Arthritis And Allergy

Many doctors have refused to accept that bothbe a case of masking the disease with the very
arthritis and rheumatism, are either caused, or at thesubstance which is causing it?
very least seriously affected, by diet. Most peopleThere is virtually no part of the body which may not
over the age of thirty, will notice a twinge or an achebe affected, either directly or indirectly, by an allergic
somewhere, if they persist in eating something thatreaction - particularly with respect to food and
is bad for them. In actual fact, both rheumatism andchemical intolerances. It is important to understand
arthritis are classic examples of masked food allergiesthat the effects of an ongoing allergic condition, on
at their rampaging worst. There is a mass ofthe body, can ultimately be catastrophic, by virtue of
evidence throughout the world to support this fact.the cumulative effects over months or years. These
One example, in many, is research done during aeffects certainly go much further than the general,
three and a half year clinical trial, conducted by Drdiscomforting symptoms discussed in previous
D.M. Carroll of North Carolina. In 300 patients sufferingchapters and can lead to serious degeneration and
from rheumatoid arthritis, 98 per cent were found todisease in major organs if allowed to persist
be severly allergic to different foods, and some toundetected.
several foods. The analysis showed 37 per centUnfortunately, few doctors understand that allergy
allergic to wheat, 27 per cent to corn, 23 per cent toillness affects the body as a whole. This problem is
milk, 19 per cent to eggs and 12 per cent towell described in a passage from the Complete Book
tomatoes. Once the offending foods were removedof Homeopathy by Michael Weiner and Kathleen
from their diets, they all showed markedGoss.
improvement. That is very conclusive evidence in oneYet perhaps the most destructive effect of modern
study.orthodox medicine lies in the changes that have
The influence of arthritis on our society is significant.taken place between physician and patient... The
In 1981, according to the Bureau of Statistics, it wasgeneral practitioner (in the traditional sense) is almost
responsible for 25 per cent more lost work time thana thing of the past, and each specialist treats only
industrial disputes. It is known to affect 1,250,000that organ system that comes within his area of
Australians, many of them children. Common senseexpertise. No wonder we feel that our doctors are
must eventually dictate that the diet andnot really looking at us as whole beings. Common
environment of these people, should be thoroughlysense tells us that many symptoms appearing in
examined for food and chemical intolerances.different organs systems may be related - that they
At present the most widespread medical treatmentat least constitute a whole picture of our state of
for arthritis is the administration of large daily doseshealth. Yet our trips to the doctor's office must
of aspirin, over a prolonged period. Aspirin is made upoften result in a sense of frustration when we feel
of acetylsalicylic acid which is a salicylate derivative. Itthat the specific organ-directed treatment we
is well documented that salicylates are a potentreceive is not based upon the doctor's assessment
allergen, affecting many people. Could this not thenof our entire symptom picture.