FOOD SENSIVITY: MODIFY YOUR ROTATION DIET

There remain the rest of the vegetables, fruits, and the culinary necessities such as oils, sugars, herbs and spices, plus beverages, alcohol, yeast and vinegar. The allocation of these will be driven in part by taste preferences, but the food families will probably play a large role in where things need to go, plus the question of preferred food combinations.

It is a good idea, for instance, to allocate wheat and yeast on the same day so that you have the option of eating bread. Most people then allocate cow’s milk to that day as well, plus beet or cane sugar, so that they can use butter on toast, scones or bread, or can bake wheat cakes, biscuits or puddings. However, once cow’s milk is allocated, it usually brings with it beef or lamb because they are related, and chocolate too, if you tolerate it, so that you can eat milk chocolate. Yeast brings with it cheese, mushrooms, yeast spread and vinegar, because they contain yeasts or moulds related to it. Alcohol, if you can tolerate it, must also accompany yeast, and it usually needs to go with grapes (for wine, port or sherry), apples (for cider), or grass family grains (base material for many spirits). Beet sugar is related to spinach and needs to be allocated in relation to that. Cane sugar is related to corn and the grass family..

So, pretty soon, after just a few decisions, major parts of your rotation will be set. Now allocate the rest of your foods to balance up the diet. Consult a food families list (>FURTHER READING) to check that you have allocated foods correctly. Some of the key foods to double-check since they have unexpected or multiple relations are:

Apple Lettuce

Berries Peanuts

Cabbage Pear

Carrot Peas, beans, pulses

Chicken Potato

Cucumber Sunflower

Dates Tomato

Foods that are particularly useful in planning a rotation are those that have relatively few or unimportant relations. They can be very useful for adjusting the balance of a rotation once the main food families and food groups are fixed. These include:

Avocado
Olive
Banana
Pineapple
Buckwheat
Pork
Coffee
Rabbit
Duck
Sesame
Fig
Sweet Potato
Ginger
Tapioca
Kiwi
Tea
Maple Sugar and Syrup
Turkey
Nutmeg
Venison
Allocate herbs and spices last since they, like oils, are largely dictated by food families of other important food groups. Herb teas can follow where culinary herbs are allocated.

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IN WHAT SITUATIONS DO CHEMICALS CAUSE ALLERGIC REACTIONS?

So where are all these types of chemicals found? Answer: in very many places in everyday life. Before coming to that, however, you need to understand a few more concepts about how, and in what circumstances, chemicals can cause trouble. Even if you are sensitive or allergic to particular chemicals found commonly in everyday life, you can function quite well and use things that contain chemicals to which you are sensitive, provided you take certain precautions.

Chemicals are most likely to cause you reactions when they are found in higher concentrations. If you use chemicals extensively at work, say as a hairdresser; in building and decorating; or if you work in a place where chemical vapours can accumulate (say, in a shop selling paper or new clothes with chemical finishes, or in an office with poor ventilation, new building materials, office machines, and lots of paper), you may have problems with these, but not elsewhere.

Where you have lower exposures, it is when chemicals give off vapour or fumes that they are most troublesome. This happens most commonly when things are new, or when they heat up or become hot. It also happens obviously when exhaust or combustion fumes are given off when things such as engines, fires, cigarettes or stoves burn.

To give an example of how this may affect you, the chemicals used in many plastics and foams used in the interiors of cars are known to cause sensitivity. Most chemically sensitive people, however, are perfectly able to travel in a car that is not new on most days of the year without feeling unduly ill, even if they are sensitive to those particular chemicals. Brand new cars, however, give off high levels of fumes as the chemicals air off, and chemically sensitive people are often made ill by a new car, until it has aired off for some months, sometimes even for a couple of years. Problems can arise again on a hot day in an aired-off car that is normally fine; the heat causes the plastics and foams to start releasing fumes again and people may react where usually they have no problems.

There are numerous other examples of this kind of situation – of chemicals only being a problem when things are new, or subject to heat. An unread newspaper or magazine can cause problems, while one already read and left to air will not. A newly painted room may make you ill at first, but not as time goes on. A new item of clothing that has been washed a few times will be virtually free of fabric finishes and cause no reactions, but if it is worn straight after purchase it may cause trouble. A new pair of shoes left to air will soon lose fumes and any chemical vapours. Some people cannot tolerate synthetic fabrics if they wear them or use them for bedding – when the fibres get warm and give off fumes – but can live with them very happily in carpets, curtains or furnishings where the fumes are much less intense.

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ALLERGY TO CLOTHING: NYLON STOCKINGS AND TIGHTS

For women, if you find you react to nylon stockings and tights, it is natural to assume at first that it is the fibre itself which is the cause. For many women, this is indeed so. Some women, however, are sensitive to the dyes in stockings and tights; certain dyes (particularly Disperse azo dyes) are known irritants. The colour itself of the hosiery is not necessarily a guide, since a mixture of colours (principally red, yellow and blue) is used to make up flesh-colour. Black and navy colours, however, use acid dyes and are probably less irritant than browns, which use Disperse dyes. So try black and navy before flesh and brown colours.

Aristoc make a range of stockings, tights and knee highs in natural colour which contain no dyes at all. This is called the ‘JUST’ range. If you tolerate these well, then you will know that you react to dyes, not to the synthetic fibre itself.

If, however, you are sensitive to synthetic fibres, do not give up ordinary tights or stockings, before you try wearing knee highs. They do not touch the sweaty areas at the back of the knees, or at the top of the thighs, and therefore can often be tolerated. Disguised with a long skirt or trousers, they look just like longer stockings or tights.

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ALLERGY TO BUILDING AND DECORATING MATERIALS : CHOOSE LESS TROUBLESOME ALTERNATIVES

Some kinds of materials do not cause sensitivity, and are best used wherever possible. Ceramic tiles, glass, marble, stone, rock, gravel, sand, brick, plaster and plasterboard do not cause reactions. If you have a very heavy exposure to them, you may get irritation, and you may exceptionally become sensitive to the dusts, but not to the material once in place. If you work in the building trade, and have constant exposure, then sensitivity is known but it is still rare.

Cements are made by heating limestone and clay, which are then ground with gypsum. Portland cement is the main cement used in construction. It is mixed with sand and gravel to form concrete, and with sand to form mortar. Cements are also used as adhesives. Cements, concrete and mortar do not cause sensitivity, but they can burn on contact and need to be handled carefully. Chrome salts from the earth’s crust – chromates – contaminate cement accidentally during manufacture and these are known to cause allergy to building workers who handle cements extensively.

Metals very rarely cause allergy and sensitivity when used as building materials.

Wood and cork rarely cause sensitivity. If you think you react to them, the cause is more likely to be varnishes or lacquers covering the surfaces than the material itself. See Varnishes (below) for more detail.

Water-based materials are generally much less troublesome than solvent-based ones. Many alternatives are now available and they are often equal or better in performance to solvent-based products. Product choices are given below.

Some toxic materials do not cause any problems if handled with care. Unless they give out fumes or are solvent-based, they will not cause sensitivity. For some building uses, toxic materials can be the only solution to decay, collapse or reconstruction. They are proposed below only where their use is essential.

Some synthetic materials, such as plastic pipes, window frames, covings or polystyrene tiles, will not cause sensitivity unless they are very new, or unless they get heated and then give off fumes. Virtually all chemically sensitive people can tolerate aired-off plastics used in these situations.

Take Care With Natural Chemicals

Some building and decorating materials are now available which are based on natural chemicals, such as natural turpentine, rosin, vinegar, plant and vegetable oils, and linseed oil. Some of these are natural organic solvents and are known to cause sensitivity as their vapours are given off. Some people tolerate these better than synthetic organic solvents, but other people react to them. Take care with natural chemicals until you are sure how you react to them.

Turpentine and rosin cross-react with a number of chemicals and should be treated with care. Linseed oil evaporates fast and is generally trouble free.

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HOW TO DEAL WITH POLLEN ALLERGY: WHEN YOU GO OUTDOORS

Wear glasses, particularly wide ones which wrap around the side of the eyes. This helps to protect against pollens entering the eyes.

Avoid going out at peak pollen times during the day if you can possibly do so. On summer days these are from 7.00-8.00 a.m., and from 5.00-7.00 p.m. outside cities, 6.00-10.00 p.m. in cities. Go out during or just after rain showers if you can possibly arrange it.

Use medication, such as eyedrops and anti-histamines, if prescribed. Neutralisation and desensitisation can be effective against pollen allergy. Some people find homeopathic remedies helpful. These heed to be taken in advance of the pollen season.

Wear a scarf or hat to cover up longer hair, so that you do not bring pollens back indoors with you.

Keep windows and all air vents closed when travelling by car. Pollens are forced into cars travelling at speed. Use a sun-roof for ventilation if you have one. Some pollens even come through closed air vents and you can reduce these by taping damp surgical gauze over the vents. Spray occasionally with water to keep the gauze damp. You can also use a car filter to filter out pollens at the air intake. You can then continue to use ventilation and heating in the car. These filters are reported to be very effective at keeping out pollens.

Holding a damp handkerchief or pad of cotton wool over your nose and mouth can also help when you are out of doors. It does not stop you inhaling pollens completely but it helps a little. This can be a useful aid on public transport where you may not be able to close windows or doors.

Splashing cold water into your eyes and up your nose can bring great relief to soreness and itchiness.

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