allergy_season : Allergy Season
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How to survive allergy season
Spring and fall are peak allergy seasons in many areas, with spring trees still pumping out millions of grains of pollen each day and the summer grasses already starting to contribute their share. Sneezing, running nose, and itching – itchy eyes, itchy nose, itchy throat – wouldn't it be great to be able to prevent allergies before they even got started.
Preventing asthma and allergies is possible, according to a study in the June 2003 issue of Thorax. Children at high risk for asthma and allergies were recruited in 1990 to be part of this study. Half of them went about life as normal, and the other half had a low-allergy diet as infants – starting with breast milk (with moms on a low-allergy diet) or Nutramigen formula (no milk or soy-based formula). This group of families also undertook significant measures to avoid exposure to house dust during infancy.
Both groups were followed for years, and those in the normal group were 4 to 5 times more likely to develop asthma, allergies, or eczema. Prevention worked! The authors conclude that avoiding allergens during infancy is what made the difference.
Allergies happen when the body is tricked into thinking that harmless particles are dangerous invaders. The immune system tries to get rid of these allergens by sneezing them out, flushing them out with tears or mucus, or dislodging them with nose rubbing. It tries to prevent them from getting into the lungs by constricting the airways. These are all normal responses to toxins and viruses. They are allergies if the trigger is not really a problem.
It makes sense that infants avoiding those foods that commonly trigger allergies would result in fewer allergies. The immature gut allows intact proteins to slip into the body and trigger an immune response. Babies are built to start life with only one food, and then to have only a limited variety for a number of months. It is believed that the hypoallergenic diet helped the children in the study.
Avoiding inhaled allergens, though, may be another story. Other studies have shown that (or this, whichever) babies who are exposed to dogs and cats before the first birthday, for example, are far less likely to develop allergies later. It seems to me that the nose is designed to detect changes (which is why you (or anyone else) often no longer notice even very strong odors if you are around them long enough). It seems to me that a baby’s nose learns what is "normal" to have around them in the air during the first year or so, and then begins to consider some later arrivals as dangerous invaders – the body develops an allergic response to them.
Perhaps the allergy prevention would have been even stronger without the mattress covers! Once allergies are present, avoiding the allergens – whether they are pollens, pets, dust, foods, or anything else – is a powerful way to reduce the allergies. Avoiding one item you are allergic to can even reduce your allergies to something else (some people are only allergic to certain foods during the pollen season, for instance). But for babies who have not yet developed allergies, too clean may make matters worse.
There may have been other differences between the two groups in the study. One half certainly worked harder and paid more attention to allergy issues. We still have a lot to learn. What’s exciting about this breakthrough study is that it demonstrates that preventing allergies, asthma, and eczema is truly possible. Now we just have to learn how best to do it.
Some people claim that whey protein (shakes) help reduce hair loss, as well as generally helping your health.
Whey protein is not something new and has been available for hundreds of years to individuals who valued the role of a nutritious diet in achieving optimal health. During the last 15-20 years the value of whey protein has become more widely known, especially in the area of sports nutrition. More recently, whey protein has been singled out as a super-star ingredient for other types of products including ones formulated for weight loss, infant nutrition and immune support.
Whey protein is a high quality protein powder from cow's milk. Milk has two proteins: Casein (approximately 80%) and Whey Protein (approximately 20%). Whey protein is more soluble than casein and also has a higher quality rating. It is often referred to as the "Gold Standard" of protein as it is the most nutritious protein available.
There may be a large difference between whey protein concentrate and isolate. Whey protein isolate is the most pure and concentrated form of whey protein available. It contains 90% or more protein and very little (if any) fat and lactose. Whey protein concentrate has anywhere between 29% and 89% protein depending upon the product. As the protein level in whey protein concentrate decreases the amounts of fat and/or lactose usually increase.
Protein is an important nutrient needed by everyone of a daily basis. It is made up of essential and non-essential amino acids, which are the "building blocks" for healthy bodies. Protein has a number of different roles in the body including the following:
- Repair body cells
- Build and repair muscles and bones
- Provide a source of energy
- Control many of the important processes in the body related to metabolism
The body is able to make non-essential amino acids from other amino acids in the body. However, the body is not able to make essential amino acids and the only way to get them is by eating high quality protein foods. Protein sources that contain all of the essential amino acids are called complete proteins. Whey protein is a naturally complete protein.
Protein needs vary by person depending upon age, weight, sex, activity level and overall health. Athletes and individuals with special medical needs often need more protein than the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA.
Whey protein is a high quality, complete protein, with all the essential amino acids. Whey protein is also the richest known source of naturally occurring branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine). These are important for active individuals, individuals who exercise and professional athletes. The body requires higher amounts of branched chain amino acids during and following exercise as they are taken up directly by the skeletal muscles versus first being metabolized through the liver, like other amino acids. Low BCAA levels contribute to fatigue and they should be replaced in one-hour or less following exercise or participation in a competitive event. Many athletes consume a BiPro beverage both before and immediately after exercise or an event to help repair and rebuild lean muscle tissue.
Adding whey protein to the diet is a great way to jump-start a weight loss program. Whey protein is a key ingredient in numerous weight loss and meal replacement products and whey protein isolate (with no fat or carbohydrates) is often the preferred choice. Studies have found that individuals who combine diets with leucine rich protein foods, like whey protein, and exercise have more lean muscle tissue and they lose more body fat. As they lose fat their metabolic rate increases and they naturally burn more calories each day. Another way that whey protein helps manage weight is by promoting satiety, or a feeling of fullness. One recent study showed that whey protein was superior to casein, the other protein in cow's milk, in promoting satiety.
Healthy diets should regularly include high quality, low fat sources of protein, like whey protein. Calories do count and you want to make sure that you are getting the most benefit from the calories you consume. Compared to other proteins, on a gram-to-gram basis whey protein isolate delivers more essential amino acids to the body but without the fat or cholesterol. Nutrition experts recommend a diet with a variety of protein foods but for optimal results make sure that one of them is whey protein.
Milk is a highly nutritious beverage however, it only contains about 1% of whey protein. In order to get all the benefits of whey protein, you need to take a concentrated whey protein powder like whey protein isolate.
Whey protein is a soluble, very easy to digest protein. It quickly enters the body to provide the important essential amino acids needed to nourish muscles and other body tissues. This is one of the reasons it is a common ingredient in infant formula and protein supplements for medical use.
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