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Subject: [lojban] Re: srebandu
From: Jim Cheetham <jim@gonzul.net>
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On Fri, 2004-01-23 at 07:38, Robin Lee Powell wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 22, 2004 at 10:19:16PM +1300, Jim Cheetham wrote:
> > Hmmm ... also, unless a medical person speaks out, an allergy is
> > not so much an erroneous response against a non-threat, as it is
> > an overzealous response against otherwise benign levels of
> > potentially-threatening substances..

> That simply does not apply to food allergies, sorry.  Unless you
> feel that wheat and corn are potentially-threatening substances?  8)

Well, perhaps I do ... :-) It's in the emphasis on "potentially-", of
course - any substance can be threatening if taken in the wrong
quantities ... too much water will kill you (and I mean by drinking it,
not breathing :-)

I also thought (not being in the category myself) that problems with
wheat were "intolerances", not "allergies" ... The difference seems to
be one of onset - allergies occur within an observable amount of time
(which for the medical profession is less than 24 hours), and
intolerancies take longer (over 24 hours, possibly cumulative over weeks
- and therefore difficult to identify due to the mixture of foods
normally consumed over this period). As a consequence, most food testing
(by FDA, or other agencies) omits testing for intolerancies.
Unfortunately, there is now significant evidence to show that the "extra
ingredients" in most commercially-produced foodstuffs have horrible
side-effects, particularly in children. Think not only colourings,
preservatives and added flavours, which are in probably over 70% of your
supermarket's products, but also "ntural" added ingredients like
salicylates and amines.

But that's probably getting off-topic, even though I find the subject
interesting :-)

Back to the "potentially-threatening" ... a hayfever sufferer reacts to
pollen, but most people do not. A celiac disease sufferer reacts to
wheat, but most people do not. What's the difference in the etiology? In
the pollen case the body over-produces histamine, which leads to rashes,
sneezing, swelling, etc. I don't know much about wheat allergies, but
nut allergies also lead to histamine over-production ...

-jim, who has recently almost eliminated his pollen "allergy" by cutting
out dairy products (the "intolerance") from his diet ...