The mechanisms in diabetic patients appear to be multiple but increased levels of glucose and fructose seem to play havoc with blood vessel walls. A cascading series of adverse events follows the onset of high blood sugars and can only be controlled by strict elimination of free sugar from the diet and complete, comprehensive diet revision associated with increased exercise. The problems of diabetics can be generalized somewhat to all people with atherosclerosis and a prudent policy would be reduce the sugars , sucrose and fructose in the diet of all people at risk. Delayed Pattern Food Allergy may occur within blood vessels, damaging blood cells, vessel walls and triggering the clotting mechanism. The Pritikin diet and other low fat diets may not work because of the high content of allergenic proteins in cereal grains, skim milk, and egg white.
Skim milk is as allergenic as whole milk.
Egg white is the allergenic protein avoided on hypoallergenic diets, but it may be permitted on low cholesterol diets. Protein antigens, arriving in the blood through GIT, may trigger an immune response that inflames and damages the arterial wall. Many people with delayed pattern food allergy develop migraine, angina, heart rhythm abnormalities and may be more likely to develop blood clots and inflammation of blood vessel walls, all features of the life-threatening complex of vascular disease. Dr. William Hollander of Boston University suggested that atherosclerosis was an autoimmune disorder with immune complexes injuring blood vessel walls. We think that circulating immune complexes often contain food antigens and this mechanism is important in causing a wide spectrum of food allergic disease.