices, plus foods and household products (Archives and Dermatology).

Typists sometimes discover that they’re allergic to carbonless copy paper – the kind that frequently comes in tablets and, when typed on, automatically gives you copies, especially duplicates or triplicates of business forms. A team of dermatologists report that of seventy people who had skin reactions on their hands – mainly reddening followed by burning and itching – all experienced total relief when they stopped typing on carbonless-type paper (Contact Dermatitis).

Not all allergy triggers are created equal. Some chemicals, metals or compounds may cause allergy in 5 to 10 per cent of the population, while others affect less than 0.01 per cent. And any list of common causes of skin allergy is subject to change as manufacturers reformulate products or new ones become popular.

The important problem, however, isn’t so much how often a substance causes problems, but how easily it can be overlooked in diagnosis. Parabens, for instance, are widely used preservatives and play a part in about 3 per cent of all allergic skin disease. But unless you know that parabens are vandalizing your skin, chances for complete relief are slim and you’ll continue to flare up every time you apply a salve, lotion or cosmetic containing a paraben.

Certain categories of products – cosmetics and grooming aids, soaps and detergents, clothing, jewellery and food additives -are most likely to contain allergy-causing chemicals, metals or compounds. (If there seems to be no connection whatsoever between your skin problems and a contact, there’s always the possibility that they’re food related).

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Stingers include bees, hornets and wasps. The females of the species are the troublemakers. Equipped with stingers mounted on their hind sections, they inject their venom much as a doctor injects you with a hypodermic needle. Stinging insects produce more severe reactions than biting insects.

Biters include ants, mosquitoes and flies and dispense venom through their saliva.

As the victim, however, you probably won’t know what bit you, let alone notice what end it used. Still, it’s helpful to know something about the habits and habitats of these tiresome creatures, in order to keep out of their way.

Bees

Bees differ not only in appearance but in temperament. Honeybees are mild-mannered and usually will not sting unless stepped on or otherwise disturbed, or unless their hive is threatened.

If you’re approached by a solitary bee, your first reaction is probably to flail your arms wildly to shoo it away. Don’t. That will only get it excited. Instead, slowly walk to the nearest building or car for cover. Incidentally, do not crush a bee near its nest. Doing so may release an odour that signals the colony to swarm out in revenge. And if one sting is bad, many are disastrous. If you inadvertently disturb a nest while trimming the hedge or painting the house, make a fast beeline for cover.

Ants

Fire ants are the biggest problem for allergic people (they’re no picnic for non-allergic people, either) but fortunately they are not found in the UK. They are usually red, but they can blend into the surrounding soil like chameleons. When disturbed, fire ants can literally explode from their mounds, which they build in farm fields, playing fields, schoolyards, parks and lawns. Their stings burn like fire and cause symptoms that are decidedly different from the symptoms caused by stings of other insects. A welt rises at the site and then expands. Within four hours or so, the wound is surrounded by small blister like sacs filled with a thin, clear fluid. As the fluid drains, it is displaced by cloudy pus. Twenty-four hours after the sting, the wound is surrounded by a thin, red circle or painful swelling. The lesions can remain for three to eight days. Crusts develop. Scar tissue forms. All in all, an unsightly affair. And in highly sensitive people, fire ant stings can be fatal. Immunotherapy (which we’ll get to a little later) is 90 to 95 per cent effective. Not bad, but not 100 per cent. So if you live in fire ant country, it’s important to know what to do if you’re stung.

Mosquitoes

It’s hard to believe that anything so small can cause so much misery. You might assume the discomfort of a mosquito bite is from the bite itself. And that’s certainly part of it. But for allergic people, the real problem is the saliva the mosquito injects with the bite to dilute the victim’s blood and more easily suck it up through the tube-like proboscis. Allergic substances in the bugs’ saliva can cause nausea, dizziness, hives, swelling, headache and lethargy. Not as severe as those reactions produced by its stinging cousins, to be sure. But more than a mere nuisance, nonetheless.

Flies

The flies that commonly cause allergic reactions are biting midges and houseflies.

Biting midges are also known as sand flies and gnats. A good steady breeze can cart them off, but they return the minute the wind dies down.

While horseflies usually dine on horses, cattle and deer, they are not averse to human fare. And they’re vicious biters. Systemic reactions are rather frequent.

Aside from allergy, infection from scratching a bite is a serious concern, since flies are well known for their filthy habits. Be wary of any signs of inflammation, redness, swelling, fluid leaks and pain from a fly bite. And try not to scratch.

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Enter the face mask. Lightweight, cotton surgical masks strain out particles such as pollen, dust and smoke. For chemical vapors you may need a charcoal-filtered mask. Perhaps you’ll only have to wear a mask in special situations, such as sitting in a meeting where everyone is smoking. Or you have a whole stack of papers to photocopy and can’t tolerate the copier fumes.

Face masks are lifesavers, too, when the outside air is particularly bad, says Dr Phyllis Saifer, an allergist in Berkeley, California. Again, charcoal-filtered masks work best. ‘Granted, other people are put off by seeing someone wearing a mask, especially if you sit next to them on the bus or the subway. But a mask can make the difference between feeling ill and feeling well. Just don’t walk into a bank wearing a mask,’ adds Dr Saifer. ‘That makes people really edgy.’

For your own home or office – wherever you spend a considerable part of your day – it’s worth looking into more elaborate equipment for ways of reconditioning the air you breathe.

Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers. People with asthma and other respiratory allergies feel better when they breathe moist air – it keeps the nose and bronchial passages from drying out. Cold dry air is also irritating to airways, which are already exceptionally sensitive in people with asthma. When the heat is turned on for the winter, you may need a humidifier. Too-high humidity in the house, however, promotes growth of house dust mites, moulds and fungi, and tends to carry more dust and pollen – all contributors to allergy and asthma. So in summer, you may need a dehumidifier.

Indoor humidity of about 35 to 50 per cent seems to strike a balance between personal comfort and preventing proliferation of allergens around the house. Be sure to get equipment with a humidistat that automatically shuts off when the desirable level of moisture is reached. And allergy doctors recommend that portable humidifiers and dehumidifiers be kept clean and mould-free by cleaning them frequently with a stiff brush rather than by adding strong disinfectants and detergents to the water.

Air-to-Air Heat Exchanger. As we said before, too-tight buildings with poor ventilation are a major cause of chemical fume buildup and mould growth. Air-to-air heat exchangers help solve the problem without sacrificing fuel efficiency. They work on the principle of ‘good air in, bad air out’. Warm, outgoing indoor air and cold, fresh incoming air pass through ducts with a common wall. Heat from the indoor air is transferred to the fresher outdoor air. Should you have a heat exchange system installed, be sure that the outside air intakes are positioned where the air is the freshest – not drawing fumes from the garage or kitchen stove exhaust from your own or other buildings.

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– whenever you are around animals?

- when you handle rugs, wear fur coats or down clothing, or sleep with a quilt or feather pillow?

If so, you’re probably allergic to animal hair, dander and odour.

Allergy to pet dander – particles of hair and skin that cling to fur – can develop at any time, even if the same pet has lived with you for years. Cats are the worst offenders, with dogs running a close second. Less frequently, rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters or horses can set off allergies. So can parakeets, since feather allergy is closely related to dander allergy. And recent studies indicate that a pet’s saliva or urine can also precipitate allergic attacks.

That seems to make goldfish just about the only truly hypoallergenic pet on the market! True, a person can be allergic to only one breed of dog or cat, but that’s rare. And the popular notion that switching to a short-haired animal will alleviate allergy is true only in some cases.

‘I’ve seen some long-haired dogs with silky fur that are no difficulty at all,’ says Dr Falliers. ‘And I’ve seen short-haired dogs whose dander is a big problem. So it depends. Generally, I’d say that a person with a lot of allergies should stay away from hairy pets. But a long-haired dog that stays outdoors is still better than any dog that sleeps next to a child’s bed.’

Some families manage the problem by keeping the pet outdoors all the time and teaching allergic children to enjoy it from a distance. For others, a dog in the garden is still too close for comfort.

But removing the pet doesn’t always relieve symptoms. Animal dander and other pet residue can linger in carpets or house dust for several months after the animal is gone. Or the pet may not be the only animal in the child’s life.

‘You have to be realistic, especially with children,’ says Dr Falliers. ‘The doctor can say, “No pets,” But the child can still go next door and play with the neighbor’s dog.’

Sometimes, it’s the parent who must make the sacrifice – one way or another. Dr Falliers tells the story of a man who was allergic to the family dog, yet didn’t tell his three kids because he knew they would resent him for making them get rid of it. ‘So he took his allergy medicine and suffered,’ says Dr Falliers. Without a doubt, giving up a pet is one of the most painful choices some families will ever have to make. Dr Falliers also relates the story of a family who refused to accept the fact that their dog was causing their allergies – until the pet was accidentally killed by a car and their allergies suddenly disappeared.

Occasionally, clothing made of mohair, alpaca, cashmere or goat hair will trigger an allergic reaction. So can horsehair-stuffed chairs and couches. Or feathers and down stuffing. That means feather-sensitive people should steer away from down-filled quilts, sleeping bags and ski jackets. Doctors often recommend dacron-filled items as acceptable substitutes. Feather pillows can be replaced by a cotton pillowcase stuffed with rolled-up cotton T-shirts. Avoid foam rubber – it fosters mould growth.

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Ragweed Relatives. Sunflower seeds and chamomile tea are members of the same plant family as ragweed and chrysanthemums. If you’re allergic to ragweed, you could very well develop an allergy to those foods.

Iodine. As a nutrient, iodine is an essential mineral that prevents goitre. But 1 to 3 per cent of the population happens to be allergic to high levels of iodine in the diet over a period of time. Iodine itself isn’t an allergen in the strict sense. Rather, iodine molecules are ‘haptens’ – a chemical that attaches itself to a protein which then triggers the reaction.

For a small number of people, eating a lot of iodine-rich foods – such as kelp, sea fish or iodized salt – can trigger or aggravate acne, eczema and other skin reactions. Iodine-sensitive people may also have to avoid other, unsuspected sources of iodine: certain drugs and food additives, dairy foods processed with equipment cleaned with iodine solutions and commercial breads baked with iodine-containing dough conditioners.

Alcohol. If you get a hangover from wine but not vodka, you could be allergic to grapes, but not grain. If you’re allergic to grains such as wheat and corn, a few sips of whisky may make you feel positively dreadful. And since alcoholic beverages are fermented with yeast, all liquor spells trouble if you’re allergic to yeast.

In other words, if you’re allergic to a food, don’t drink alcoholic beverages made from it.

Aside from its origin, though, alcohol of any kind tends to be a problem for people with allergies. Alcohol worsens food allergies of any kind by dilating blood vessels and by speeding up the absorption of foods into the bloodstream. One physician told us about a woman who usually tolerated prawns quite well – unless she had a cocktail or wine with dinner, in which case she suffered from hives, facial swelling and diarrhoea.

Sugar. If you are allergic to grains and grasses, cane sugar may trigger allergy. If you’re allergic to corn, you could also be allergic to corn sugar. The same goes for cane and corn molasses. (Other people are allergic to beet sugar.) The problem is that food labels don’t always tell you what sort of sugar or molasses you’re getting.

‘Sugar labelling is notoriously inadequate,’ commented Dr Theron Randolph. ‘And processed foods tend to contain all three types – cane, corn and beet – in a liquid blend.’ To avoid a sugar allergy problem. Dr Randolph continued, ‘prepare desserts at home so you know what you’re getting.’

From the standpoint of allergy, honey is a relatively safe substitute for sugar since few people are allergic to it. Once in a blue moon, buckwheat honey may be a problem for those sensitive to buckwheat, or orange blossom honey for those sensitive to citrus. Pure maple syrup is also safe. Saccharin, however, is out. Not only is it strongly suspected of causing cancer, but as a coal tar product saccharin has been known to cause allergy.

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