Milk Allergy

It is ironic, but here is an allergy that is most common in children - milk allergy

Usually, when we talk about milk allergies, it refers to cow's milk. However, milk from sheep, goats and buffalo also can also cause a reaction. Unfortunately, some children who are allergic to cow's milk are allergic to soy milk too. This is unfortunate because soy-milk is the de-facto replacement for cow's milk in many instances.

A milk allergy usually occurs a few minutes to a few hours after you consume milk. Signs and symptoms of milk allergy range from mild to severe and can include wheezing, vomiting, hives and digestive problems. Rarely, milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis — a severe, life-threatening reaction.

Avoidance is the primary treatment for milk allergy. Fortunately, most children outgrow a milk allergy by age 3.

Soy Allergy

Here is an allergy that is the gastronomical opposite to milk allergy. Usually, milk allergies are more common in infants and they are then put onto a soy-based diet.

Soy is a product made from soybeans. It is a very healthy food, rich in proteins and minerals. Fortunately, most children will outgrow any soy allergies when they get older. Usually, soy allergy starts when infants are placed on soy-based formulas.

In most cases signs and symptoms of soy allergy are mild. It is very rare for soy allergy to cause a life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). If your soy allergy persists into adulthood, you will have to learn as much as you can about soy and avoid foods that contain soy.

If you or your child has a reaction to soy, tell your doctor about it, no matter how mild the reaction may have been. Tests can help confirm a soy allergy, so you can take steps to avoid future and potentially worse reactions.

Shellfish Allergy

One of the most common allergy is shellfish allergy. The problem is this: sometimes, when shellfish is not fresh, it can cause symptoms similar to some of the allergies.

The interesting thing about shellfish allergy is that you can have allergic reactions to all shellfish, or only a selected few. For example, some people are allergic to crab and are perfectly fine with lobster and prawns. Yet others cannot take oyster, but have no problems with octopus and squid.

As in all food allergies, reactions can range from mild to severe. Itchiness, rashes, and even anaphylaxis which is life-threatening. Many people have swelling around their faces when they consume shellfish to which they are allergic.

If you think you have a shellfish allergy, ask your doctor to do some tests. You need to know for sure so that you can  take steps to avoid future reactions.

Generally, shellfish are very high in cholesterol and rich in minerals. There are many alternative foods that can give you the minerals, without the allergy reactions. 

Peanut Allergy

When we talked about egg allergies, some friends pointed out that there was another common allergy - peanuts.

Peanut allergy is common and often occur when we are young. This is similar to other allergies such as milk and egg. Unfortunately, while many children outgrow allergies to other foods such as milk or eggs, most of them do not outgrow peanut allergy as they get older.

The symptoms for peanut allergy can be minor, like itch or some irritation, or can be very serious, even causing anaphylaxis, a condition that requires quick medical attention. Those who do not normally get such a violent reaction are still at risk.

If you suspect that you have peanut allergy, tell your doctor. He will most likely recommend some tests to confirm the allergy. This will help you take steps to prevent any worse reactions from your allergy.

It is relatively easy to avoid peanuts compared to milk and egg. You just need to be more careful and you can continue to leave a happy and healthy life.

Egg Allergy

Egg is one of the most common foods. It is also one of the most common allergy among young children. Fortunately, most children will outgrow their egg allergy, but not everyone.

What is egg allergy?

Usually, after a few minutes (maybe a few hours) after consuming eggs or food with eggs, some allergic symptoms appear. These could be as mild as itchy skin, or break out into rashes, hives, vomiting and even an inflamed nasal passage. It is quite rare for egg allergy to flare up into anaphylaxis — a severe, life-threatening reaction.

If you are allergic, avoid egg and foods that contain egg. This will be difficult, as egg is an ingredient in many recipes. For mild allergies, over-the-counter antihistamine medications may help relieve the symptoms. Anaphylaxis requires a shot of epinephrine and emergency medical treatment.

You might want to try some of our egg free recipes that are healthy and delicious.

Colon Cleansing - good or bad?

It is commonly accepted by advocates that colon cleansing helps to eliminate toxins from the intestinal tracts. In fact, they believe that this will help with many health problems, for example: arthritis, allergies and asthma.

Colon cleansing is believed to promote healthy intestinal bacteria, boosting your energy and enhancing your immune system.

Critics, on the other hand, say that colon cleansing is unnecessary and could even be harmful to the body. Doctors almost never recommend colon cleansing for detoxification, though they do prescribe it as preparation for medical examinations like colonoscopy. The reasons are simple enough to understand: Our digestive system and bowel naturally eliminate waste material and bacteria — your body doesn't need enemas or special diets or pills to do this.

Well, there is little scientific evidence to clearly support or refute claims for or against colon cleansing.

One very real concern with colon cleansing is the risk of dehydration. Also, taking the medication for colon cleansing might be risky for people with kidney or heart diseases.

If you still want to do colon cleansing, be sure to take these simple precautions:

• Ask your doctor first, especially if you take any medications or have any health problems.
• 
  Make sure your colon-cleansing practitioner uses disposable equipment that hasn't been previously used.
• 
  Get a list of specific herbal ingredients and dosage in colon-cleansing product — some herbal supplements can cause health problems.
• 
  Beware of broad Ask your doctor first, especially if you take any medications or have any health problems.

If you are doing colon cleansing because of constipation, consider trying these steps first to relieve constipation:

* Drink plenty of fluids, including water
* Eat a diet rich in fiber
* Get regular exercise

Stress Myths: Our mind is where the stress originates

*MYTH #5: Our mind plays a role in much of the stress we experience.*

FACT: This is a myth. Stress is not just about your mind, but is an accumulation of many factors. In fact, a recent field called Biolinguistics have brought to light the inadequacies of our old theory about mind-body relationships.

Habits are hard to break. Stress is also difficult to deal with when we focus on only trying to change our mindset. Biolinguistics point out that our bodies and words affect us in profound ways. Over the years, as we keep listening to words like "I am not good", "I cannot solve my own problems" and so on creates a powerful pattern in our life that is very hard to change or get rid of.

When you learn how to identify these negative "conversations" and "action patterns", you will be closer to eliminating the root causes of your stress.

In fact, you can even use Biolinguistics to profit from habitual patterns that may have caused you nothing but pain and suffering in the past.

Stress Myths: We need to manage stress

*MYTH #4: We need to manage stress, not to make it go away*

FACT: This is actually quite a dangerous myth. When we think that the best way to deal with stress is to manage it instead of eliminating it, we are basically saying that stress is a part of life.

Many stress experts talk about positive benefits of exercise, meditation, and relaxation techniques, but may not inform you of the *negative side* to these same coping strategies.

You see, using exercise, meditation and so on as stress management techniques are often ineffective. They are very poor strategies for dealing with certain types of problems, such as the death in the family, retrenchment or rejection. Also, these exercises take up a lot of time. Worse, the effects usually last a short while and you might have to keep doing them a few times in a day.

But really, the worse thing about it is the fact that dealing only with the symptoms of stress does absolutely nothing to cure the underlying ills. As long as we do not deal with the underlying causes, stress will persist and maybe even get worse.

So, if you think you are "managing" your stress well, think again.