Mood & Energy Program
Perimenopause Mood & Energy
Brain Chemistry & Moods
Optimizing Your Brain Chemistry
Brain Chemistry Profile
Neurotransmitters & Your Health
NeuroSelect Profile
Interactive Stress Relief Tools
Functional Health Tests
Nutritional Wellness Programs
Health Conditions Programs
Seasonal Wellness Programs
Supplement Programs
Herbal Wellness Programs
What is a Certified Nutritionist?
Personal Coaching
Motivation Potential Appraisal
The Way of Change eCourse
The Coaching Corner
Vision Quest for Women
Seasonal Rites of Passage
Medicine Wheel Charts
The Healer's Initiations
Medicine Walk
Journey Stories
Herbal Products Catalog
Childbearing Year Catalog
Menopause Years Catalog
Herbal Remedies
Customized Herbal Formulas
Kaizen Project
Wellness Fund
We Make it Easy to Work with Us
The Childbearing Year
The Perimenopause Passage
About Mary Ann Copson
Our Mission & Vision
Policies & Procedures
Photo Album
Media Room
Contact Information
Article Index
Resources & Links
Mood & Energy Tips eZine
Evenstar Newsletter
Houses of Healing Blog
Free Service Appointment
Site Map
Herbs and Allergies
If you like this article:
The
subject of allergies is enormous. An allergic reaction is a complex,
physiological and biochemical interaction with the world around us and
within us. Allergies are a part of our reaction to our foods, environment
and natural, chemical and synthetic substances in our environment.
An allergic reaction is our body's hypersensitive response from our immune processes to substances it has identified as "Not-self." Our immune processes are designed to differentiate between self and non-self. When our immune processes identify a non-self substance in our bodies, their job is to protect us from this foreign substance by producing antibiotics to deactivate it or chemicals such has histamine, to prompt the body to promptly remove the foreign substance.
Allergic Reactions
As the body activates these immune responses a whole cascade of internal reactions occurs - affecting the tissues and organs, mainly the skin, mucus membranes, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. Common allergy symptoms include: itchy and watery eyes, runny and congested nose and sinuses, skin reactions, rapid heart beat, swelling and inflammation. In addition, common but often unrecognized symptoms include: fatigue, headaches and migraines, intestinal gas and pain, abdominal bloating, mood changes, memory loss, confusion, paranoia, hyperactivity and many of our degenerative conditions.
There are many points of view as to why the body has an allergic reaction. Eastern medicines see it as an imbalance of energies and organs. Therapeutic medicine sees it as detoxification of a very congested body. Others see it as a hypersensitive or hyper-response from the immune processes, and still others as the body's remembering and reaction to a traumatic stressful event.
When people ask me to recommend an herb for allergies, I'm sure that they are not aware of the complicity of interactions that the body is going through as it manifests these allergic symptoms. I would like to highlight some of the common processes initiated by the body in its reaction to an allergen.
Allergic Immune Responses
In an allergic reaction the immune process identifies a substance as foreign and harmful (non-self). This foreign substance is called an antigen. The immune processes job is to neutralize and get rid of antigens. What happens in an allergic reaction is that the lymphocytes (white blood cells, B-cells and T-cells) misidentify a normal, and usually harmless substance, like wheat or dust, for a dangerous antigen. The lymphocytes then jump into action to initiate production of antibodies - usually the IgE type against this non-self substance. These antibodies - IgE - latch onto either basophils (a type of white blood cell) or mast cells (found in the respiratory tract, stomach, intestines and skin). These IgE loaded cells grow sensitive to the allergen - the misidentified antigen.
Whenever the allergen enters the body, these sensitized basophils and mast cells release a flood of natural body substances, mainly histamine and other allergy mediators such as leukotrienes. These allergy mediators released in the body, in excess, cause the allergic symptoms. These IgE mediated reactions stimulate the release of histamine causing immediate physiological reactions. Common responses include swelling, redness, itching and pain. Some problems caused by an IgE histamine reaction include hay fever, pollen reactions, insect sting reactions, hives from ingested substances, and hereditary reactions including dermatitis and eczema.
Not all allergic reaction are accompanied by a rise in IgE or other antibodies, some work directly on the baophils and mast cells with no antibody intervention.
Hypersensitivity and Other Kinds of Allergic Reactions
Hypersensitives are distinguished from allergies by the fact that hypersensitive reactions are delayed responses with symptoms usually appearing several hours or longer after exposure. Hypersensitive reactions are usually mediated through T-cells and the delayed type IgG antibodies as opposed to the IgE / mast cell / histamine system of rapid allergic responses.
IgG mediated responses cause more delayed and long-term reactions. These reactions are related to drug side effects, problems from exposure to chemicals, including tobacco, and most food allergies.
Another kind of allergy reaction is termed hyper-susceptibility which is a rapid reaction associated with environmental illness or environmental chemicals. This is believed to be a neuro - endocrine interaction rather then a traditional IgE mediated allergy reaction.
A still deeper realm of the interaction between an allergen and an immune response often includes hidden addictions to foods and exposure to common environmental chemicals. Usually these type of reactions involve a constant exposure to an allergy causing substance. In the initial stages of infrequent exposure to an allergen the body will react with acute symptoms - the common allergy reactions like runny nose, itchy eyes, etc.
Continued exposure to the allergen will result in the body attempting to adapt to the allergen. During this period of attempted adaptation, there are usually no symptoms while the body tries to suppress these reactive processes in an effort to hold its own against the continual stress. If the stress is not removed from contact with the body, the body will attempt to keep the exposure at a frequency level that will be mildly stimulating or produce a "high"- as in any addiction. Eventually however, this symptom suppression adaptation will cause too much accumulated stress in the body, using up the body's energy resources, and the body will become maladapted and manifest degenerative conditions such as: chronic fatigue, rapid aging, recurrent infections, arthritis, asthma, mental illness, hyperactivity, learning difficulties and emotional problems.
The Inflammatory Response
We can begin now to have a glimpse of the complexity of the question , "What herbs can I take for allergies"?
The traditional allergy reactions involving the IgE - histamine response producing hay fever, eczema, and asthma involves a certain cascading of events in the body. Whenever the allergen enters the body the sensitive mast cells secrete histamine and leurotrienes and other inflammatory compounds - causing the inflammatory response. The inflammatory response begins in the cell membrane where the enzyme phospholipase A2 catalyzes the release of arachidonic acid from the cell membrane. This results in free arachidonic acid which is converted into highly inflammatory substances.
This inflammatory response results in irritated and swollen mucus membranes which secrete excessive mucus. The skin becomes irritated, itchy and may develop hives, rash or break out in lesions. Joints become painful and inflamed. Bowels may become irritated and spasmodic resulting in malapsorption. Spasms and irritability occur in muscle tissue and injury may result when antibodies bind to cell-bound antigens eventually causing cell-destruction. Mucus glands may secrete a thick tenacious mucus. Mucus membrane tissue becomes inflamed and swollen, narrowing the passageways and decreasing their flow of substances. The adrenal response may be out of balance resulting in a decrease of the body's own ability to calm the mast cell inflammatory response. This adrenal imbalance often results from an imbalance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. Stress occurs in the liver from continued attempts to clear the allergens from the body and the immune system becomes overactive.
Herbal Resolution
The herbal resolution of the IgE allergic response includes:
- Stabilizing mast cells
- Blocking the liberation of the arachidonic acid cascade
- Blocking the formation of the whole range of inflammatory prostaglandins
- Blocking production of histamine
- IgE anti-allergy tonic
- Inflammatory stabilizers
- Supporting proper prostaglandin production
- Reducing muscle irritability
- Stopping spasms of irritated muscles
- Liquefy thick mucus by dissolving the cell wall membrane
- Reducing excessive mucus production
- Supporting the adrenals
- Softening mucus and increasing silica mobility and promoting clearing of mucus
- Balancing sympathetic and paraysympatic activity
- Protecting the liver
- Enhancing the immune process
- Increasing capacity of body to adapt to stress
Herbal resolution of allergic reactions involves a wide range of herbal support for the body. In a practical application, it would be overwhelming and ineffective to use many different herbs to intervene in all the points of an allergic reaction. An effective herbal program should be designed to take into account your personal history and immediate reactions and using only the specific herbs that most precisely matching your needs.
When you study and learn about herbs, one of the most fascinating aspects of herbs you may notice is the multiple purposes and benefits that herbs serve in the body. For example, Nettles works to balance out the allergic reaction in several ways:
- Stabilizing mast cells
- As an IgE anti-allergy tonic
- Supporting the adrenals
- Protecting the liver
- Increasing the capacity of the body to adapt to stress
In a well designed herbal program, Nettles could be used as one of the primary herbs to support the body in its evolution away from allergic reactions toward harmonious function.
I hope this gives you some beginning guidelines. If you'd like to learn more about herbs and your allergies, there is much more about what practices, techniques, herbs and support systems may be most effective in your specific case. This will help bring confidence and understanding to your decisions.
Related Info:
|
© Copyright 1997 - 2008 by Mary Ann Copson and Evenstar. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
Mary Ann Copson is the founder of the Evenstar Mood & Energy Wellness Center for Women. With Master's Degrees in Human Development and Psychology and Counseling, Mary Ann is a Certified Licensed Nutritionist; Certified Holistic Health Practitioner; Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician; and a Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Coach. Reconnect to your physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual natural rhythms at
http://evenstaronline.com
