How to Avoid Phthalates

Introduction Post

As you may have heard, one of the things that appears to cause food allergies is heating food in plastic. This is usually done in the microwave and also applies to putting hot water, drinks or food in plastic containers. 

A review of studies in the June 2014 issue of Annals of Allergy says heat causes a chemical to leach out of the plastic into the food, and this chemical has been linked to allergies and endocrine disruption. (link at the end of this article)

It is also a component of PVC (vinyl) and can come into the environment from vinyl floor or wall coverings, car interiors, shower curtains, etc.

There is research on the site https://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/store/ca/is_silicone_a_plastic#.WUxHRBPytE4  that indicates silicone may be bad also, especially when combined with heat or oil.

I don't want to be like most writers and put a lot of scary stuff first to freak you out. I write these posts to help. So I'm going to describe the precautions I've taken and which you might take. Then more details of the review for those interested.

People are always saying stuff is bad for you. It comes in fads, "don't do this common thing! It will kill you!" :o

So even though I'd heard mention of not heating food in plastic, I didn't take it seriously until I read the review in the Allergy Journal. It had been published in June 2014, but I didn't read it until a year later.

Since I already have too many allergies, I started taking precautions right away. Some of the things I changed:

1. Store, freeze and microwave food in glass containers, not plastic - I wasn't able to find containers that don't have plastic or silicone lids. I let the food cool before putting the lid on. To reheat food I remove the plastic or silicone lid and cover it with a paper towel.

2. Phthalates are used to make plastic flexible - like in plastic wrap. I switched to wax paper. It's amazing how much fresher my bread is! Wax paper does a *much* better job of keeping bread fresh! I don't know why anyone ever used plastic wrap. Even without the dangers, I would never switch back. 

*The only thing is, use regular wax paper.* "Natural" wax paper is made with soy wax! 

Yikes! If you ever use "natural" wax paper, please make sure that no one who is allergic to soy will come in contact with the food or the paper.

The wax paper does get greasy. I wrap my bread in wax paper, then put it in a plastic bag or container.

3. Plastic is dangerous, and silicone appears to be dangerous. Aluminum is thought to be a factor in Alzheimer's. So the options for cooking utensils are wood, stainless steel, and porcelain. The easiest of these to use is wood. They're easy to get and don't scratch your pans. I have wood spoons, turners, and a wood spatula I use when I make bread.

4. I never liked my plastic dish rack. It got moldy, and I'm allergic to mold. I looked for a while and found a stainless steel dish rack that works well and is much nicer looking too. I also had a plastic colander. Oops! I had some luck and found a nice stainless steel colander at Marshalls. It works well. :) 

Stainless steel is an excellent thing to use! If anything leaches out of it it will be minerals we need anyway, like iron and copper. It's lightweight and durable and easy to clean. If we could put it in the microwave, we'd never need anything else!

5. Stainless steel water bottles - they are pricey, but will last forever. I invested in three which are going strong. The ones I got have stainless steel inside the lid too, so the water never comes in contact with anything but steel.I like the ones with a wide mouth that are easier to clean.

5. Stainless steel flatware - I keep some in my desk at work to eat my lunch. No plastic forks in hot food for me!

6. Natural cosmetics, hair and personal products, and air fresheners - I had already stopped using non-natural lotions, deodorants, moisturizers because they irritated my skin and I was concerned about the chemicals in air fresheners. The chemical fragrances in many products contain phthalates, which can be absorbed through the skin. Use products with natural scents or unscented.

Lately some scented cosmetics are labelled "phthalate-free". I would still be cautious. They are still chemical scents and may have other things that are bad for health.

7. plastic water bottles - the review says the plastic bottles in which water is sold are for one-time use. They should not be re-used or have water in them longer than a few months. It's best to use your own glass or stainless steel bottle whenever possible.

8. That nasty smell when you unwrap a new vinyl shower curtain is partly phthalates. I've been using PEVA shower curtains. They have no odor and no phthalates. :)

9. Phthalate-free plastics - I gather from the internet that the government banned phthalates in children's toys. Also many companies are offering items made of phthalate-free plastic.This may be safer, but who knows what undiscovered toxins are still in the plastic? I think it's best to avoid plastic whenever possible, especially if it comes in contact with food, and for toys that children put in their mouths. I would not give a baby anything made of flexible plastic even if it's "phthalate-free".

The internet mentions glass baby bottles with silicone nipples. I would look for an alternative to the silicone nipples.

This history site says the first nipple was made of rubber. Before that they used ceramic feeding jars that were small at one end.

http://breastfeeding-mom.com/baby-bottles/ 

This site shows wood, rubber, and cloth teething toys.

https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/safe-product-guides/teethers/ 

It also says silicone is safe, but I would try to avoid it.

I wonder if a baby would teeth on stainless steel? I didn't see any official teethers, but if you can find a small stainless steel item with no points or sharp edges you can try it. :) 

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Here are the technical details...

Phthalates come off of PVC (vinyl) and cause allergies. Vinyl floor and wall coverings can get phthalates on people. This can cause food allergies in small children who touch the vinyl and then put their hands in their mouth. People who work with PVC - for example, cutting PVC pipes - can get occupational asthma from the dust or contact dermatitis (hives).

The article divides the phthalates by molecular weight. 

The higher-weight ones are used as plasticizers to make products like PVC and plastic wrap flexible.

The lower-weight ones are used in cosmetics, medicines, candles, air fresheners, adhesives, solvents, waxes, inks and insecticides.They were found to be common in scented cosmetics and perfumes.

Phthalates are a component of dust and were found to be more common indoors, including inside cars, than outdoors.

Vinyl floor and wall coverings were found to be releasing phthalates into the air. Newness and dampness probably accelerate this.

Phthalates have been found in the systems of pregnant women and their babies while in the womb.

Lab experiments indicate trans-generational health effects from phthalates.

Babies and children ingest phthalates from chewing or mouthing toys and other objects, and phthalates can also be in food that was prepared in plastic and milk, including breast milk if the mother has been exposed to them.

Studies have shown a link between this phthalate exposure and the development of allergies.

Here is the link to the article. The summary doesn't mention most of the details I've listed here. 

http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(14)00197-5/abstract?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=1081-1206_201406_112_6_&elsca4=Allergy%20and%20Clinical%20Immunology 

Flu shot not dangerous for egg-allergic? Let's think for ourselves.

Introduction post

I saw a news article saying there is now an egg-free flu vaccine. Yay! Now I won't get sick from my non-IgE egg allergy when I get the flu shot required for my job.

Turns out it's not so easy. The distributor of the shot is taking orders but it hasn't shipped yet, and I didn't find a provider who will get it and give it to me. My primary offered to let me order a package of 5-10 vaccines, but it is too expensive.

When I talked to my allergist she said they don't have the egg-free vaccine because the regular vaccine is safe for people, including children, who have severe IgE egg allergy. I said that can't be safe and she said it's been well studied.

I looked it up and found this Medicine Net article that says thousands of egg-allergic children have been studied and tolerated the vaccine with no reaction.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=174223

And here is the recently published study referred to in the Medicine Net article. 112 severely egg-allergic children were administered the vaccine and showed no allergic reaction.

http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(12)00681-3/

This is a time for us patients and those with allergic children to think for ourselves. No matter how many studies there are, I will never believe there is no risk to a person with severe IgE egg allergy. It's common sense! The risk may be rare, as it says in the Medicine Net article. But there is a risk.

If I had severe IgE egg allergy, I would not get the flu shot. But if I did want one for myself or a child with severe egg allergy, I would insist on getting it from an allergist and having them observe us for at least 30 minutes in case of a reaction. If the allergist did not agree to that, I would find one who did.

I have non-IgE egg allergy and do in fact get symptoms from the flu shot. In 2011, I had symptoms for 3 days. In 2012, 1 and 1/2 days. This year is worse than last year. I got the regular shot two days ago and the symptoms haven't cleared up yet. Looks like it will be at least 3 days. I think weather may be a factor. It was damp and cloudy when I got the shot and I get symptoms in that weather anyway.

The allergy establishment does not address non-IgE allergies at all. They didn't acknowledge the existence of them until 2009. They don't teach medical students about non-IgE allergies. MDs, including allergists, are not trained to understand or treat them. Those who are interested in non-IgE allergies learn about it independently.

If I had waited for the allergy establishment to address my symptoms instead of figuring out my own non-IgE food allergies and learning about them from others in the medical field, I would have had a miserable life of illness. How long before they accept and begin using information and diagnostic tools that have been available for decades?

I wish they would at least mention non-IgE allergies in medical school so I could stop explaining the term "non-IgE allergy" to every MD and nurse I talk to. My allergist and my primary doctor are the only ones I can discuss this with.because they are smart, receptive, understand my history and respect what I've learned about my non-IgE allergies.

Thank you,

Julia Baresch

Chicago

Is yeast a culprit?

Introduction post 

Someone I know used to get 2- and 3-day headaches whenever a storm came in. In this climate that means at least 2 or 3 times a month through spring, summer and early fall. I also got symptoms from storms, but not as bad as hers. Last winter she read a book by someone who believes wheat is bad for people because it's been cross-bred and hybridized since the early 1900's, and she stopped eating wheat products.

A few weeks later, in February, a very low-pressure, very damp storm came in and I wasn't feeling well. I asked her if she had a headache and she said no, she felt fine. She said she had stopped all wheat products except breaded items like fried chicken. She hadn't had any bread. She was yeast-free.

I was so impressed I decided to try avoiding yeast and stopped eating yeast breads. I found that many crackers also contain yeast. I ate yeast-free crackers and corn pasta. After I few weeks I began eating wheat pasta again with no ill effect except it seems harder to digest than rice, my other starch. (I recently learned that wheat and white flour contain chains of fructose molecules, and sugars upset my stomach. So now I'm trying a wheat-free diet.)

I've noticed a big difference with my yeast-free diet! My sinus symptoms improved by about 70 - 80% and my sensitive stomach got a bit better. The nagging sinus pain I've had frequently all my life is almost gone - I've only had it a few times since February.

With summer and hot humid weather I noticed sinus pressure and pain from mold allergy, but not as bad as usual. So far it's 70 - 80% less than when I was eating yeast. And now that it's ragweed season that percentage is holding - I notice symptoms from the ragweed but much better than before.

Is it too much of a coincidence that both I and someone I happen to know would be allergic to yeast? Is there some other mechanism involved in this? Is it a common reaction? How could we tell when every American eats yeast bread every day from babyhood? Any reaction would seem normal and the symptoms attributed to other causes, like my mold allergy.

I'd like to find out. So far I've learned the same yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used in both bread and beer.

Back in the day I used to get sinus pressure after drinking beer. I eventually stopped and since there are no ingredient labels on alcoholic beverages I couldn't determine the cause. Now it seems it may have been the yeast. I've known others who got symptoms from beer - they could try avoiding yeast and see what happens.

S. cerevisiae a unique organism with a structure unlike that of other yeasts or of any known organism.

Antibodies against S. cerevisiae are found in 60–70% of patients with Crohn's disease and 10–15% of patients with ulcerative colitis (and 8% of healthy controls).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_yeast 

A specific antibody to S. cerevisiae is ASCA, a marker of intestinal inflammation. It is elevated in certain schizophrenic populations.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22446142 

I wonder if it's elevated in other populations, such as those of us with allergies?

A concentrated dose of S. cerevisiae modulates immune system response involving T-cells and Natural Killer cells (lymphocytes) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21501093

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21501093 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16285232 A 6-year-old boy had allergic reactions only to fresh-baked bread and pizza (yeast in the pizza crust).

Commercial breadmakers add cysteine to bread to have it rise in ten to twenty minutes instead of three to four hours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Saccharomyces_cerevisiae&action=edit&section=9 

Does the cysteine do something to change the way our immune systems respond to the yeast? I don't have time to make homemade bread and try it. It would be interesting to see if a person who gets symptoms from commercial yeast products gets symptoms from homemade bread made with unaccelerated yeast. 

I'm so happy with the big improvement in my symtoms! Wheat and yeast are relatively easy to avoid, unlike my other allergens. I'm hoping to learn more, and I hope this preliminary information is helpful.

Julia Baresch

Chicago

Dairy in guacamole

Introduction post

A few months ago I was eating at a Mexican restaurant and asked for my food with no dairy. Then I asked for guacamole and the very smart, very alert server told me they put milk in their guacamole. What? That's insane!
He explained that they put a little milk in it to keep it from turning black. The chefs apparently didn't know that leaving the avocado pits in it will keep it from turning black. I've seen guacamole with pits sit outdoors for hours on a warm summer afternoon without turning black, so I know this works. And it doesn't endanger people with dairy allergy! Or lactose intolerance.
I'm sure dairy is the last thing most people expect in guacamole. It usually contains avocados, onions, peppers, and salt. Some add tomatoes or other vegetables. But milk? That's crazy! Since people don't expect milk in guacamole they might not refrigerate it, which could cause food poisoning.
This is discouraging because I had thought it was one of the few foods I could count on to be free of my allergens of soy, dairy, egg and sugar.
A few weeks later I was at another restaurant and the guacamole they brought me was smooth and flecked with green herbs. It turned out to be made of avocados and sour cream. A better name for this would be avocado spread or dip.
Let's try to stop this craziness from spreading. If you work in a restaurant or food preparation, please don't contaminate the guacamole with dairy! If it contains avocados but isn't guacamole, please don't call it that. :p
Thank you,
Julia :-)

Non-IgE Egg Allergy and the Flu Shot

Introduction post

Note: This article is about Non-IgE allergy, a different type of allergy than the one that causes the dangerous reaction of anaphylactic shock. If you or your loved one has IgE allergy to egg - determined by a positive skin test reaction within 30 minutes - you have potentially dangerous reactions and should receive your flu shot only from an allergist with experience in this. Terminology of Allergies

I got a flu shot once in the 1990's, before I knew I'm allergic to egg. I was sick for three days with fatigue and congestion. After that I never got a flu shot again.

Now I have a great job in a hospital and a flu shot is mandatory. Last year I considered getting a medical exemption, but I'm as concerned about catching the flu as my employer is about having it spread. I don't work with patients, but I see patients and visitors in the hallways. My allergist wanted me to get flu shots ever since she did skin tests for egg allergy in 2006, which were negative.

I discussed this with my allergist and she told me the amount of egg in flu shots has been greatly reduced since the old days and that many patients with egg allergy tolerate it well. I decided to go ahead and get one.

I planned it so I'd have time to be sick - I got it at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon with no plans for the weekend. Since non-IgE allergies are not very well understood, I'm recording my symptoms here to help others with allergies and to use for research.

- 1/2 hour after the shot, I felt lightheaded for a minute or two. I was just wondering if I should leave work when it passed.
- 2 hours after the shot, I had sinus pressure with a little pain.
- That evening I had sinus pain and pressure, fatigue, and stomach pain. These symptoms continued into the next day (Saturday).
- Sunday (2nd day) the the sinus pain was gone and the fatigue was much better, but the sinus pressure was still noticeable.
- Monday (3rd day) the sinus pain and pressure were gone but I still had some fatigue and drainage.

This fatigue from egg allergy is worse than ordinary fatigue from being tired, it is very hard to do things and makes me want to sleep all the time. It's one of the symptoms I was noticing when I identified my egg allergy in 2001.

I've done a search of the internet and looked in my immunology text, but although there is lots of information about what one cell does to another, I haven't found any about global symptoms related to immune reaction types. I know my egg allergy is not Type I (IgE) because the test was negative. I know it's not Type IV (T-cell) because I have that with dust and cigarette smoke and the symptoms are different from my egg reaction.  Also a Type IV reaction has a 24-hour delay and my egg symptoms don't. So it's either Type II or Type III, both of which feature the activities of IgG and IgM mediators. I will keep looking for information about symptoms...

This year I'm getting my flu shot next weekend. Something to look forward to! :p :-)

Remember, this is a description of Non-IgE egg allergy. If you have IgE allergy with a positive skin test reaction in 30 minutes or less, a flu shot is potentially dangerous and you should only get one from an experienced allergist.

I hope this is helpful!
Julia Baresch
November 4, 2012

NIH Proposed Guidelines for Managment of Food Allergy

Introduction post

Hi anyone who is reading this, I hope the information here has been helpful. I recently learned the NIH has issued proposed guidelines for the managment of food allergies. I'm reading them and I plan to post some comments.

They have acknowledged non-IgE food allergies! Yay! And they use the term "non-IgE food allergy" instead of confusing terms like "non-allergic"! Hurray! The establishment is starting to accept and use knowledge about non-IgE food allergies, and now fewer people will suffer undiagnosed.

If you would like to read the proposed guidelines, here is the link
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/clinical/Who/comments.htm

Anyone who likes may post comments, the deadline is May 6. In my day job I've learned a lot about the FDA, and this is standard procedure. They propose and request comments, they collect the comments and consider them, and when the final rule or guideline is issued the FDA writes a preamble in which they discuss the comments and why they did or did not adopt each suggestion. I hope the NIH writes a discussion also.

I'm so happy about this progress! Yay!

Julia :)
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