Healing Allergies: The Hope of a Little Girl

We had expected it to take longer to get E.’s health under control. Of course, I’m not saying it is perfect now. We are still working on healing his body, which had a lot of damage considering his young age. He also has the disadvantage of being a boy. Did you know the Y-gene may cause physical strength and weakness at the same time?

The Y chromosome appears to convey some sort of genetic vulnerability that the X does not have. Many diseases disproportionately affect males throughout life. A number of studies have indicated that male embryos are more vulnerable to pollutants and disease. Workplace studies indicate that men who’ve been exposed to certain pesticides, mercury or solvents, father significantly fewer baby boys. Other modern chemicals that mimic estrogen or disrupt hormones may also be involved. In the small Japanese city of Minamata, for example, heavy mercury pollution during the 1950s caused neurological damage in many residents and severe birth defects and mental retardation in babies exposed in the womb. More boys than girls were born with Fetal Minamata Disease {FMD}, as these birth defects came to be called. In the times and areas of heaviest exposure, fewer boys were born at all. The reason may be that males are more susceptible than females to damage from contaminants like mercury. When exposures were heaviest, the males that would have been born with FMD were so severely affected that they did not survive to birth. Studies of children exposed to lead have found that boys suffer greater IQ deficits than girls exposed to the same levels. {source}

Now, I’m sure that was way more than you wanted to know, but there is something important I took away from knowing this, and that is that my sons need to be more protected from toxins than my daughters, for the simple reason that my daughters are innately more efficient at removing toxins from their bodies.

All of this is to say that my story doesn’t mean that E.’s health is perfect. We still have a few mystery tics that we are thinking stem from environmental allergies, but might also be bad habits that he will need to break over time. But over all, this process has been a miracle for us.

I thought it might take a year of regular visits to solve E.’s problems. So imagine my surprise when most of them were gone after two visits!

Well, our benefactor, who I have mentioned before, was a bit surprised also. So, while we were planning on using money we received as Christmas gifts to pay for A. to go to Dr. Linda, our benefactor decided that it was better not to wait. This method had proven itself so obviously effective, the sooner we tackled A.’s health, the better.

And so we went, just a few weeks after O. was born. There were three basic issues uncovered: massive candida overgrowth {which I knew since she had struggled with yeast-type diaper rashes since her first birthday}, severe undermineralization, and allergies to wheat and casein.

I had actually suspected all along that yeast {candida} was the underlying problem. I had even tried some of the same supplements Dr. Linda suggested. However, A.’s situation was so serious that she needed adult-level doses, something I had never been comfortable with giving her without a more knowledgeable person suggesting it.

Yeast is an interesting thing. In my studies, I have learned that candida overgrowth can actually trigger food allergies. Depending on where the yeast is growing in the body, it can also inhibit vitamin and mineral uptakes. In my mind, A. was a case study on what happen when yeast has run rampant for a couple years.

Dr. Linda asked me if A. had ever been on antibiotics, since that is the primary means through which the balance of intestinal flora is upset {a certain amount of yeast is natural in the body and exists in balance with other microorganisms to maintain healthy digestion}. I told her about A.’s ear infections starting around her first birthday. I had been uncomfortable with giving her antibiotics, but she was crying from ear pain. She had been given one round of antibiotics. And then another.

And then the doctor suggested a third time.

This is when I discovered that most ear infections can actually be waited out. So we tried this method, and she has never had another ear infection again.

But the damage was already done. The antibiotics had caused intestinal issues. I assumed that her allergies had just appeared around age one because that is what happens. But this isn’t so. It is no coincidence that she began to complain about her tummy shortly after her first round on antibiotics.

In the first visit, Dr. Linda was able to eliminate the gluten allergy. She also sent us home with heavy doses of supplements to battle the yeast problem, and also higher-than-normal doses of vitamins to combat the undermineralization.

By her second visit, Dr. Linda eliminated the dairy allergy. A.’s doses were lowered to normal, and some things were no longer necessary at all.

We are planning a third visit. A. is allergic to something either in our new house or outside of it. We will have these environmental allergies eliminated, and hopefully we will be down to normal maintenance: just one little multivitamin each day, like many normal children.

A. was beaming to know that she could eat her favorite foods again. I think most of us find bread and cheese to be an amazing comfort.

I can’t believe how happy both children are to have their food issues in the past. Food is such a big part of life, and their dietary limitations separated them from others. It kept them from birthday parties. It changed their experience at a family holiday feast.

And now all of that is gone.

One night recently, Si went into our church to pick up A. from Cubbies. The teacher stopped him and explained that the class had been given animal crackers for their snack. Apparently, A. had been thrilled.

The teacher said she had never seen a child so excited about animal crackers.