Causes of Sensitivities

The Rain Barrel Effect

Imagine that your body is like a rain barrel, and that the more chemicals and sensitivity sources substances your body has to deal is the rain that fills your rain barrel. When the rain barrel overflows, your symptoms occur.

Each NAET desensitization treatment lowers the level of rain in your rain barrel. When your body stops reacting to the foods you are eating and the air you are breathing your symptoms go away. The best results from NAET are achieved by first clearing for the key food groups. These basic clearings reduce the sensitivity load on your body allowing your body to comfortably handle environmental stressors such as the Hawaiian Vog and pets.

Other Known Causes of Sensitivities

Genetic Factors

Genetic factors predispose people to sensitivities.

Pregnancy

A pregnant mother’s exposure to sensitivity sources and breast feeding by a mother who consumes sensitivity sources can increase the baby’s odds of being sensitive.

Early Infant Feeding

Right after birth, a baby’s organs are not fully formed. This includes their immune system and digestive tract. So when difficult-to-digest proteins come in (such as wheat, cow’s milk, cereal, corn, eggs and meat) they make their way into the bloodstream and alert the immune system, which then results in sensitivities.

Immunizations

Immunizations impair the immune system. A correlation has been seen between required immunizations and incidences of sensitivity and asthma. Childhood illnesses like measles, mumps and whooping cough, actually decrease the incidence of a sensitivity. Vaccines activate the humoral branch of the immune system, not the cell-mediated branch. The humoral branch is involved in making antibodies that attach to antigens. This branch of the immune system does not act like the cell-mediated branch in that it doesn’t discharge the pathogens from the body or protect the child against future illness. Illnesses like measles and mumps, on the other hand, provide cell-mediated immunity, which removes the contents from the body and protects the child from future illnesses.

Extreme Sanitation

Studies have shown that those who were raised on a farm or those exposed to pathogens have fewer sensitivities.

Candida Infection

Yeast penetrate the protective barrier of the intestinal tract and invade the circulatory system. They then release waste chemicals (toxins) and, in the process, allow undigested food proteins and other toxins to enter the body. These and other foreign substances assault the immune system, leading to tremendous sensitivity reactions, fatigue and other health problems. Causes of initial sensitivities in young babies include Candida overgrowth, which can be due to degree of hygiene at birth, mode of delivery, administration of antibiotics and other meds. Use of incubators can also impair this process. Candida also instigates sensitivities because it can trigger the complement pathway, which amplifies inflammation.

Parasites

Parasites tend to live in the intestines where they cause extensive damage. They may also migrate to the blood, liver, lymph, heart, gall bladder, pancreas, spleen, eyes and brain. They release toxins that damage tissue in the gastrointestinal tract and, over time, exhaust the immune system.

Medications

Antacids, anti-ulcers, steroid meds and oral contraceptive are alkalizing. They can impair hydrochloric acid’s ability to break down food molecules and some (like antibiotics) increase Candida growth.

Hydrochloric Acid Deficiency and Enzyme Deficiency

With lack of digestion of foods large molecules seep into the bloodstream to cause the immune system to be alerted. Hydrochloric acid is needed to make pepsin required for digestion.

Inadequate Digestion

Inadequate digestion due to any cause, including infection, inflammation and malabsorption, may result in digestive barrier default and large particles being absorbed into the bloodstream. If that occurs, sensitization becomes a random event according to what was absorbed. Foods eaten the most are the most suspect. If a patient can digest and metabolize properly, they do not become sensitized to foods.

Insufficient Mucus

Insufficient mucus in the nose, sinuses or respiratory passages can allow a substance such as pollen to come into direct contact with the membrane and irritate it enough so that it is absorbed into the bloodstream and sensitization occurs. The mucus membranes can be protected by adequate fluid intake, saline and herbs such as slippery elm.

Break in the Skin

Any break in the skin that compromises the skin barrier may cause sensitization to occur to even common items such as cosmetics, eyeglasses, jewelry, perfumes, deodorants, sunscreen, organisms and others. The skin is a protective organ and normally prevents dangerous substances from entering the body. But when it gets irritated by dry conditions, sunburn, cuts, abrasions, acne or chemicals, it is no longer able to “remember” which substances are bad or good. People then can become sensitized to what touches damaged skin most frequently. Deficiencies in fatty acids, ultra violet radiation, hormone irregularities, and stress can impair skin’s repair process and lead to sensitivities.

Leaky Gut Syndrome

With inflammation in the gastrointestinal mucosa, the wall becomes permeable and is called leaky gut syndrome. The main causes of leaky gut and digestive dysfunction are parasites, enzyme and hydrochloric acid deficiency, early introduction of foods, intestinal dysbiosis and alcohol ingestion.

Toxicity

We regularly come across a multitude of toxins and there are more than 32,000 chemical substances routinely added to our food. This toxicity can deplete pancreatic enzymes and overburden the immune system, which leads to more sensitivities. When the key detoxification organs become unable to fully detoxify themselves or the body, a pattern of chronic sensitivities may develop in which the immune system attacks its own toxic load. This state of heightened sensitivity reactivity makes the immune system hyperactive. It then becomes overtaxed. Our bodies also produce endotoxins which get involved with this process as well. They include Uric acid, Lactic acid, Homocysteine, Nitric oxide, Cellular debris from microorganisms and intestinal toxins like Indole, Skatole, Putrescine, Cadaverine, Spermadine and Spermine.

Alcohol

Even moderate consumption of alcohol can increase the likelihood of developing sensitivities because it reduces the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. When this happens, unfriendly intestinal bacteria will flourish; the digestive tract will become more alkaline; and an enzyme called delta-6-desaturase, which is necessary for the production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins, will deactivate.

Inability to Metabolize Linoleic Acid

Inability to metabolize linoleic acid to gamma-linoleic acid because of delta-6-desaturase inactivity can result in sensitivities as described above. This can be a result of aging, stress, zinc deficiency, magnesium deficiency and sunlight.

Dehydration

Histamine plays a role in the redistribution of water. When water is in short supply, histamine becomes more active, which can instigate sensitivities.

Lack of Humidity

In low humidity your mucus membranes dry out and cilia movement slows down, resulting in an increased sensitivity to air.

Weak Adrenal, Thyroid, and Pancreas

These glands support our barriers and provide energy to the immune system. When these are down more sensitivities can result.

Stress

Stress has been proven to depress the immune system. During a stress response the adrenal glands release high amounts of cortisol (a hormone that prepares the body for light or flight during dangerous situations). Cortisol initially stops a sensitivity reaction. But if stress becomes chronic, the adrenals can weaken and impair the immune system. Since sensitivities themselves are stressful, there is often a vicious cycle that is set up. The adrenals also produce the sex hormones — so this can also affect sexual function.

Sugar Consumption

Sugar consumption can result in immune problems and sensitivities. Insulin has a less well-known job of transporting vitamin C into the body’s cells. Sugar takes precedence over vitamin C and with a high sugar diet less vitamin C gets into the cells. This results in decreased phagocytes and white blood cells, which impairs immunity. High insulin levels also lead to pro-inflammatory prostaglandins by inhibiting the absorption of good fats.

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[Resource: “Allergy Free” by Konrad Kail, 2000]