Food II rgl
nothln to
r
bout
If you have ny 0 the igns and
ymptoms m ntion d h n e tin
p rticul r food you m y be
wonderin if you h ve food al­
lergy. To really d t rmin if you
do, tart with your f mily doctor.
S/he will m ure your re -
tion w not ca ed by omething
other than n allergy. A ter
evaluating your diet your doctor
will probably tart by eliminating
om of th peeted foods. If
thi relieves the ymptom, you'll
be allowed to eat the foods again,
one by one, to e which one of t
uspected food i causing the
problem.
However, be aware that thi
approach doe n't alway clearly
find the offending food. If not,
your family doctor would then be
wi e to refer you to an allergi t,
who may use tandard skin, aller­
gic to.
This involves small cratches
or pricks on the top layer of your
ski n wi th a tiny amount of various
allergens ( u pected food and
other substances) to ee if redness
and swelling occur. You will also
probably have your blood tested
for antibodie to specific antigens
(small proteins in the allergic sub­
stance).
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS
kind of testing often yields false
po itives, that is, you may test
po itiv_e to.� p����ar. �IJe!Ke�,
I wt really aren' t le�i\' �
you eat that fOOdr. Altho I
common, the reverse can also
occur. That is, you may test false
negative to a particular substance.
This means that the skin test
was negative, but you really do
have an allergic reaction to that
food when you eat it. The most
reliable means of diagnosing food
allergies is by using the "double
bli'lld food challenge". In this test
your doctor gives you a small cap­
sule of the suspected food alter­
nately with a placebo .(a
non-allergic substance).
. Thus, nei ther you or your doc­
tor knows which pills are which
until the test is done. This is a
costly procedure, though, and
usually done for research, There
are several other popular methods
for testing allergies, however,
they have not been proven to be
effective.
For example, some practioners
mix a sample of your blood with
the suspected food, or else, inject
a food extract into your arm or
place it under your tongue. Be- .
ware of how you are tested. Make
sure you understand how and why
a particular test will work.
Treatment for food allergies is,
unfortunately, limited. If the of­
fending food can be identified,
you can either avoid it completely, .
or at least limit yourself to very
small amounts of it depending on
the everity of your reaction.
There is no evidence that "desen­
sitizing" techniques can cure food
allergies.
YOU MAY O.WANTto
have your allergist or family doc­
tor refer you to a nutritionalist
who can help you plan your diet
around avoiding the food you're
allergic to, and help you to read
food labels.
Some allergic food sub tances
are in a lot of other kind of foods.
If you've ever experienced an
anaphlylactic reaction to a food,
you must carefully read the labels
of the food you buy to make ure
ab olutely none of that food i in
the product.
Finally, if you are omeone
who can have a life-threatening
allergic reaction to a food, or any
ubstance for that matter, be ure.
to alway wear a medic-alert l.D.
bracelet that let other know
about your aller y.
..
I
w
By V lond Thompaon
Sp.cl.' to lchlgan Citizen
The whole idea of weight control
i concentrated on calories con-
umed (en rgy intake) and calorie
used (energy expenditure) on a daily
basi . When the calories consumed
are exactly the same as the calories.
used an energy balance results and
weight r main the arne.
Weight i affected by an im­
balance in the energy equation.
Weight gain results when we take tn
more calories than we use. This po i­
tive energy balance i caused by the
build-up of fat deposits from over­
consumption and inactivity. On the
other hand, weight decreases when
fewer calories are consumed than ex­
pended - negative energy balance.
Since many of us with to loose
�c.ig �el Jl106t interest in
ways to unbala.�Rt!l&t:tftSll1lV
tion that calori consumed arel
less than ca ones expen ed:""the un­
balance can be achieved through
calorie cutting (dieting), exercise or
a combination of both.
Diet Only
One pound of weight is equal to
approximately 3,500 calories. A
decrease in calorie intake by 250
calories a day for two weeks will
result in one pound of weight loss.
The more you use calorie reduction
alone as a weight loss method, the
less effective it ·becomes. On again
off again dieting (affectionately
known as yo-yo dieting) makes it
more difficult to loose weight and
easier to gain.
Why? The body has the ability to
adapt to continual energy depriva­
tion:
Dieting signals the body that
lean times are in store. The body
cope. hy t'rfl' j"ntly using available
calories.
•
HEALTH
P I CLUD experts
tion I Phann ceutical
Council (NPC); the American
I
y?
?
•
n
r
Tea made from the leaves "is
very soothing. It calm your nerves.
And when babie tarted teething
they'd put orne in a bottle. I drank
catnip tell many a night. t'
"There are a lot
: of people out
there who use
folk medicine and
home remedies
and 'don 't tell
their doctors. "
Many old family cures are till
around, aid Snow, and they can be
potent.
"Some people are astonishingly
naive. They thinkjustbecausesome­
thing i 'natural' it can't hurt you,"
he aid. "They're drug, too.
They're just not ynthesized. Some
are quite dangerous."
Some elixirs turn out to be a basis
for.over-the- helf medications.
Mtchigan geologi t Henry
Schoolcraft's Ojibwa wife, Jane, ex­
tracted methyl alicylate from bir h
Remember the body require a
certain amount of nutrients to main­
tain its basic functions (basal meta­
bolism). Approximately 10 calorie
per pound per day is needed for me­
tabolism. Daily physical activity re­
quires additional calories. How
much depends on how active an in­
dividual is. The following chart
shows activity clas ifications and
.�"Uliou.ta or a e
basal metabolism required.
Activity lev.. %C.'or'" a. .. ,
Sedem.ry 30-40%
Mod ... .t .. y Active 40-50 %
Very Active' 70-80 %
The estimated total calories re­
quired for a" sedentary 135 pound
adult is:
a. .. , c.'orl" 135 x 10 = 1,350
Activity calorl" 1,350 x .30 = 405
Tot to m.'nt.'n current weight
1,755 calorl" peT d.y
Calorie intake restricted to Ie
than 1200 for females and 1500 for
males is considered excessive. A
moderate decrease in calorie intake
accompanied by a moderate increase
in activity lev.el will yield the be t
results.
Everything in Moderation!!!
MSU Professor eschews hi-tech for folk remedies
o Once dieting has stopped, the
body stores energy as FAT so there
will be reserves for the next "enegry
depres ion".
ODieting causes lean body mass
loss (muscle tissue) which lowers the
metabolism. The lower the metabo­
lism the lower the amount of calories
required to maintain weight.
P\c�re thls: Re t e die �
'Ie. I r. .J .,. ) • ( t
was ... lng.in, ; 9{). ca' day.
e went on I diet and dropped 'in­
take to 1,100 calories per day. Three
months later after the body has ad­
justed to 1,100 calories, Ann goes off
her diet. Gue s what happens to
those extra 590 calories. Within two
weeks she will have gained about 2
pounds. FAT! FAT! FAT!
Exercise Only
Regular aerobic exercise increase
metabolism. Thi increase may last
for several hours after exercising. If
calorie intake i not increased and
calories used is increased by 250 a
day, one pound of weight would be
lost every two weeks. Just as exces­
sive calorie reduction affects the
body's metaboli m negatively, so
will excessive aerobic exercise. The
natural survival mechanism of the
body i activated. Strength training
is important in maintaining; as well
as increasing lean body mass, which
help to maintain metabolism.
Calories and exercise - What's
enough?
trees. Today it can be found in yn­
thetic form in evcral popular rub
and ointments.
U ing wild plants for food and
medicine i becoming increasingly
popular with all types of people,
Snow said.
"Maybe it's because they're sick
of the high-tech society we 've turned
into," she said.
Yog u rt go.od for
immune system
According to a recent i ue of the
Journal of Jrnmunotherapy, yogurt'
with live culture may help
strengthen the immun� system.
The study compare three group:
live-culture yogurt eaters, heat­
treated yogurt (containg no live cul­
ture ) eaters and yogurt abstainers.
CHOL TEROL D
triglyceride level remain the ame
for all three group, while calcium
show up in greater amounts in the
yogurt eaters.
But results how that, for me
unknown reason, tho e who eat live­
culture yogurt produce more gamma­
interferon in their white bloo cell ,
sugg ting a boo t to the immunity
proce .
EAST LANSING, (AP) In an age of
genetic engineering, hi-technology
treatments and a huge pharmaceuti­
cal indu try, one Michigan
anthropology researcher is going
back to basics.
"There are a lot of people out
there who use folk medicine and
home remedies and don't tell their
doctors," says Michigan State
University Professor Loudell Snow.
"Catnip tea is till brewed in many
Lansing kitchens to cure colicky
babies. t,
Her book about African­
American folk medicine, "Walkin'
Over Medicine," is the product of20
years of re earch and ix years of
writing. It's set for publication next
year.
"There' a whole lot to be said for
tradition, and what grandma pas ed
down to your mother and what she
passed down to you," she aid in a
recent interview.
Marguerite Berry Jackson, a
retired Sexton High School teacher
and expert on the hi tory of blacks in
the Lan ing area, aid her
grandmother would take the children
out gather catnip.
"We always picked it before it
bloomed, and dried the leaves," he
aid.
Program to inc(iIl:iir��1I:iir
minori i
minority undergraduates par­
ticipated in the ix-week
academy which i funded in part
by a grant from the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.
PARTICIPANTS SPEND
morning in a medical etting
paired with a phy ician and after-.
noons in science and com­
munications classes. Anthony
Decuir, Jr., a enior at Xavier
University in New Orleans.
gained a greater appreciation for
the overall picture of the medical
profession.
t t," id Dr. Demetri
on, program director t Baylor.
M ny tud nts complete the pro-
gram with reater ense of th
teamwork involv d in medicine .
"Th doctor I worked with
really concentrated on good com­
munication wi th everyone in-
vol ed in the medical
etting-from patien to the
ho pital taff," aid Le'Chauncy
Woodard, 20, who atten Tex
A&M University.
ForVVoodard,experienc�
medicin from the phy ician'
viewpol'nt reaffirmed her goal.
"My desire to be a doctor Inten-
ified beca I w ble to et
hands-on experience in some­
thing you do not really learn
about in class-the human side of
care."
Dr. RonaldA. White, P.C.
Dentistry For Adults & Children
(2 Blocks East of Southfield Freeway)
Detroit, MI48235
HOURS By ApPOINTMENT
(313) 533-6500
Dr. Ronald A. Whit.
THE HEALTH PAVILION
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.
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