Mark Probert's insane drive to trash Bard is just that, insane.

The full text of the article is available online and was, actually,

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T041800.asp

     TRACKING DOWN FOOD ALLERGIES
     Topics you will find are:
     What are Food Allergies?
     Preventing Food Allergies
     Common Signs of Food Allergies
     8 Facts About Food Allergies
     Most and Least Allergenic Foods
     Tracking Down Hidden Food Allergies: 3 Steps
     Testing for Food Allergies
     Food Allergies While Breastfeeding
     Life-Threatening Food Allergies
     Food Allergy Resource
     Elimination Diet

     WHAT ARE FOOD ALLERGIES?
     Approximately three to seven percent of children and adults have food
allergies or food intolerance. Food allergies have been called the great
masqueraders because they are a hidden cause of so many problems, ranging
from mere annoyances to downright disease. Food allergies tend to be
underdiagnosed by physicians and overdiagnosed by everyone else. The truth
about their prevalence is somewhere in between. In one study of children
whose parents were convinced that their child had food allergies, only 39
percent of the allergies could be confirmed scientifically. Perhaps with no
other medical problem is partnership between physician and patient more
vital. The patient's role is to be a keen observer and accurate reporter.
The physician's role is to take the information gathered by the patient and
work out a step-by-step plan for tracking down hidden food allergies and
figuring out what to do about them. Here are some facts you should know
about food allergies and what to do about them.

     ALLERGY TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW
     Allergy. The term "allergy" comes from two Greek words, alos (other)
and argon (action). If you are allergic to something, you have a reaction
other than what you would expect. You don't expect to get hives when you eat
a red tomato. That kind of a reaction would be an allergy. An allergy may
manifest itself in various target organs, meaning sites where allergy signs
occur. These are usually one or more of four places: the skin, the
intestines, the respiratory passages, and the brain, i.e., (behavior
changes).

     Intolerance. The term food intolerance means that a food upsets your
intestines, yet does not bother any other target organ. Food intolerances
are usually due to an enzyme deficiency, (such as lactase deficiency), which
causes lactose intolerance. Or, the intestines may be oversensitive to
certain foods, resulting in abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and bloating.
Intolerance is usually a reaction to the protein content of a food, yet you
could be intolerant to any part of the food, including sugar and/or
additives.

     Food hypersensitivity. Essentially means the same as "allergy." We
will lump all three of the terms (allergy, intolerance, and
hypersensitivity) together and simply call them food sensitivities.
Practically speaking, people don't really care about definitions, they just
know that certain foods bother them (or their child) more than other foods.

     Here's what goes on in your body when you're hypersensitive to a food.
The suspect protein is known as an allergen. When an allergen gets into your
body, it comes into contact with the target organs, usually the skin or the
lining of the breathing passages or intestines. When something gets into the
body that it doesn't like, it mobilizes defense troops called antibodies.
When the fight breaks out between these allergens and antibodies,
microscopic explosions occur that release chemicals, such as histamines
(hence, allergy medicines are called antihistamines), that disturb the
integrity of tissues. Blood vessels dilate and produce a rash, fluid leaks
out through the injured blood vessels, causing runny nose, puffy and watery
eyes, or the muscles in the breathing passages go into spasms of wheezing.
Even the brain can be bothered by an allergic reaction. A new field of
research interest, called "brain allergy," describes the behavioral
reactions of the brain when it's bothered by certain foods.

     PREVENTING FOOD ALLERGIES
     If one parent has food allergies, the risk of the children having food
allergies may double; the risks are even higher if both parents are
allergic. Yet, a child may have a completely different food allergy than
that of the parent. If you and your spouse are passing along genes that will
place your children at high risk for developing food allergies, the
following prevention regimen can lower the child's risk by around fifty
percent.

       a.. Prevent allergies prenatally. Some studies suggest that mothers
who are allergic to certain foods, especially dairy products, can lessen the
chances of their infants being allergic to that food by limiting the child's
exposure prenatally. Avoid bingeing on common allergens during pregnancy and
while breastfeeding.
       b.. Breastfeed your baby as long as possible. The longer you
breastfeed, the less chance your child has of developing allergic diseases,
such as eczema and asthma. Breastmilk is rich in an immunoglobulin called
secretory IGA, which acts as a protective paint, coating the intestines and
keeping food allergens out of the bloodstream. Breastmilk keeps the
intestinal lining healthy and better able to break down proteins into
individual amino acids. The amino acids themselves are not likely to cause
allergies when they get into the bloodstream. Intestines that are damaged
due to infection or inflamed by foreign milk or formula may allow whole
protein molecules to seep through, setting up an allergic reaction in the
bloodstream. To further decrease the risk of developing food allergies, it
would be wise for a breastfeeding mother to keep the most allergenic foods
out of her diet until her baby is at least one year of age.
       c.. Delay introduction of solid foods. Mature intestines are better
able to screen out potential allergens and keep them from entering the
bloodstream. If you feed your infant solid foods (especially those
containing protein, such as wheat, soy, and dairy) before the intestinal
lining is mature, food allergens can seep into the bloodstream, causing baby
to build up antibodies to those allergens and later become allergic to those
foods. When you do start solids, introduce the least allergic (lowest
protein) foods first, such as fruits, vegetables, and rice. Wait until at
least eighteen months before introducing potentially-allergic foods, such as
egg whites, tomatoes, shellfish, and peanut butter . Make citrus fruits the
last fruits you introduce. Also, if you're formula-feeding, discuss with
your doctor the use of hypoallergenic formulas (a partial whey hydrolyzed
formula), such as Alimentum or Nutramigen. Avoid soy formulas . Also, delay
introducing cow's milk products until at least a year of age. By twelve
months of age, your child's intestines are mature enough to screen out most
of the food allergens. (See Starting Solid Foods)
       d.. Variety, variety, variety. The less children eat of one
particular food, the less likely they will become allergic to it, since most
food allergies are dose related. Encourage your children to eat a variety of
foods. Continuing to bombard the body with the same food risks turning on
the food- antibody response. Rotation diets make good sense for every eater,
and especially for the allergic person.
     Be a pure parent. During the early years, make your child's diet as
fresh and as additive-free as possible. The fewer cans, boxes, and packages
you open, the less likely your child is to be exposed to allergens. Be
especially vigilant to keep food colorings out of your child's tummy, namely
yellow dye #5 and red and blue dyes.

     COMMON SIGNS OF FOOD SENSITIVITIES
           SKIN RESPIRATORY PASSAGES INTESTINES BEHAVIOR
           hives
           red, sandpaper-like facial rash
           dry, scaly, itchy skin (mostly on face)
           swelling in hands and feet
           puffy eyelids
           dark circles under eye
           slip swelling
           tongue soreness and cracks sneezing
           runny nose
           stuffy nose
           wheezing
           watery eyes
           rattling chest
           persistent cough
           congestion
           bronchitis
           recurring ear infections burnlike rash around anus
           abdominal discomfort
           mucousy diarrhea
           constipation
           intestinal bleeding
           poor weight gain
           bloating, gassiness
           excessive spitting up
           constipation
           vomiting fatigue
           migraine headaches
           hyperactivity
           crying
           irritability
           night-waking
           anxiety
           crankiness
           sore muscles and joints

     While individual signs and symptoms of food allergy are as unique as
fingerprints, usually at least one of the four common target organs are
involved: the respiratory passages, skin, intestines, and brain. While it's
relatively easy to spot a rash, a wheeze, a bout of diarrhea, or abdominal
cramps and attribute the problem to food allergy, brain changes are more
subjective. In our experience, some children can experience behavioral
changes due to food sensitivity without showing any other signs or symptoms,
but most food allergies attack more than one target organ. Don't be too
quick to pin the rap for your child's school failure on food allergy, at
least not without symptoms beyond the academic ones.

     8 FACTS ABOUT FOOD ALLERGIES
     Here are some facts you should know about the subtleties of food
allergy:

     1. Food allergy symptoms vary in severity. While one mother may have
to rush a wheezing child to the nearest emergency room within minutes after
he eats a peanutbutter sandwich, another child may develop only a
nuisance-like rash around the mouth.

     2. It may take a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days for a food to
cause a reaction. Monday's chocolate bar may be the cause of Tuesday's rash.
Food allergies are often known as the "eat now, pay later" phenomenon.

     3. Food allergies are often dose related. A teaspoon of peanut butter
may not be a problem, but a couple tablespoons on a big sandwich can trigger
wheezing. Some people do just fine with one glass of milk, but may get
bloated after drinking three glasses. Eating shellfish every day could make
you break out in an all-over body rash, yet having a few shrimp every four
days may not be a problem. This is the rationale for the "rotation diet" in
which you eat related food groups every four days.

     4. Even though it's possible to be allergic to just about any food,
over 90 percent of food allergies, especially in young children, are caused
by seven foods:

       a.. dairy products
       b.. soy
       c.. shellfish
       d.. wheat
       e.. tree nuts
       f.. peanuts
       g.. egg whites
     5. If you're allergic to one food in a food group, you have a greater
chance of being allergic to other foods, or all the foods in that group. If
you're allergic to peanuts (which is a legume and not a nut), you may be
able to eat almonds, but not other foods in the legume family.

     6. Don't be surprised if you actually crave the food you're allergic
to. When you go on an elimination diet , your body may go through withdrawal
symptoms, triggering cravings for the very food that is not good for it.
Sometimes the wisdom of the body breaks down. This food-craving paradox is
especially true in children who are hypersensitive to sugar . When the blood
sugar rises and then falls, children crave the food that will send their
blood sugar skyrocketing.

     7. Food allergies should not interfere with a child's growth. Few
foods are absolutely essential for growth. A child who is allergic to one
food can certainly get the same nutrition in many other foods.

     8. Allergy symptoms change with age. The good news is that most
children outgrow their food allergies by three years of age. The tomato-
allergic toddler may become the preschooler who can safely indulge in
ketchup. Children tend to outgrow their sensitivity to milk and soy
products; other food allergies, such as nuts and shell fish, tend to
persist.

     The incidence of food allergies may be on the rise because more people
are eating processed foods containing preservatives and additives. It's no
wonder that the body rebels against all the foreign substances added to food
in factories.

     FOOD SUSPECTS
     Most-Allergenic Foods

       a.. berries
       b.. buckwheat
       c.. chocolate
       d.. cinnamon
       e.. citrus fruits
       f.. coconut
       g.. corn
       h.. dairy products
       i.. egg whites
       j.. mustard
       k.. nuts
       l.. peas
       m.. peanut butter
       n.. pork
       o.. shellfish
       p.. soy
       q.. sugar
       r.. tomatoes
       s.. wheat
       t.. yeast
     Least-Allergenic Foods

       a.. apples
       b.. apricots
       c.. asparagus
       d.. avocados
       e.. barley
       f.. beets
       g.. broccoli
       h.. carrots
       i.. cauliflower
       j.. chicken
       k.. cranberries
       l.. dates
       m.. grapes
       n.. honey
       o.. lamb
       p.. lettuce
       q.. mangoes
       r.. oats
       s.. papayas
       t.. peaches
       u.. pears
       v.. poi
       w.. raisins
       x.. rice
       y.. rye
       z.. safflower oil
       aa.. salmon
       ab.. squash
       ac.. sunflower oil
       ad.. sweet potatoes
       ae.. turkey
       af.. veal
     Read Labels
     Potentially allergenic foods may be listed under another name in
packaged foods. The most common are:

       a.. wheat flour: durum semolina, farina
       b.. egg white: albumin
       c.. dairy products: Casein, sodium caseinate.
       TIP: Food without ANY diary products will say "Parve" on the
package. You will usually find these foods in the kosher section.
     Careful label reading will help you discover what you are eating:

       a.. Cocoa mixes, creamed foods, gravies, and some sauces contain
milk.
       b.. Noodles and pasta contain wheat and sometimes eggs.
       c.. Canned soups may contain wheat and dairy fillers.
       d.. Most breads contain wheat and dairy products.
       e.. Margarine usually contains whey.
       f.. Hot dogs, cold cuts, and "nondairy" desserts contain sodium
caseinate.
     For persons who keep kosher , the word "pareve" on a label means the
food does not contain milk or meat. However, recent studies on persons who
suffered severe allergic reactions to pareve-labeled foods revealed milk
residues.

     TRACKING DOWN HIDDEN FOOD ALLERGIES: 3 STEPS
     Here's a three-step method for uncovering what food could be bothering
you or your child.

     STEP 1: KEEP A FOOD RECORD
     Over a four-day period record everything that gets eaten. If you are
keeping records for yourself, be sure to include snacks or meals you eat at
work or at restaurants. If you're keeping a food record of what your child
eats, do it during a four-day period when your child is home all day so you
know exactly what he eats. Don't make an issue of your child's food choices
during this time or he may sneak (because he craves) the very foods he's
sensitive to. Enlist your child's cooperation so that together you can keep
an accurate record. Also, keep track of any symptoms that you feel may be
caused by food allergies.

           Suspected Allergenic Food Associated Symptoms Results after
Elimination Notes
           Milk
           Strawberries
           Peanuts  Facial rash
           Diarrhea
           watery eyes
           cough
           waking up three times a night  Rash dried up
           Cough lessened
           frequency of diarrhea lessened
           awakened once  Couldn't tolerate milk, but yogurt and cheese
okay

     STEP 2: TRY AN ELIMINATION DIET
     On your list, circle the foods that you most suspect, paying
particular attention to the nasty nine:

       a.. dairy products
       b.. soy
       c.. egg whites
       d.. wheat
       e.. peanuts
       f.. tree nuts
       g.. citrus fruits
       h.. shellfish
       i.. food additives
     If you have no hunch what you or your child may be allergic to, seek
medical help from your doctor or an allergist. Start your elimination diet
at a time when there are no outside influences that make the diet impossible
to follow, such as during holidays, birthdays, vacations, parties at work,
etc. Once you have picked out the most plausible offenders (with or without
your doctor's allergy-testing help), eliminate these for at least ten days
(preferably two weeks) and keep track of any reactions. Avoid
multiple-ingredient foods during this time, since these may contain multiple
potential allergens, making it difficult to isolate the single offender.
Focus on objective signs and symptoms; changes in mood or behavior are
harder to evaluate.

           NUTRITIP: Play Food Detective

           Enlist the help of your child to uncover the hidden food
allergies. Make a game out of it. Explain to your child that there's
something in some food that causes her to have a rash and a sore tummy,
"Let's see if we can figure out what it is by playing food detective." Tell
your child that "the rash gives us a clue, so we need to write down all the
foods you eat, so we can figure out what causes the rash."

     STEP 3: CHALLENGE YOUR FINDINGS
     It's humanly impossible to be perfectly objective in pinpointing
offending foods and what quantities of them cause reactions. Because you
don't want to eliminate nutritious foods from you or your child's diet
without good reason, it's a good idea to test your findings by reintroducing
suspicious foods one at a time, seeing if the concerning signs and symptoms
reappear. If they do, that food goes on your no-no list, at least for a few
months. Later you can find out whether or not your allergy is dose-related
by reintroducing the food, beginning with a small amount once every four
days and then increasing both the amount you eat and how often you eat it
until your most annoying signs reappear. This threshold effect is especially
characteristic of dairy allergies . Some people can't even drink one glass
of milk a day, but they can tolerate a cup of yogurt every other day.

           NUTRITIP: Beware of Combination Allergies

           Allergens may appear in the most unlikely places, so get used to
reading the ingredient list. A candy bar, for example, may contain corn,
dairy, gluten, soy, colorings and additives - all of which are potential
food allergens.

     THE QUICK-DETECTION METHOD FOR ZEROING IN ON FOOD ALLERGIES
     Use this method if you are a well-disciplined adult. It is more
difficult to use successfully on a child.

     1. Eliminate the possible suspect foods, beginning with the nasty
nine, for a period of at least a week or ten days. During this time, eat
only the least allergenic foods, such as: fresh fruits (except berries and
citrus), avocados, rice, barley, millet, poultry, and lamb. All the foods,
if possible, should be organic and free of additives, dyes, and colorings.

     2. Reintroduce one new food each week to see if symptoms reappear.

     How much time, energy, and expense you are willing to spend on
tracking down food allergies depends upon how much they bother you or your
child, and whether your symptoms are getting better or worse. The good news
is that food allergies are one medical problem where you can truly say that
children will "grow out of it." Most food allergies in children either
become less severe or entirely disappear as they get older. Of course, if
the child is miserable and is making everyone else miserable, too, you may
not want to wait for him to grow older to do something about them.

           NUTRITIP: Sweetener Allergy

           Once upon a time we physicians were all taught that the body can
only be allergic to proteins. But once again, others' observations are at
odds with scientists. Many wise parents report that their infant or child
goes berserk after high doses of sweeteners, such as corn syrup. Even the
purists among allergists are beginning to believe in the concept of brain
allergy, meaning that the chemicals a person eats can have a profound effect
on biochemistry -- thinking, feeling, and behaving. Corn syrup is a common
sweetener in processed foods, baby formulas, and sodas. The fact that corn
syrup has become so prevalent in the American diet may account for an
increasing number of allergies to it. As one mother who successfully tracked
down her infant's gassiness, diarrhea, night-waking and fussy behavior to
corn syrup wrote us, "I feel that there is a corn syrup conspiracy going on
in our country."

     TESTING FOR FOOD ALLERGIES
     At present there are no medical tests for food allergies that are more
accurate than the detective work of a parent who is a keen observer and
accurate recorder. In most cases, a carefully done elimination diet will
uncover what the allergy is to. Your doctor or allergist can help by
performing one or both of the following tests:

       a.. Skin test. A skin test is helpful in uncovering hidden food
allergies, but it has a high incidence of false positives, meaning the skin
test is likely to show that you or your child is allergic to a food when
really you are not. A negative skin test (i.e., your child does not react to
a certain food allergen injected in his skin) is a reliable indication that
you are unlikely to be allergic to that food.
       b.. Blood test. This test, called a RAST (Radio-Allergo-Sorbent
Test), measures the antibodies in your bloodstream to certain food
allergens. Unlike the skin test, a RAST test has a high degree of false
negatives, meaning it does not detect food allergies that your child really
has. A positive RAST test is a reliable indicator that you are likely to be
allergic to that food. If a certain food, say peanuts, show up positive on a
RAST test, that means you are more likely than not to be allergic to
peanuts. If a skin test and a RAST test agree, you can give the results even
more weight. But keep in mind that neither a skin test nor blood test is as
reliable as your own observations, and they are certainly more costly.
Testing may be most helpful when the results of an elimination diet are
confusing.
     FOOD ALLERGIES WHILE BREASTFEEDING
     Research shows mixed results about whether maternal food restrictions
during breastfeeding will lessen the risk of food allergies in babies. In
fact, a study presented at the 1996 meeting of the American Academy of
Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology showed a surprising result: The children of
breastfeeding mothers who withheld allergenic foods from their diet later
showed an increase in food allergies.

     At present, there is some scientific basis for believing that
cow's-milk products in a mother's diet can cause colicky symptoms in a baby,
and therefore it would be wise for a breastfeeding mother with a family
history of cow's-milk allergies to withhold dairy products from her diet, at
least during the first year. It would be wise for a breastfeeding mother to
seek nutritional advice from a doctor or nutritionist before going on a
restrictive diet; otherwise she (and perhaps her baby) could run the risk of
nutritional deficiency.

     LIFE-THREATENING ALLERGIES
     Some food allergies, especially to nuts and shellfish, can be life-
threatening in very sensitive people. The windpipe may go into spasms or the
cardiovascular system may go into shock (called anaphylaxis) within minutes
after eating a particular food. If you or your child has had a serious
reaction to a food, even severe hives or wheezing, discuss with your doctor
or allergist the possibility of keeping an adrenaline-filled syringe (such
as a bee-sting kit) with you for emergencies. This can be a life-saver if
you are not within minutes of an emergency room. To prepare yourself for
using the real medicine, use a practice kit to learn what to do and how to
do it. If you or your child accidentally eats a food that has caused a
severe reaction before, go immediately to the nearest emergency room and sit
in the waiting room for a couple hours, just as a precaution. If the
reaction is not severe enough to merit emergency treatment, you can go back
home. Adults and children who are very allergic should wear a medical alert
bracelet.

     FOOD ALLERGY RESOURCES
     Food Allergy Network,
     10400 Eaton Place, Suite 107, Fairfax, VA 22030-2208 (703-691-3179 or
www.foodallergy.org). Ask for their booklet Learning to Live with Food
Allergies or their bimonthly newsletter, The Food Allergy News.

     Tracking Down Hidden Food Allergy, by William G. Crook, M.D.
(Professional Books, 1980)

     Resource for testing for food allergies:
     Immuno Laboratories, 1620 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL
33311 (800-231-9197 or www.immunolabs.com)