Food Allergies Food allergies as a clinical entity has been a hotly debated subject for years. For my money I believe that there is a tremendous amount of literature that proves food allergies exist. In my clinical practice I see anecdotal evidence that elimination of various foods from a patient's diet coincides with an improvement in a variety of symptoms. In Australia, Dr. Christopher Reading has done numerous studies on his patients that prove that certain types of auto-antibodies are seen when a person is allergic to specific foods. Osteoarthritis is associated, in some patients, with high cartilage anti-bodies and may be related to allergies to grains and cow's milk.
Pernicious anemia is associated with anti-parietel cell and intrinsic factor antibodies.
Intrinsic factor is necessary for B-12 absorption and is made by the parietal cell. The primary thrust of Dr. Reading's research is not just how foods relate to the immune response, but also how they correlate to the patient's family health history. In his book the Your Family Tree Connection he documents many cases in which undiagnosed food allergies has produced generations of diseases from dementia, depression and schizophrenia to cancer. The crux of his book is that you can learn about your family history and then identify potential problems that may relate to your present or future health considerations. Wheat allergies seen in a family history of alcoholism, diabetes, dementia, depression, and intestinal problems.