Food Allergies

See also “Allergies”
To deal effectively with food allergies and minimize their negative impact on your life, begin by making a list of foods you appear to be allergic to. You will usually find, according to Ayurvedic dietetics, that you have reactions to foods with the same doshic quality as your constitution, particularly if you have an excess of that quality at the present time.

DETERMINING YOUR FOOD ALLERGY TYPE

The following descriptions should help you determine the type of food allergy you have.

• Kapha-type individuals, with excess kapha in their system, will be allergic to kapha foods, including dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese; wheat; cucumber; and watermelon. Their food allergies may manifest as heaviness in the stomach, slow digestion, sleeping disorders, colds, congestion, cough, or water retention. In more serious conditions kapha food allergies may lead to bronchial congestion and kapha-type asthma.
• Pitta individuals, whose systemic pitta is unduly high, will show allergic reactions to such high-pitta foods as hot, spicy dishes; citrus fruits; sour fruits; tomatoes; potatoes; eggplant; and fermented foods. Their symptoms are likely to include heartburn, acid indigestion, stomach upset, nausea, and even vomiting. The person may suddenly get hot flashes, and may have bloodshot eyes.
• Vata individuals, especially when vata is in excess, are prone to get allergies to raw foods; beans (black beans, adzuki beans, pinto beans, and so on) and certain animal proteins. Vata food allergies are likely to manifest as bloating of the stomach, burping, gas, gurgling of the stomach, and vague abdominal discomfort and pain. It may also lead to insomnia and nightmares, pain in the joint, sciatica, muscle twitching, and muscle spasms.

So food allergies need to be studied according to an individual’s prakruti (constitution) and vikruti (current status of the doshas).

TREATMENT

The best approach is simply to avoid the problematic food items and to follow the diet appropriate for your body type. For example, a vata person having vata-type food allergies should avoid a vata-provoking diet and should eat vata-pacifying foods. The same is true for pitta and kapha. (See the diet recommendations in chapter 8.)

Here are some additional suggestions for each of the three main types of food allergy.

FOR VATA-TYPE FOOD ALLERGIES. An effective way to help bring vata food allergies under control is to take a dashamoola basti (enema) twice a week, such as on Sunday and Thursday. Boil up 1 pint of water with 1 tablespoon of dashamoola, and use the resulting tea (after it cools down) for the enema. Try to retain the liquid at least 10 minutes. (For more on enemas, see appendix 3.) This herbal enema will help to pacify vata and remove toxicity from the colon, and vata-type food allergies can be minimized. Continue taking the dashamoola enema twice a week for one month.

Drinking licorice tea made from ½ teaspoon licorice root powder, ½ teaspoon honey, and 1 teaspoon ghee can also be helpful. Sip a little of the tea every half hour to an hour throughout the day until symptoms are relieved. Don’t forget to add the honey only after the tea starts to cool; honey should never be cooked. Note: People with high blood pressure should not drink licorice tea. Substitute ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 2 to 3 cloves for the licorice, and make the tea as above.

FOR PITTA FOOD ALLERGIES. To control pitta food allergies, it is helpful to do virechana chikitsa (purgation). Take 1 teaspoon of amalaki or sat isabgol (psyllium husks) at night. Add the herbs to 1 cup of hot water, let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes, and drink. Stagnation of pitta in the small intestine is the root cause of a pitta-type food allergy. Purgation therapy clears away the pitta so that the allergy can be brought under control. Continue with virechana daily for a month, or until the allergy subsides.

You will also find it helpful to eat cooked apples. Peel and core a couple of apples, cook them a few minutes to soften them, and mash them up with a pinch of cumin and 1 teaspoon ghee. Eat about ½ cup once or twice daily, at least an hour before or after meals.

FOR KAPHA FOOD ALLERGIES. The Ayurvedic purification known as vamana (vomiting) will be helpful. Every Sunday (or at least for a couple of weeks) in the early morning, drink 2 pints of salt water. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to 2 pints of water, drink it down, and then try to vomit it out. (Rubbing the back part of your tongue until you get a “gag” reflex will help.) This purification process will remove a lot of excess mucus from the stomach and help to clear up food allergies.

If vomiting doesn’t take place, don’t worry about it; the remaining salty water won’t hurt you. It will simply go through your system and will actually have some beneficial cleansing effect.

NOTE: Many people feel a lot of fear or discomfort with the idea or the actuality of vomiting. If you feel this way, do not force yourself to do this purification. Do vamana only if it is comfortable for you to do so.

Kaphas should also fast on Sunday. The fasting is important; it will help cleanse the system.

Make a tea out of ½ teaspoon licorice root powder, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon coriander. Steep in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes, strain, and sip a little of the tea throughout the day, about an ounce every half hour to an hour. Again, people with high blood pressure should not drink licorice tea. Substitute ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 2 to 3 cloves for the licorice.

FOR ALL FOOD ALLERGIES. If you don’t know whether the allergy is vata, pitta, or kapha, then try this simple remedy that is effective for all types: Roast some cumin, fennel, and white sesame seeds, and eat a handful after meals.

To prepare the mixture, take one ounce of each kind of seed, and dry-roast it separately (one type at a time) on a heavy cast-iron pan. You will have to stir the seeds constantly to keep them from burning. The fennel takes a few minutes, the others only about a minute or two before they become fragrant and slightly brown. Put the seeds together, add about ½ teaspoon rock salt (don’t use sea salt), and mix it all up. Store in a glass jar.

Chewing a little of this mixture after eating any food will aid digestion

and help prevent any kind of food allergy.