An unrecognized variation of exposure to an addicting substance may result in an unexpected increase in symptoms. A chronically tired beer drinker who is allergic to the grain in his brew may experience a sudden lift from a few shots of whisky (++) and then experience a delayed hangover (- – -), before returning to his accustomed state of fatigue (- -).

A person with “brain-fag” (- – -), who is actually allergic to the cane sugar in his coffee, may experience a psychotic episode (++++) after eating a hot fudge sundae, loaded with such sugar. This may be followed by a deep depression, with an eventual return to his ordinary state of mental exhaustion. This hot-fudge-sundae side trip, superimposed on a long-standing susceptibility to cane sugar, might be represented by the following progression: minus-three, plus-four, and minus-four before a return to minus-three. All of this typically takes place without the victim himself understanding the source of the problem.

The stimulated food or chemical addict can go along for years without seeking medical advice. He is oblivious to the source of his problem and may not even know that he has a problem. Alcoholics, for instance, are notorious for their ability to deceive themselves about the extent of their problem. Advanced food addicts are no less self-deceiving.

The increasingly frequent hangovers, or minus reactions, bring the addict to the doctor. This onset of negative symptoms, either localized or systemic, is regarded by one and all as the “onset of the present illness.” Except for a minority of patients, most addicts of this type are improperly diagnosed and treated. Usually they are given synthetic drugs, such as antihistamines, pain relievers, or tranquilizers.

Because of the hidden nature of food and chemical allergies, the orthodox doctor usually does not diagnose the demonstrable cause of the illness. Despite the individual nature of the problem, he gives some mass-applicable remedy and does not deal with the specific needs of the patient. And because of the polysymptomatic nature of the illness, he often dismisses the patient’s many and varied complaints as signs of hysteria, neurosis, or hypochondria.

The result is that ecologic disturbances—which may be America’s greatest single health problem—are often bypassed by the medical profession and only faintly glimpsed by its victims. Millions of people are undergoing needless drugging, hospitalization, or even surgery, because the environmental cause of their problem is not understood.

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Drugs are referred to in two ways – by their proper name (or generic name), and by the trade names given them by the manufacturers. The same drug may be marketed under a number of different trade names if it is produced by different manufacturers. Some medicines contain a mixture of two or more drugs. Drugs are described here under their generic names, which are given in italics, eg salbutamol. The trade names are shown with a capital letter eg Ventolin.

This list of drugs is reasonably comprehensive, but bear in mind that new drugs are introduced all the time. So a medicine you are prescribed may not be mentioned here if it is fairly new on the market.

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The most likely explanation is that you are developing a new sensitivity to something allowed on the exclusion phase – probably something you are eating a lot of. Look at your food record for the exclusion phase, and try to work out what this might be – foods you ate before the diet, rather than entirely novel ones, are obvious suspects. Cut out any such foods and see what happens. Meanwhile make great efforts not to eat too much of any one food.

If you get better again, and stay better for two or three days, then you can begin the reintroduction phase. Continue to vary your diet as much as possible during this period – if you can, go on to a rotation diet. If you can’t manage a four-day rotation, then three days will be some help at least.

If you are still not well, or if you have unclear results during the reintroduction phase, then one possible solution is an elemental diet but you should consult your doctor about this and take his advice.

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All elimination diets fall into two parts. First you avoid any food that might be causing trouble and see if the symptoms clear up – we will call this the exclusion phase. If the symptoms do disappear, then foods are reintroduced, one at a time, to discover which ones produce the symptoms. This is referred to here as the reintroduction phase.

The elimination diet sounds simple enough, although in practice there can be pitfalls and the results are not always clear-cut. This chapter has been carefully planned to help you avoid as many of those pitfalls as possible, and to give you the clearest possible answers with the least amount of change in your diet. It is very important that you work through it carefully. You should read the whole chapter first, then re-read each section and understand it thoroughly before you begin.

Do not be put off by the constant references to things going wrong. Only a minority of people will encounter problems such as these, but when they do arise, extra advice is needed – which is why the possible pitfalls seem to loom very large in this chapter.

There is no point whatever in doing an elimination diet half-heartedly – it simply won’t work. You cannot have a day off it in the middle, unlike a weight-reducing or health’ diet – it is a diagnostic diet, not a treatment in itself. If you stop for a day – or even for one meal – you will not get a clear result.

It is also a mistake to rush into it because things are more likely to go wrong. You may feel impatient to be well again, but try to think ahead. Imagine how you might feel in six months time, if you are.only partially better, or little improved, because the elimination diet has not worked out properly. If you had taken it more slowly you might have been fully recovered, and even if it had taken an extra few months, this would have been thoroughly worthwhile because it could mean many years of really good health in the future. Doing the diet again is often very difficult. The process itself can change you – in particular, you may acquire new sensitivities to the foods eaten during the exclusion phase, simply because they are eaten more regularly and in greater amounts than before. If you are already sensitive to a wide range of foods, acquiring new sensitivities may prevent you from having a ’second go’ at the elimination diet – you need a basic set of foods to which you have no reaction, in order for the diet to work. This is an extreme situation, of course, but it is worth bearing in mind that it can happen. The important thing is to get the elimination diet right first time.

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Differences in behaviour between home and school are not uncommon in hyperkinetic children, but they do not really help in deciding whether the problem has dietary origins. The perceptions of parent and teacher are not always the same, for one thing. Parents may be more critical of their child’s behaviour than a teacher, or less critical. Or it may be that one environment is over-stimulating for the child – a classroom full of other children, with colourful posters covering all the walls may be so distracting for a mildly hyperkinetic child that he or she behaves far worse than usual. Such children need special teaching in a quieter and less stimulating environment. Children who behave well at school but badly at home may be responding to family tensions, or they may find it easier to accept discipline in the more formal atmosphere of a school.

For some children, however, differences in food and chemical exposure between school and home may explain different behaviour patterns. It is worth investigating what the child eats for school lunch, or how many sweets are consumed at break-time, if school behaviour tends to be worse. For children who show chemical sensitivity, cleaning materials, disinfectants, floor wax, fumes from the heating system, marker pens and other items used in school may be to blame. Conversely, items used around the home, such as perfumes, aerosols and air-fresheners, may make the child more unmanageable than at school. But it makes sense to consider other explanations first, because family problems are far more likely to be the source of trouble than household chemicals.

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Proteins can do these many different jobs because they are made up of long chains of chemicals called amino acids. The types of amino acid present, and the order in which they occur, is different for each type of protein. Once the chains have been formed.

they are folded up in a specific way to give a compact protein molecule, often spherical or sausage-shaped. In the case of enzymes, one small area on the surface of the molecule is the active site, where the crucial chemical reaction controlled by that enzyme occurs. Similarly, in antibodies, the particular combination and arrangement of amino acids at the antigen-binding site decides which antigen it will bind.

There are 20 common types of amino acid each with its own distinctive chemical properties. Some are attracted to water, others repel it. Some can react with one type of molecule, others do not. It is the different combinations of amino acids that make proteins so different from one another. They give enzymes their impressive range of chemical abilities, and account for the versatility of antibodies.

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To avoid chemical contaminants in food, use processed foods as little as possible. Buy organic food wherever possible, cook your own food from fresh ingredients, and do not use canned foods. Avoid eating salted, smoked or pickled foods of any kind. Store food in glass jars wherever possible, and avoid using plastic boxes and film for food storage, especially when food is warm. Buy milk and other drinks in glass bottles rather than in waxed cartons or plastic bottles.

The rind of lemons and other citrus fruits are sometimes waxed to protect them in transit and against infestation. Do not grate rinds. Alternatively, use organic citrus fruit.

Cultivate your butcher. Small local butchers may be better able to obtain meat from field-fed stock, or free-range poultry, or will know more about the farms from which their products come. Some are also willing to make up batches of your own blend sausages (e.g. lamb and buckwheat, turkey and oats). For mail order sources of organic foods, pure meat, poultry and sausages, see below.

Dried fruit is often treated with sulphur dioxide as a preservative and with vegetable oils to keep it moist. Foodwatch International supply untreated dried fruit.

Beware salad bars in restaurants, cafes and pubs. The salads are often sprayed with antioxidants to prevent deterioration.

Beware of chips. Frozen chips, and chips from fish and chip and fast food shops are sometimes treated with antioxidants.

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Remember that you may get withdrawal symptoms and may feel worse or different at first, especially if you are very sensitive to something. A teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of water (not more than three times a day) will help relieve these. Paracetamol, in preference to aspirin, will relieve any pain.

If you can start the programme with a few days spent mainly at home, it works best. You can, of course, still go out and about, but it helps to be mainly where you have control over things. So start it over a weekend or public holiday; for a child, during school holidays or at half-term; or take time off work. Pretend to yourself that you have gone to a health farm, if you like.

The programme also works better if you get good co-operation from the people you live with, work with or from school or nursery. If they can co-operate – just a bit, if not totally – and try to limit their use of things like fragrances, toiletries, cleaning products, DIY materials, glues, paints, etc., it helps a lot. If there have been, or still are, smokers in your home, you would be best to clear out smoke residues before you go much further. If you are going to have to cope while still living with smokers, then it is still worth doing the programme, although results may be a bit clouded.

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Mould growth results from persistent condensation and damp. It is a good idea in the long term to solve the problems at source by eradicating the damp or keeping the place as dry as you can, rather than using chemicals to remove the symptoms.

Natural paints and varnishes

You can obtain paints and varnishes for all applications which are based on natural solvents, oils, resins and other chemicals. Some people with chemical sensitivity tolerate these well; others do not. You are best advised to treat these as cautiously as you would any other chemicals, unless you know that you are not sensitive to plant terpenes, oils and resins.

Materials of this kind are supplied by The Healthy House and Livos, who will also give you thorough advice on what to choose and any potential problems. Some of their products avoid specific natural chemical allergens. Livos will supply small samples for testing.

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Fabric filters remove particles by trapping them in fibres, webs or pleated filters. Large particles such as dusts, moulds, pollens and fibres are readily trapped by most fabric filters; smaller particles or molecules, such as chemicals, bacteria or viruses, require much finer webs or fabrics.

Electrostatic filters charge the entering air so that particles stick to a screen within the filter which has the opposite charge. The screens are made of metal or plastic.

If you are chemically sensitive, you will need to have activated carbon filters or HEPA niters in the device you select. Activated carbon filters absorb chemical vapours and gases from the air. The activated carbon is usually held in a fabric pouch or impregnated into a fabric web. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are very high performance filters. Made of semi-porous, papery-like, fibrous material, the filter medium acts like blotting paper, absorbing very tiny particles of less than 0.1 micron in size, and will take out gases and vapours.

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