Гипертиреоз – Hypertheriosis

David Hart was eight years old when he was brought to me. His problems were obvious: his face was never at peace, but was wracked by spasms; he was continually sniffing, blinking, and squinting. His eyes were red and rimmed by dark circles. Although his grades were average, he had frequent temper tantrums at school and at home.

In addition, David had a hearing problem, which seemed to increase as he grew older. He complained of a ringing in his ears, a condition called tinnitus. This had been unsuccessfully treated with decongestants and antihistamines. Sometimes he complained of having a «bug in his ear.» The slightest noise in class distracted him, since then he could no longer hear the teacher distinctly.

The routine five-day water fast in the Ecology Unit worked wonders: the mouth tic, eye-blinking, and hyperactivity disappeared. So, too, did the bags under the eyes, which are called «allergic shiners,» a frequent sign of food or chemical susceptibility.

When single foods, known not to have been significantly contaminated with chemicals, were returned to David’s diet, some of them brought on attacks of spasms and facial contortions. The worst offenders in his case were wheat, beef, corn, and blueberries, followed by haddock, cherries, peanuts, and potatoes.

Many foods, however, could be eaten without causing any symptoms, such as crab, chicken, pork, lamb, and onion. When some of these acceptable foods were given to David in their commercial, supermarket form, however, they caused grimaces, hyperactivity, eye circles, and gassiness. The boy became progressively more grouchy and twitchy after the second feeding of «normal» food, and this increased with each subsequent feeding. The avoidance of such foods paved the way for David’s recovery, and the last time I spoke to his family, he was greatly improved and doing well in school.

Like Paul Rossi, David was one of those hyperactive children whose problem was actually caused by a highly individualized reaction to the food and chemical environment, and greatly helped by avoiding those items to which he was allergic.

*60\110\2*

It may have occurred to the reader that air pollution plays a role in the problem of chemical susceptibility. This is true, but not in the way most people suspect. For while it is true that outdoor, or ambient, air pollution is a significant source of exposure, a far greater threat is posed by the presence of indoor, or domiciliary, air pollution.

Indoor air pollution? The term itself is unfamiliar and strange to most people, who tend to think of air pollution solely in terms of smog. Yet the home itself generates combustion products or is directly exposed to them, and many household products give off noxious fumes.

Indoor air pollution is particularly dangerous because exposure to it is so constant. Outdoor air pollution comes and goes; indoor pollution is ever-present, and thus its effects generally remain well hidden. In this it obviously resembles food allergy: as has been explained, allergy to uncommonly eaten foods is readily detected; the real danger comes from allergy to the ordinary foods which we take for granted.

My involvement with the problem of indoor air pollution dates from my earliest chemical-susceptibility cases. In the case of Nora Barnes, for instance, pine paneling and other pine products were implicated as a source of chronic illness. In Ellen Sanders’ case, natural gas and pesticide spray resulted in asthma, arthritis, and a host of other complaints. Removal of these pollutants has resulted in her enjoying reasonably good health over a twenty-five-year period.

I first discussed the topic of indoor air pollution in a series of articles published in 1961 and then in my book, Human Ecology and Susceptibility to the Chemical Environment (1962). Shortly afterward, the topic became a matter of public debate. In 1962, the government called a conference on air pollution, the first of its kind, in Washington, D.C. As often happens with such conferences, the program and speakers’ list were announced first, and then the public was invited to attend. Out of a three-day program, only one-and-a-half hours were allocated for open discussion. During the discussion, I rose to say how astounded I was that no reference had been made, in three days of speeches, to indoor air pollution as a separate topic. In my clinical experience, I added, indoor air pollution was eight to ten times more important as a source of chronic illness in susceptible people than ambient air pollution. Outdoor air pollution, I told the gathering, tended to be intermittent and variable, while indoor air pollution was constant. This very constancy made it a source of chronic disease. And of the various materials found in the home, the gas kitchen range, I said, was easily the worst offender. This left some of the experts without words, but on the far side of the room a gentleman rose and confirmed what I had said, adding some telling details of his own. He introduced himself as Francis Silver. He was an engineer from West Virginia, and later became a member of the Society for Clinical Ecology. We had never met before, but he and I had come to almost identical conclusions about the danger of indoor air pollution, as the result of very different experience—he as an engineer of buildings and I as a clinician studying the effects of such buildings on individual health.

In the following years, there were two conferences devoted solely to the topic of indoor air pollution. In general, these were productive, and I spoke at both.

Since the early 1950s, the extent of the problem of indoor air pollution has continued to grow larger. At the present time, it represents a major source of chronic illness among susceptible individuals in the United States. This can be best understood by considering the kinds of exposures which most frequently result in such chronic health problems.

*30\110\2*

Helen had eczema as a baby and began to have asthma attacks when she was about six. These got a great deal worse when she was eight years old, and on close questioning the doctor discovered that her parents had recently built an aviary inside the conservatory that was attached to their house. Skin-prick tests showed that Helen had a strong reaction to feathers, and when the birds were removed from the house her asthma settled down to its previous level. In the hope of getting rid of it completely, her parents replaced all feather pillows and cushions with foam-filled ones. Although this seemed to help a little, Helen still had asthma attacks once or twice a month. These frequently came on after parties or outings, and the doctor suggested that it might just be excitement

triggering off the attacks. Then her asthma started to become more frequent again, and as the attacks often took place at school, it was interfering with her studies. Helen’s mother began to wonder if foods that Helen only had at parties or at school, during breaks, were responsible. Crisps, squash and other food containing additives were obvious suspects as Helen was not given this sort of food at home. She agreed to go without these foods for a month to see if this had any effect. Within a few days her attacks virtually disappeared and tests with different types of additives showed that artificial colourings and sulphites could bring on an attack within a few hours. As long as she avoids ‘junk food’ Helen is now free from asthma.

*51\180\8*

Pain is a significant stress to the body. The adrenal glands are forced to work hard for as long as we are in pain. Back pain, neck pain and headaches are perpetuators of the stressed state. Poor posture places undue strain on the muscles of the back, shoulders and neck making them tight and eventually stiff and sore. The sensory nerves convey this state of agitation from the muscles to the brain creating, or adding to, any agitation that may already exist there. Brain agitation manifests as that stressed-out feeling of being ‘uptight’. Being ‘uptight’ usually means tight neck muscles that are causing the shoulders to hunch up.

The muscles of the neck are attached to the vertebrae of the neck and when they tighten they pull the vertebrae together. In time the vertebrae press tightly enough against each other for the nerves that run between them to become pinched. Pinched nerves that emanate from the neck can cause a host of symptoms in the tissues they serve as well as pain in the neck muscles. Those that run from the neck to head can give rise to headaches and those that serve the face can give rise to involuntary twitches in the facial muscles and puffy bags under the eyes.

Those nerves that run from the neck to the nose can give rise to sinus pains, stuffy nose, runny nose and post-nasal drip. Pinched nerves can mimic the symptoms of allergy. Pinched nerves are one of the reasons allergy type symptoms remain in stressed people who are sticking strictly to their Anti-Candida/Anti-Allergy Program. The other reasons are long-term high levels of stress hormones in the blood which lower the body’s resistance, and neurokinin.

Hard-chargers are prone to bad posture. Being always on the go they tend to sit on the edge of chairs and hunch forward over desks, typewriters and computers. This in time strains the neck, shoulder and back muscles. The head weighs 7-9 kg (15-20 lb) and this perpendicular posture with a forward-bending of the head places great strain on the neck muscles, which keep the head from falling forward, back or sideways.

To get some appreciation of what this does to the neck muscles, imagine what expanding a Bullworker to 9 kg (20 lb) of pressure and holding it for eight hours would do to your arm and chest muscles. If the perpendicular, forward-bending, while perched on the end of the chair, posture is combined with a lot of rushing around and speeding in cars the muscles tighten even more. Working under pressure and taking on too much work gives rise to rushing and speeding.

Poor fluid intake and poor oxygen intake also tighten muscles. The muscles are about 70 per cent water and if these levels drop below 70 per cent the muscle tends to shrink. A shrunken muscle is a tight muscle that does not respond well to any method that is used to relax it, whether it is deep breathing exercises, massage, meditation, heat or Valium. Fully hydrated muscles expand to their normal size and are much easier to relax.

Adequate oxygen is needed to facilitate the metabolic processes of muscular expansion and contraction. Oxygen-deficient muscles (hypoxia) are more prone to fatigue, tightening and pain as any out-of-condition person knows when they suddenly take up a vigorous exercise regime. A lack of vitamins and minerals, especially the B vitamins, calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium, interfere with muscle cell metabolism and predispose muscles to spasm (tight, sustained contraction).

In addition to correct diet, deep breathing exercises, adequate fluid intake and the mental relaxation exercises, close attention must be paid to posture if tight muscles, pain and the allergy-mimicking symptoms they produce are to be overcome. Sit back in chairs. By using the support of the chair back you reduce the strain on the back and neck muscles which no longer have to work hard to keep you upright.

If having to bend forward to do paperwork take the weight of your head on your hand with the elbow supported by a pile of books. If your shoulder and neck muscles are already sore sit with a warm hot water bottle on them for ten minutes at night while relaxing in front of the TV. To thoroughly negate the stresses and strains imposed by the perpendicular forward-bending posture we need to regularly practise the opposite posture, that is, horizontal bending back.

The best way to exercise this posture is by swimming backstroke two to three times per week in warm water. Follow this with a warm shower, never a cold one (heat expands, cold contracts and tight, sore muscles are contracted muscles), with the jets of warm water being trained directly on the tightest, most painful spots. Make sure while swimming that you look at the roof, not the end of the pool. Looking at the end of the pool cranes the neck forward and strains the muscles. Don’t rush, this is a time to relax. Do a length and take a rest. Breathe deeply and slowly during this time then do another length. Do not be competitive about this swimming exercise. This is a time for therapy not a time for goal setting. If you’re not a swimmer then Tai Chi, yogic walking and yoga are just as effective for releasing tight neck, back and shoulder muscles. No head, neck or shoulder stands though if you do yoga.

In addition to straining neck and back muscles the posture of perpendicular forward-bending tends to round the shoulders forward so that chest expansion is restricted. This same posture forces the lower ribs down into the abdomen restricting the action of the diaphragm. Shallow breathing results, giving rise to oxygen deficiency, which tightens muscles, which in turn reduces chest expansion and perpetuates shallow breathing. A vicious circle is born which gets the sufferer more uptight and tired, which aggravates the collapsed state of the perpendicular forward-bending posture. Is it any wonder those who rush get less done, make more mistakes and have to repeat more of their work. The distraction of the pain and the lack of oxygen in their brain greatly affect concentration, comprehension and memory. In the initial stages of your muscle relaxation regimen it pays to consult your osteopath or chiropractor for heat, massage and manipulation of the muscles and vertebrae. This will accelerate your recovery.

*220\18\9*

The metabolism can be broadly described as the sum total of all the chemical reactions which take place inside all the cells of the body. Perhaps the most important metabolic processes are those which turn the food we eat into energy or into body chemicals such as hormones, enzymes and antibodies. These chemicals are made from protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. If a deficiency exists in any one of these nutrients certain chemicals cannot be made and this will adversely affect the function of the other chemicals, thus producing an imbalance in the metabolism.

Most metabolic imbalances are associated with over-weight which in turn is frequently the result of eating the wrong type of food. Take white bread for example. It is both fattening and capable of causing serious disturbances in the metabolism. It is fattening for two reasons:

1. Because white bread is refined it is quickly digested and therefore rapidly absorbed into the blood as molecules of glucose which arrive in the bloodstream in such large quantities that the blood sugar levels immediately shoot up. To normalise the blood sugar levels the pancreas releases the hormone insulin which removes the glucose from the blood by converting it to fat. Years of eating white flour and sugar can so sensitise the pancreas that it over-reacts and releases too much insulin. This causes the glucose levels to drop too low, causing the metabolic imbalance known as functional hypoglycaemia. This usually happens to those who are vitamin and mineral deficient and/or under stress.

2. Because white bread is refined it lacks the vitamins and minerals required for normal carbohydrate metabolism and, because it cannot be metabolised properly and used by the body as a carbohydrate energy source, most of it must be converted to and stored in the body as fat. Thus, the body has increased in weight but its carbohydrate needs have not been fully satisfied. This usually manifests a desire to eat more carbohydrate and all too often white bread is again the choice.

To be correctly metabolised, any carbohydrate food needs to contain vitamins B3 (niacin), B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B6 (pyridoxine), B5 (pantothenic acid) and the minerals phosphorus and magnesium. During the milling process of whole grain flour to its white refined state the magnesium, phosphorus, pyridoxine and pantothenic acid are removed and not replaced. If this white flour (refined carbohydrate) is to be metabolised at all the body must steal these four nutrients from other glands and tissues, thus creating imbalances in the metabolism. It steals phosphorus from bone, thereby impairing its growth and ability to repair and magnesium from heart muscle, predisposing it to spasm and, in time, arrest. Pantothenic acid (B5) is stolen from the nerves and brain, rendering us liable to lowered energy levels and increased irritability, and pyridoxine (B6) is stolen from the white blood cells, particularly the T-lymphocytes (which attack viruses, yeasts, bacteria and cancer cells) causing them to become very weak and lethargic.

Sugar, be it white, brown or raw, requires the same vitamins and minerals to be metabolised and is thus responsible for creating the same metabolic havoc. How much of our processed foods contain white flour and white sugar? Most of it. Even frozen turkeys contain added sugar! Any manufactured food with a word in the list of ingredients on the label ending in -ol, -ole, -one, -os or -ose has sugar in it. You’ll be amazed how many do.

It is the complex interaction between all the vitamins and minerals which maintains a balanced metabolism and a healthy body. Foods picked fresh from the garden have a far greater chance of containing all the necessary nutrients. The foods on the Metabolism-Balancing Program, especially when supplemented by a complete vitamin and mineral formula, ensure that our bodies receive the required nutrients. No vitamin or mineral can work on its own and must be aided and complimented by all the others. For a single vitamin or mineral to be effective it must arrive in the system with all the other vitamins and minerals and at the same time. That’s why you take your vitamin and mineral formula just before the main meal of the day. Unrefined foods ensure a balanced metabolism and are also the foods which arc least (if at all) fattening.

*202\18\9*

1. Do study amines and salicylates, moulds and ferments (don’t eat unleavened breads from your baker— bakers use yeast plus sour dough), malt, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and milk (for the appropriate six weeks). Do this before starting the program to make absolutely sure you do not eat any of these foods.

2. Do eat liver at least once, preferably twice, per week. The nutrients in liver can make the difference between average and excellent results. Lamb’s liver is best. Chickens are force fed with chemical pellets, so don’t eat chicken liver.

3. Do wash all fruits and nuts in warm water and soap to remove mould (unshelled nuts don’t need to be washed). Don’t leave them in the water too long. Just in and out for a quick brisk wash then dry them quickly before they go soggy. Rinse off all the soap. Sunflower seeds are grown locally and therefore are fresher than nuts. Only wash them if they smell a bit mouldy.

4. Do chew wholemeal, unleavened bread thoroughly, taking the time to mix it well with saliva. Unleavened bread requires more chewing than ordinary bread as it’s harder to digest.

5. Do cut your freshly baked, unleavened bread up into slices. Wrap them individually in greaseproof paper and keep them in the freezer. Leave them out overnight to thaw. This way they won’t grow mould.

6. Do rinse and wipe clean the blade of any cutting utensil before cutting any food you are going to eat. Black, brown and greeny blue coloured film on the crust of bread or on the surface of vegetables is mould. Wash off before cutting through fruit or vegetables, you will drive the mould in otherwise.

7. Do seek out all mould in the house and remove it. Cracked pipes that leak into brick, concrete and carpet underlay are insidious mould producers. If the house is the slightest bit musty after one to two days of being shut up, there is hidden mould—find it.

8. Do wear a mask if cooking a food you are allergic to as the smell of it can trigger your symptoms. This is applicable to those who are cooking for others who are not on their program.

9. Do drink mineral water with a drop of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice in it when out socially. If they are available have a Diet Coke or diet lemonade as well. Dry roasted cashews, hazelnuts, almonds and macadamia nuts (the latter three have salicylates) may also be had as a treat or at parties. As a treat at home you may have popcorn. Be careful about salted nuts. If the manufacturers can’t guarantee they haven’t used adulterated salt don’t touch them.

10. Do test all nuts by biting and tasting them before eating them. If nuts are getting old they turn rancid and lose their sweet fresh taste. Rancid nuts can cause enough of an adverse reaction as to mimic your allergy and Candida symptoms. Many patients in the past have erroneously believed they are allergic to nuts because they have eaten rancid nuts. Fresh nuts are more nutritious. However, roasted nuts can be eaten once per week as a treat. No need to wash roasted nuts.

11. Do chew nuts properly. All nuts must be reduced to a puree before they leave your mouth. Bits of nut have sharp edges that can irritate the bowel lining to the point of causing diarrhea. Many patients have erroneously believed they were allergic to nuts because they had diarrhea that showed bits of (unchewed) nut.

12. If it’s a drinks party, get them to make popcorn and the Candida Killer dip with plain Kettle Chips (provided you are past the first four weeks) for you. You can drink diet lemonade or Diet Coke at the party. My experience is that friends are only too willing to help.

13. If you are pregnant do stay on fruit for the duration of the program. This will slow your rate of healing down but that can’t be helped. Stay off milk for the mandatory six weeks of the program and for the whole program if you are proven allergic to it or belong to any of the Asian, African or Mediterranean ethnic groups. Crushed egg shells plus Formula Six and sardines or salmon three to four times per week will give you all the extra calcium you need.

14. Do take a herbal laxative if at first you are a little constipated. Any type is OK and won’t affect your allergies, as laxatives are not absorbed.

15. Do substitute soymilk for cow’s milk as long as the soymilk doesn’t contain malt and other additives. Have only the soymilk shown on the shopping list.

16. On completing the Anti-Candida/Anti-Allergy Program, and successfully containing all your symptoms, do return to the Metabolism-Balancing Program, plus Formula Six, for the rest of your life. Go back onto the Anti-Candida Program once a year for four weeks to give yourself a clean out.

*184\18\9*

If you are very tired, have heavy or extended periods, have mid-cycle bleeding, have had a number of children or have had miscarriages or termination of pregnancy, you will more than likely need an iron boost. I recommend you go on a course of the FAB Co iron tablets available at the health store. (Not for men.)

Take one before breakfast, one before lunch and two with Formula Six just before the evening meal. Do this for four weeks, and if you haven’t picked up in that time, do it for another four weeks. Then stop. Formula Six will do the rest.

The Metabolism-Balancing Program is flexible. Not only can you swap your options around, you can eat them at different times of the day, if you choose. You can have the evening (main) meal for lunch, if you like, and breakfast in the evening! It doesn’t matter what order you eat your meal in, as long as you eat three meals per day, eat what’s on the program and take the supplements before and after the main meal, whenever that is.

The Metabolism-Balancing Program is flexible enough to allow you 5 per cent junk food. That’s 5 per cent of the total weekly food intake, which means no more than five items of junk food per week. You may wish to take this in the form of sweets at a dinner party once per week. Often it creeps in as sugar or white flour in sauces and gravies. Five per cent junk food will do you no harm if you arc following the program seriously and taking your supplements.

Keep frozen foods to a minimum—have them only if fresh foods are not available.

*166\18\9*

It takes time to adopt new attitudes and for some people a change of attitude doesn’t come easily. Action always speaks louder than words and action can greatly influence the way we think. For this reason, hard-chargers will find it of benefit to set aside specific time to do other things. Write this schedule down, post it on your mirror and rigorously adhere to it. The following checklist is one I suggest as the basis of such a schedule. It will bring balance to your life and in so doing will lower stress levels:

• Take time to work—it is the vehicle of success.

• Take time to rest—it is the foundation of health and vitality.

• Take time to think—it is the source of achievement.

• Take time to play—it is the secret of perpetual youth.

• Take time to read—it is the fount of wisdom.

• Take time to be friendly—it is the road to happiness.

• Take time to love and be loved—it is nourishment for the soul.

• Take time to share—it is too short a life to be selfish.

• Take time to laugh—it is the music of the heart.

• Take time to dream—it is the well of inspiration.

Feelings follow thoughts. The thoughts we choose to think determine the feelings we experience. We are all born with a free will. This enables us to choose the thought we wish to think.

So powerful is human thought it can over-ride the effect that external influences can have on us. Because of this, we have the power to remain minimally distressed through the greatest adversity, if we choose to. Our attitude has the greatest of all influences on our stress levels.

*148\18\9*

Leaving out foods of which you are intolerant often leads to withdrawal symptoms, so you feel worse initially, and then better after a few days. Reintroduction of an offending food can sometimes provoke intense, severe reactions – often different from the kind of general masked symptoms of which the person had been complaining. The severity of these reactions can diminish in time, however, if the food is left out for a long while, or if it is eaten only at regular intervals of a few days, or in small amounts. It appears that the body has a capacity, in food intolerance of this kind, to cope with a certain amount of the food, so you may be able to keep it within your diet, provided that you do not exceed your body’s tolerance of it.

People who have sorted out their diets often report that all kinds of vague symptoms that they did not consider linked to food sensitivity (such as earache, vaginal discharge, cystitis, insomnia, irritability, tension and tiredness) clear up as well as their principal symptoms.

Food intolerance of this kind is also found associated with other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, candidiasis and Crohn’s disease. Some people with these conditions improve following changes to their diet, although the specific reasons for the links between their disease and food intolerance are not known.

*96\117\8*

Whatever the cause of multiple sensitivity, the advice that doctors give on the need to avoid allergens and other substances is based upon the value of avoidance measures in preventing and controlling multiple sensitivity. Avoidance can help prevent you developing new sensitivities, and can control and help you live with multiple sensitivity if you know you are already prone to it.

Managing Your Load

The term that is commonly used is ‘managing your load’. Most people with multiple allergies or sensitivity find that they get worse at times when their load of allergens or other substances is high. For instance, people allergic to pollens sometimes find that their other allergies (such as to foods, house dust mites or pets) become noticeable or worse during the pollen season, whereas they cause no trouble or can be controlled at other times of the year. People who have food allergy or intolerance usually find they start reacting badly to multiple foods or chemicals, or other allergens, if they are eating a lot of the foods that upset them, but that the severity of the reactions declines, or they disappear altogether, if they keep to a strict diet. People sensitive to chemicals find they start reacting to many things if they have high levels of exposure – say, after a long car journey, or after decorating -but that their system calms down again if they keep their general exposure low.

You can use the avoidance process to manage your sensitivity if you know you react to many things. It can sometimes be hard to sort things out and to adapt your life, but avoidance actually works. It can prevent, especially with babies and children, and it can alleviate and cure. For some severely ill people, it is their only route to improvement in symptoms. It can mean a substantial reduction in the drugs that they take, and a return to something close to a tolerable life.

Even if you are not severely ill, you are likely to benefit from avoidance if you have any tendency to multiple sensitivity. The best route is to reduce your overall load of allergens and things that cause you to react.

*27\117\8*

Brass Polishes

Most brass polishes are solvent-based and can cause reactions. Two alternative polishes are:

• either dip a piece of lemon in salt and rub it over the brass,

• or make a paste of equal parts of vinegar, flour and salt and rub it over the brass

Do not leave either of these on the brass for long as they can be caustic. Rinse off the mixture, dry and buff up the brass with a cloth. For silver and chrome polishes, see Silver Cleaners, below.

Car Cleaners

Most car-care products are solvent-based and can be troublesome. Either use general cleaners or detergents which you tolerate or try a special range of solvent-free shampoos made by Simoniz. These are available from most car accessory shops such as Halfords.

Carpet Cleaners

To clean a carpet, you can use a steam-cleaning machine with just plain water and no detergent.

If you want to use a detergent, use a washing-up liquid or general cleaner that you tolerate (see below). Mix one part liquid with four parts boiling water. Allow to cool, then whip the mixture with an egg beater until it foams. Sponge it into the carpet and wipe it away thoroughly with a damp cloth.

If you are allergic to house dust mites or to moulds, make sure that the carpet dries very thoroughly. Damp conditions encourage dust mites and moulds.

*301\117\8*

Vomiting, diarrhoea, sneezing, runny nose, eczema, asthma, colic or unexplained crying are clear signs of a reaction. If your baby has any difficulty in breathing, always contact a doctor immediately.

Some parents can identify a baby’s reaction from less clearcut signs (such as bright red face, snuffled nose, big black rings under the eyes, red spots, irritability, sleeplessness, restlessness), which often precede or accompany more severe symptoms.

Take vomiting and diarrhoea seriously. Some people will tell you that it does not mean anything for a baby to throw up food or have diarrhoea when first weaning, or even as a toddler trying new foods. If he or she tolerates a food well, however, it should not cause any vomiting or diarrhoea, nor is it a good idea for a potentially food-sensitive baby to have gastric upset. If you have any doubts about a food, leave it out of the diet until the baby is older and try it again when the baby may have matured enough to be able to digest it properly. Do not tolerate so-called toddler diarrhoea.

If your baby has ever had a history of severe or anaphylactic (shock) reaction to anything, or if you want to be extra careful, try the Cheek Test before giving a food by mouth. Smear some juice or fat from the food on to the skin on the baby’s cheek half-an hour before a feed. If the baby has any symptoms, especially swollen lips, difficulty in breathing, or hives, do not give the food. Contact a doctor straightaway.

*233\117\8*

Moulds are highly adaptable and versatile organisms. For every ecological niche, there is probably a mould which will survive or even flourish. Some survive, and produce spores under very specific conditions of temperature, moisture or light. Others, by contrast, are fairly tolerant creatures and, although they have preferences, will function happily across a wide range of environments and habitats. They feed on almost any material containing carbon – plants, leather, paper, fabric. Some can even break down the strong resistant fibres of wood and hair.

Four moulds implicated in allergy, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Penicillium, tolerate a very wide range of conditions and are found worldwide. They are present in the UK throughout the year in many situations; they have peaks at certain times and in specific conditions. These are known as ‘universal dominant’ or ‘perennial’ moulds.

As a broad guide, however, most moulds like warmth and humidity.

A temperate, moist climate, like the UK’s, sustains them very well. Hot, moist environments, such as swimming baths, saunas, hairdressers, greenhouses, bathrooms, launderettes and kitchens, encourage mould growth. Very dry weather, such as the summer of 1976, or prolonged hard frosts, inhibit the production of spores, and many allergy-sufferers feel better in such conditions.

Moulds also multiply where nutrients are readily available to them, such as where well-rotted decaying material abounds. So they thrive in rubbish bins, dustbins, compost heaps, in fallen leaves and humus, in rotting wood, in hay or straw, in cut grass, in mossy dark corners, in crops. Their food does not have to be badly decayed – even a slight deterioration provides enough food potential for some moulds, early colonisers, who thrive on slightly decaying material and will cling invisibly to leaves that are starting to turn on the tree; to the skin of fruit and vegetables; to food which has just been chopped or cut; to processed food which has been opened, such as tins or jars, or a loaf of bread. Sometimes you can also find them growing visibly – grey or green growth on decaying fruit or bread.

*164\117\8*