Food allergies and brain inflammation - does anybody see a connection?

Hello All,

We're still trying to get this board moving but I thought I'd post another topic because I have been seeing connections in food sensitivities (allergies) and many of my symptoms and thought I'd share.

There is good news and bad news on this front.

The good news is that I have a 90% predictability rate now when judging what to eat and what not to eat. That is pretty good. If I want to feel good, I choose to eat those foods which I know do not effect me. And this should be all the time!

The bad news is that so far I haven't overcome this area of my battle in that I eventually want to be able to eat those foods without disturbance (not the chemicals and preservatives, etc. of course but the common foods that I believe are generally good for you in a normal, healthy individual, like tomatoes, potatoes, etc.). I'm not saying it's not possible, in fact, I have heard great stories of people cleaning their systems well enough to re-introduce what used to be "culprit" foods, and not have any further reactions to them.

So, here's my comment. I've been researching the connection between brain inflammation and Hashimotos. It's been a while since I've studied this area so I am going to re-acquaint myself and get back to you on this. However, I did come across a statement I thought I'd share from the following website:

Quote

Why do I have so many different symptoms? The one symptom common to all allergies is inflammation. If it occurs in your brain cells you end up with mental or emotional symptoms. These can include dizziness, poor memory, foggy thinking, learning disorders, seizures, and paranoia. Inflammation manifests in joints as arthritis. What makes an allergy choose one part of the body over another? Most allergic people have a toxic bowel, preventing the body from eliminating irritants the natural way. This burdens other channels of elimination, especially skin and lungs - which explains mysterious eczema or awful asthma.

http://www.karinya.com/alrgies.htm

I looked this up because a couple days ago and had a terrible reaction to salsa. I made it FRESH, added one jalapeño which seems to cause me much grief anytime I eat them, and for almost 48 hours I was "history". Bad eye pain (over the eye), headache, what I call "brain inflammation" (a fullness in the head) and feelings of fainting. Okay, these are what I would consider serious food sensitivities (probably better described as allergies)!

I am recuperating today. It bothers me when I get lazy and think "it's all in my head" (pun intended) and get brave to eat with those around me. It is lonely in a way, to miss out on the "offering" of the food before you, especially when the people you are around are making it for you and want to see you enjoy it. So, on top of the immediate reaction to my own salsa, I enjoyed prepared foods from a well-known stock up store that they chose to use for dinner. I don't know what was in the food but I would guess there was MSG somewhere. Sad

Do any of you experience noticeable brain (or internal head) swelling that they can connect to food reactions? I am not sure, but it seems most of you that I know here, have other issues relating to other parts of their body. Do we all have food sensitivities? Is this a very common "symptom" of Hashi's?

The scary part of the symptom to me is that when I'm having these "bouts", and I try to continue to relate to others, if I laugh, (I know this might sound strange) I tend to feel the pressure build much more in my head and feel like I'm going to pass out! This is the most annoying symptom I have! Has anybody ever felt this too? I haven't found anybody yet but it seems that for some reason my inflammation goes directly up to my head and causes all types of uncomfortable symptoms.

Now, is this related to Hashimotos Disease? I don't know. I know my antibody count is ridiculously high (in the 3,000 range) and has been for a couple years regardless of a normal TSH, and it seems like it could be related. Any thoughts?

Thanks! Don't be shy. Let's come alive here! We've done it before.