http://scienceblogs.com/whitecoatunderground/2010/05/if_there_were_a_parallel.php"...
Seasonal allergies are caused by a pathophysiologic process called "type I hypersensitivity". For those of us with a genetic susceptibility to seasonal allergies a normally harmless environmental substance, such as pollen, make us miserable. The first time I was exposed to pollen, it lodged in my nose and was consumed by immune cells patrolling for invaders. It was chopped up, processed, and it's proteins presented to other immune cells. Eventually, B-cells were exposed both to these cells and to pollen, matured into plasma cells, and started cranking out IgE antibodies. These antibodies are specific to the pollen I was exposed to. They can bind to it. But the other end of the antibody binds to cells in my nose called basophils and mast cells. These cells, with all of the pollen-specific IgE sticking out of them, hang out in my nose. When the pollen comes back, it locks on to these antibodies, causing the cells to flood my nose with histamine and other nasty substances. This makes my nose run, makes me sneeze, and makes me cranky.
That's a very basic look at the science. We have a number of ways of blunting this reaction. We can use antihistamines to fight the effects of histamine. We can use mast cell stabilizers to prevent histamine release. We can avoid allergens. We can use inhaled steroids to block the late inflammatory responses. We can use desensitization therapy (allergy shots). All of these are based on an understanding of the way our immune system causes the condition we call "allergies".
The website for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians has a different approach to allergies, a more creative one. They recommend dietary changes to alleviate allergy symptoms, none of which are supported by any evidence in the literature, and most of which show just enough knowledge of immunology to get things spectacularly wrong. For example:
Red meat contains a substance called arachadonic (sic) acid, which helps to produce the cytokines and leukotrines that cause your immune system to react with allergic inflammation. While you need a small amount of arachadonic acid for your immune system to function, your body can produce this amount naturally. Simply eliminating red meat from your diet can reduce the level of this acid, thus lessening your allergic reactions."..."
------------------------------------
This stuff never fails to amaze me, and yet those with a little bit of information, you know, enough to be dangerous, keep fooling enough people to stay in business.
:eyes: