Bedford Health Show

Pumpernickel’s of Bedford are sponsoring the Bedford Health Show which will be taking place on 4 February in the Harpur Suite, Bedford from 11am-3pm. There will be many exhibitors including Bedford Allergy Support Group.  Exhibitors include:- Victoria Simons, Holistic Therapist; Lotus Spa, Thai/Ayurvedic massage; Juanita Puddifoot, Past Life Therapist; Pumpernickel, nutrition & health advice; Alison Jones, Classical homeopath; Camille Stephens, 5 star fitness; Elizabeth Drake, Reikki Master; Dale Pinnock, Medicinal Chef; and Amer Health Supplements.  See full list at Pumpernickel, 7 The Arcade, Bedford Tel: 01234 348179 email: bedfordhealthshow@yahoo.co.uk.

Breakspear Medical Bulletin

The Breakspear Hospital in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire publishes a Medical Bulletin which contains regular up to date information on health issues.  Contact the Breakspear on www.breakspearmedical.com or on 01442 261 333.

Gluten free menu at Vesuvio, Sharnbrook Hotel

Vesuvio’s Restaurant at the Sharnbrook Hotel, Sharnbrook now have a Gluten Free Menu.  To see the menu go to www.thesharnbrookhotel.com.

Travel tip

Allergy UK, the country’s leading charity dedicated to allergies, provides translation cards to help you order in restaurants and deal with emergencies when you’re away.  A set of three (each the size of a credit card) costs £15.  Languages range from French and Flemish to Arabic and Vietnamese.  See allergyuk.org or call 01322-619898.

Woman&home April 2011

There’s an app for that!

New smartphone applications make it easy to shop for food if you do suffer from allergies.  Sign up to the app, then once you’ve inputted your allergy details, swipe your phone over the barcode of the product you want to buy.  The app will warn you if the food contains any problem ingredients.

The Isitinit Food Angel app covers Sainsbury’s products, while FoodWiz covers Asda and Tesco products, although both also have lists of branded products, so could just as easily be used at the corner shop.  Both apps cost £10 for a year’s subscription and are available to download from iTunes.

Woman&home April 2011

Food allergies latest

Around 3% of adults and 6% of children in the UK have a food allergy, and this is rising.  ”These figures” could be due to immune systems not being challenged by as many germs as they used to be, so they attack harmless things, such as food, instead, says University of Portsmouth’s Dr Carina Venter.  ”It’s also though that with constant environmental and diet changes, our gut bacteria change and allergies develop.”  Another idea is if we avoid certain foods when young, we have a harder time dealing with them later on.

Allergy or intolerance?

If you suffer from a food allergy, your body mistakenly identifies a food as something harmful, so produces an antibody, called IgE, which triggers a release of chemicals, causing allergic symptoms such as rashes, vomiting, migraines, sneezing and, in severe cases, anaphylactic shock.

An intolerance means you don’t have enough of a certain enzyme to properly digest a food.  Symptoms include bloating and abdominal pain.  A common intolerance is to lactose.  This is due to a lack of the enzyme lactase, which  breaks down milk sugars.  To see if a food is causing the symptoms, eliminate it from your diet for six to eight weeks, says Dr Venter.

Get a diagnosis

Some food allergies, such as those from eggs, shrimp, peanuts and soy, can be identified by a skin prick or blood test, both of which test IgE levels.  But, as the tests aren’t always reliable, an allergy specialist will also take a history of the symptoms.  This helps to pinpoint the cause of the allergy, or work out if it is some other health complaint.

If you suspect that you are allergic to a food, ask your GP to refer you to an allergy specialist.  ”I’d never recommend a home test to check for food allergies, as you won’t get an accurate result.” says Dr Fox, a consultant allergist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

Woman&home April 2011

Articles on moulds

If you never seem to get truly well then this could be why – see the video on moulds at the website on the link below:-

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/20/dr-doris-rapp-on-mold.aspx

See another link on the Mercola website re moulds:-

 The “New” Hidden Pandemic Sweeping Across America

 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/30/dr-thrasher-on-the-health-dangers-of-mold.aspx?e_cid=20110730_DNL_art_1

Help for autism?

How a Physician Cured Her Son’s Autism…

See link below on the Mercola website:-

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/31/dr-natasha-campbell-mcbride-on-gaps-nutritional-program.aspx?e_cid=20110731_SNL_Art_1

Professor Edzard Ernst steps down early….

Scientist brands prince ‘snake oil salesman’ as reported by Ian Sample Science correspondent of The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday 26 July 2011

Britain’s leading alternative medicine researcher has reignited a public row with Clarence House by branding the Prince of Wales a “snake oil salesman”.  

Professor Edzard Ernst criticised the heir to the throne for lending his support to homeopathic remedies and for promoting the Duchy Herbals detox tincture.

In a briefing with reporters at the Science Media Centre in London, Ernst warned that “snake oil salesmen are ubiquitous and dangerous”, and named the prince as “one of the most outspoken proponents of homeopathy”.

He later told the Guardian: “There are no official criteria for a snake oil salesman, but if they existed, I think Charles would fulfil them.”

Ernst, who was Britain’s first professor of complementary medicine, agreed recently to retire early from Exeter University, where he presided for 18 years over a unit that subjects alternative medicines to thorough scientific scrutiny.

Many of Ernst’s studies have been critical of complementary medicine, with some proving no more effective than sugar pills.  Other treatments, such as chiropractic spine manipulation, were potentially dangerous, he claimed.

In a briefing that coincided with his stepping down, Ernst blamed earlier confrontations with Clarence house for the threatened closure of his department and his early exit as head of the unit.

Clarence House said it would not respond to Ernst’s latest comments.

A spokeswoman for Waitrose, which has exclusive rights to sell the prince’s Duchy products, said only that the Duchy Herbals range “complies to all the regulatory standards”.