Welcome to September's newsletter.
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Cinnamon is a common spice used in both savoury and sweet recipes. It is also used as a flavouring in products such as toothpastes and chewing gums.
Tremblay and Avon note that allergic inflammation of the mouth (contact stomatitis) iis a rare disorder that is unfamiliar to most clinicians. The vast majority of cases are associated with consumption of products containing cinnamaldehyde or cinnamon essential oil as a flavouring. In their report they outline the case of an individual diagnosed with allergic contact stomatitis due to cinnamon-flavoured chewing gum. Miller et al presented fourteen new cases of cinnamon-induced stomatitis and Siqueira et al present the case of a fifty three year old man with allergic inflammation in his mouth that was found to be caused by cinnamon in chewing gum.
Pentinga et al looked at the use of cinnamate UV filters in sunscreens. They did not find significant problems with the filters but did note that many sunscreens contain cinnamon-related fragrances which, in some people, could cause allergic contact dermatitis.
In their study, Ackermann et al had six individuals with problems relating to cinnamon in the workplace. The allergies were contact allergies leading to dermatitis. Three people had contact dermatitis on their hands caused by handling cinnamon. One had dermatitis on the face and neck. In the latter case and their exposure to cinnamon was found to be airborne.
One of the others did have a sensitivity to cinnamon but it was not the cause of their dermatitis and in the other person cinnamon allergy was considered to derive from cross-allergy to fragrances. Five of the individuals reacted to cinnamal* separately and in fragrance mix. They concluded that occupational contact allergy to cinnamon needs to be considered in workers handling foods and that cinnamal is possibly the main allergen in cinnamon.
A seventy four year old woman experienced dermatitis on her arms and legs twenty four hours after having a mud bath with cinnamon oil at a spa. She was found to react to fragrance mix, cinnamon essence, eugenol, cinnamic alcohol and cinnamic aldehyde. [García-Abujeta]
* Cinnamal is a yellow mobile liquid with a strong, sweet, balsamic odour. It occurs naturally in essential oils such as Cinnamon.
The article, complete with references.
You can find out more about food allergy and food intolerance in
Change Your Diet and Change Your Life.
Shop bought bread usually contains ingredients you wouldn't include at home such as soya flour, calcium propionate and mono diglycerides of fatty acids. If you are seeking to simplify your diet you really do want a bread that contains as few ingredients as possible. If you are not able to make your own, try an independent baker that makes bread from scratch but check that they do make the bread from the basic ingredients (flour, yeast and water) and NOT from a pre prepared bread mix.
Your other option is to check out supermarkets 'ready to bake' loaves and rolls. Quite often these only contain wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and ascorbic acid. They are not quite as convenient as a loaf as they need to be cooked for about 15 minutes before eating but they do contain fewer ingredients than may other types of bread. In the UK, both Sainsburys and Tescos do these as baguettes and rolls. Other supermarkets possibly do as well but please check the ingredients list before buying any - I noticed one type in a local Spar that had quite a few additional ingredients.
And beware shop bought sandwiches:
Subway Bread has More High Fructose Corn Syrup Than Whole Grains
"While there are nine grains in that bread, eight of them are scarce, as they appear on the ingredient listing under the
'contains 2% or less' notice. The most plentiful ingredient in this sub bread is white flour, the kind you should avoid.
More plentiful than any one of the whole grains is high fructose corn syrup, a manufactured sweetener that has been linked closely with the obesity epidemic."
Damiani et al report on the case of a forty three year old woman who experienced adverse reactions after eating octopus. The first episode resulted in swelling of the lips and gums after eating raw octopus. Two months later, she experienced generalized urticaria and a fainting fit within thirty minutes after eating raw and boiled octopus.
Testing to confirm the cause were not immediately straightforward as the skin prick tests with commercial extract of octopus and RAST were negative. Serum tests confirmed that the reactions were to octopus. The authors conclude that the negative results could be explained by the probable absence of the 22-kDa protein in commercial extract and RAST substrate.
Damiani E, Aloia AM, Priore MG, Nardulli S, Nettis E, Ferrannini A. Adverse reaction after ingestion of raw and boiled Octopus vulgaris. Allergy 2010 Feb;65(2):275-6.
Food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis is related to the intake of a specific food . Anaphylaxis only occurs after the food has been eaten and is followed by exercise or vigorous physical activity within a few hours.
Orhan and Karakas report on a case of a seventeen year old boy who had four episodes of exercise-induced anaphylactic reaction after eating lentils and two episodes of anaphylaxis after eating chickpeas.
Orhan F, Karakas T. Food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis to lentil and anaphylaxis to chickpea in a 17-year-old boy. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2008;18(6):465-8.
Abstarct: The medical understanding of autism has changed since it was first defined by Kanner. Nowadays medicine identifies many medical abnormalities and diseases, which may underline or aggravate the cognitive aspect, behavioural issues and general health in autists. This includes chronic inflammation of gastrointestinal tract, dysbiosis, maldigestion, malabsorption, malnutrition, food intolerance, allergies, chronic viral, fungal and bacterial infections, impaired kidney function, impaired detoxification of endo- and exotoxins, disorders of metal ion transportation. Treatment of the above mentioned conditions combined with improving detoxification mechanisms, followed by a special diet and individually customized supplementation of nutritional deficiencies may lead to the improvement of the functioning of these patients, changing their level of functioning and self-dependence. The aim of this paper is to present medical problems of children with autism which may be identified and treated by general practitioners as a review of current medical papers related to Autism Spectrum Disorder, in the context of author's professional experience, based on the medical cases from author's practice.
Reference: Cubala-Kucharska M. The review of most frequently occurring medical disorders related to aetiology of autism and the methods of treatment. Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars). 2010;70(2):141-6.
Review paper in full
(the link to the paper is in the top right hand corner of the page).
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Visit the Food
Can Make You Ill site for articles and information on food allergies and
food intolerance.
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Food Diary
Information on Salicylate
Sensitivity
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Food Contaminants
Contaminants are substances that have not been intentionally added to food. These substances may be present in food as a result of the various stages of its production, packaging, transport or holding. They also might result from environmental contamination. Since contamination generally has a negative impact on the quality of food and may imply a risk to human health, the EU has taken measures to minimise contaminants in foodstuffs. Find out more by clicking the link above. Chemicals for which investigations are ongoing:
Acrylamide, Organotins, Furan, and Ethyl Carbamate.
Consumers advised not to eat hijiki seaweed
The Food Standards Agency is reminding people of its advice not to eat a type of seaweed called hijiki because it contains high levels of inorganic arsenic. Inorganic arsenic is known to increase people’s risk of getting cancer.
IBS or intolerance?
This article discusses the dietary triggers for IBS and the role of diagnostic testing in patients with IBS.
The link is to the full article as a PDF file.
MMR Vaccine
The MMR vaccine is back in the news... The mother of a Cheshire teenager who was left severely brain damaged by the MMR vaccine has won a compensation award from the government.
The link is to the BBC article, if you would like more information, google 'MMR
Vaccine' and click on News Results.
Views wanted on dihydrocapsiate
A company has applied to the Food Standards Agency for approval to market dihydrocapsiate
as a novel food ingredient. Dihydrocapsiate occurs naturally in chilli peppers. The company, Ajinomoto, states that dihydrocapsiate can improve energy expenditure and fat oxidation, which can have a role in weight management.
Because chilli peppers contain relatively small amounts of dihydrocapsiate, the company plans to produce dihydrocapsiate synthetically, and add this to a range of foods, such as baked goods, beverages, confectionary, cereals and desserts.
Views wanted on taxifolin
Taxifolin is extracted from a type of larch wood and has been marketed in Russia and the US for 15-20 years as a food supplement. The company, Ametis JSG, is seeking an authorisation to market taxifolin as a dietary supplement in dairy, meat and confectionery products, as well as in oil and fats, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
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Copyright: Sharla Race 2010
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Food Can Make You Ill
Your Complete Guide to Food Intolerance and Food Allergy
www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk