Question:
I am allergic to peanuts and peanutbutter, for some reason it makes me
go into a long sleep AND makes me really grouchy while I am awake! Does
anybody know what kind of weird thing causes this!! I wasn't allergic to
it when I was young (my mother was though) but now it affects me a
lot!!!
Answer:
Peanuts are known to carry a type of mold, due to processing and storage.
Only fresh, raw, refridgerated peanuts may not have the mold. Molds such
as this may cause allergic reactions. Another possibility is candida, which
is a fungus that lives in the intestine. In some people, the candida gets out
of hand, causing the liver to become overtaxed in its detoxification process.
As the toxins from yeast get into the bloodstream, a variety of symptoms may
occur, food allergies being one of them. If peanuts make you very sleepy, it
could be that your digestive system is working extra hard to digest them, and
this knocks you out. It is not the peanuts themselves that cause the
reaction, but your digestive system's ability to handle them. People do develop allergies sometimes. I once wound up in an emergency
clinic with a full-blown histamine reaction (hives, throat closing up,
and all) after eating shrimp (this was in my more carnivorous days).
I'de eaten shrimp before with no problem. I'm certainly not going to
be eating it again, though. You're never allergic to something the first time you encounter it. Your
body has to develop a reaction after the encounter. Even poison ivy won't
generally give you a reaction the first time you touch it (watch out for
that second time, though). Food sensitivities are aquired.
Bear with me. This takes a while to explain. I am not a
biologist so I may mix up some of my facts. However, I
understand the theory, so, here goes. At one time, I think it was during a war, the Red Cross
decided that it needed to be able to tell what sort of blood
group a victim who needed a blood transfusion, was. Some
very bright, lucky, scientist discovered that if one mixed
blood from an 'A' blood group, with lima beans, the red blood
cells clumped.
As most of you probably understand, when the blood reaches
the very small vessels at the end of the line, before returning
for oxygen, etc, the red blood cells need to be able to
travel single file. If the red blood cells belong to an A
blood group, and that person has just enjoyed a dish of lima
beans (peanuts are included here), the red blood cells are
clumped and the clumps are too large to make it easily
through the little vessels. Of course, if you are blood,
there is no turning back, so the heart just keeps pushing the
blood through, as best it can, regardless.
What is even more interesting about this theory is the fact
that nature had it all figured out long, long ago, at a time
when human's stayed in the land where they were born and
didn't go rushing off to find 'the promised land'.
The blood groups seem to be related to the type of diet
available to the human race that inhabited certain regions of
the world. For instance, 'O' blood groups are supposed to be
from Northern Europe and were a hunting/gathering race. 'A'
blood groups come from the region near the Red Sea.
Unfortunately, I have no information on 'B' blood group or 'AB'
blood group. I am told that there are intricate little
subdivisions. Ones blood group is inherited from one parent
or the other. It is really very fascinating.
If one eats a food that doesn't suit one's blood group, one
can expect to feel very fatigued about 2 - 24 hours after
having eaten it. If you wake up in the morning so tired you
can hardly get out of bed, maybe you ate something for supper
that is unsuitable to your blood group. Imagine the heart
working hard to squeeze that blood through, slowing down the
access of oxygen etc, to extremities; causing migrains;
affecting ones mood and attention span and ability to think.
Children are troubled,too. When I see a child acting up or
out, I often wonder what it has just eaten. I almost fall
asleep after eating eggs and stay that way for a day or two.
I used to have to feed dinner to a group 'A' blood type. It
seems that 'A's' can eat just about everything that 'B's' can't
eat and 'B's' (which is what I am) can eat just about
everything that 'A's can't. However, it was worth the effort
to feed this 'A' group as an 'A' as she was totally impossible
to live with if one didn't feed her this way, and quite
delightful when one did. 'A's' are the only blood group that
can really eat dairy. However, they should avoid sugar and
beans and most fruits except things like figs, dates and
apricots.
If it is any help, all food groups can eat rice, carrots and
peas. I don't know of any food group that get's along with
beef. Wheat is supposed to be difficult for 'O's' and 'A's'.
As I know little about what a 'B' or 'AB' can eat, it could be
that they can eat wheat. I know of a person with 'B' who
can't eat wheat. So, put together wheat and beef and the fact
that most North Americans are 'O' or 'A' and the favourite
North American food is the hamburger and you have a large
percentage or people constantly in reaction to supper.
More information on this subject might be available from
Naturopaths who are interested in this theory. I know the
name of one of these Naturopaths in Victoria, B.C. but one
has to be willing to pay for a programme to learn anything
about it.
I have scoured book shelves in health food stores and book
shops and can find nothing more about this subject.
I know that Drs. Richard and Laura Powers were doing some
related research on this subject. They were working out of
a University in Bethesda, Maryland. The research hadn't been
completed in 1990. Also, I think they were more interested
in glandular dominant types than blood groups. Apparently,
there is a theory that one should eat according to one's
glandular dominance, assuming that these two are correct and
our bodies each have a dominant gland. egs. Thyroid dominant
people are supposed to be tall, thin and have lots of nervous,
can't sit still for a moment, energy and are supposed to eat
lots of small snacks, but never, never, never, a proper meal.
