The Health Blog

DAY

PROTEINS
ONE

Beef Rabbit
TWO

Pork Eggs Venison
THREE

Lamb Fish
FOUR

Birds Turkey Chicken Duck
MILKS
Cow’s milk Cheese Butter Yogurt

Goat’s milk and cheese

Sheep’s milk and cheese

GRAINS AND STARCHES
Wheat

Oats

Rye
Tapioca
Rice Corn Millet
Buckwheat Sago
FRUIT
Apple

Berries

Grapes
Banana Melon
Pear

Apricot

Peach
Dates Kiwi

All Citrus Rhubarb
VEGETABLES PULSES AND BEANS
Carrot

Avocado

Parsnip

Onion

Garlic

Olive

Spinach

Mushroom
Sweet Potato Green Beans Peas

Courgettes Cucumber Soya Lentils
Sweetcorn

Cabbage

Broccoli

Sprouts

Watercress
Potato

Tomato

Lettuce
NUTS AND SEEDS
Nuts
Peanuts
Sesame
Sunflower
OII.S
Olive Oil Grapeseed Oil Nut Oils
Groundnut Soya
Com Sesame
Sunflower Palm Oil
SUGARS
Beet Sugar
Honey
Cane Sugar
Maple Sugar and Syrup
BEVERAGES
Chocolate
Tea
Coffee
Dandelion Coffee
HERBS AND SPICES
Bay Leaf

Cinnamon

Chives

Parsley

Ginger
Nutmeg Rosemary Oregano Basil
Allspice

Clove

Coriander

Cumin

Dill
Tarragon Mint Sage Thyme
MISCELLANEOUS
Yeast

Alcohol Vinegar

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No objective measure of chemical sensitivity exists, other than challenge tests (when individuals are ‘challenged’ with chemicals to provoke a reaction) in controlled conditions. Doctors are largely dependent for diagnosis on symptoms reported by patients, and because of this, many of them do not believe that it is a real disorder. Furthermore, because many of the symptoms people typically complain of are mental symptoms, many doctors commonly diagnose a psychiatric or psychosomatic illness, saying that the individual’s problems are all in his or her mind, that no-one can be made unwell by tiny doses of chemicals, that the illness is a stratagem, probably unconscious, for dealing with personal or psychiatric problems.

Psychosomatic illnesses clearly exist – the link between mind and body is strong – and there will be in the field of allergy and sensitivity, as in any other area of medicine, cases where underlying psychiatric disorder is a component, perhaps an important component, of the individual’s ill-health. However, the fact that psychosomatic illness exists should not lead to the common bias that people claiming that tiny doses of chemicals make them ill must be suffering from psychiatric problems.

The evidence from clinical practice of doctors who treat people who have positive results from controlled testing with chemicals is that the vast majority of their patients are average, happy, sane people whose abnormal symptoms (psychiatric or otherwise) appear when they are exposed to certain chemicals, and disappear when they are not. The level of improvement in symptoms in clinical practice is significantly above that expected from the placebo effect. (In medical trials, it has been found that, on average, one-third of patients – or more in the case of psychiatric patients – respond to being given dummy or inactive therapy or medication – a placebo. Only improvement in excess of expected placebo results is taken as serious evidence of the effectiveness of any therapy.)

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If your child is chemically sensitive, or has irritable eczema or asthma, avoid synthetics and wool. Pure cotton is generally better tolerated, although some unlucky children are sensitive to it, particularly flocky or knitted cotton. When choosing cottons, take care with fabric finishes and:

• wash poplin or denim very well before using to remove any finishes. If very sensitive, avoid altogether

• avoid winceyette, especially sleepwear

Look for clothes made of:

• cotton jersey

• cotton tracksuit fleece

• 100 per cent cotton corduroy

• brushed cotton

Wash everything very well before wearing at all.

The most difficult clothes to find for children in pure cotton are:

• school uniform

• knitwear

• socks and tights

• hats and scarves

• outerwear and waterproofs

School Uniform and Knitwear

Cotton On sell by post a range of school uniform clothes (trousers, shorts, shirts, jumpers, socks) in pure cotton, as well as a range of plain tracksuit tops and bottoms. These are formaldehyde and chlorine bleach-free. Cotton school cardigans and jumpers are available from Sheila Stewart. Angela Knitwear make school uniform, novelty and striped jumpers lor children in pure cotton.

Socks and Tights

Pex manufacture 100 per cent cotton socks for children. They are widely available. Cotton On (details above) sell pure cotton socks for children, and 100 per cent cotton tights for babies and children. Some of their socks are 98 per cent cotton, 2 per cent synthetic fibre, but no reports of reactions have been received. Schmidt Natural Clothing sell pure cotton socks and tights for children by mail order.

Hats and Scarves

Cotton On also sell warm, knitted cotton hats and scarves.

Outerwear and Waterproofs

It is virtually impossible to find warm, waterproof outerwear for children that does not contain some synthetics. One solution is to buy a waxed cotton jacket, and let it hang until the fumes from the new waxing have given off; these are then usually tolerated well, even by the chemically sensitive. Re-wax rarely. Another solution to achieve warmth is to make a coat or jacket liner out of cotton blankets and wear it under a waxed coat or corduroy jacket

The Cotswold Clothing Company make dry wax waterproof rainwear of pure cotton, with a brushed cotton lining. They also have a range of padded pure cotton corduroy and brushed cotton jackets. Next Directory sell soft cotton anoraks with polyester wadding. Joan Hollings makes Liberty cotton wadded jackets and waistcoats. Annie Jo Retail make pure cotton needlecord and poplin padded jackets. The wadding in each case is polyester, but encased so should not cause trouble. You can also try PVC raincoats. If rinsed through with water, and left to air for some time, the new plastic smell goes, and they can be tolerated reasonably well.

Sources clothing

Table 11 gives sources for children’s clothing, mostly mail order. Once again, check all details in catalogues and, if necessary, by telephone. For formaldehyde-free and chlorine bleach-free clothes, see Cotton On, and Schmidt Natural Clothing. Schmidt also make silk and silk blend underwear for children. The Green Catalogue sells unbleached cotton underwear for children.

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Pure cotton bedding

The following are suppliers of all kinds of pure cotton bedding, including untreated, unbleached sheets and pillowcases; blankets, bedspreads and mattress covers: Cologne & Cotton (sheets and pillowcases), Cotton On (blankets), Freemans (sheets, pillowcases and candlewick bedspreads), HL Linen Bazaars (sheets, pillowcases, unbleached undersheets, jersey mattress covers and blankets), The Healthy House (sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers, blankets and unbleached mattress covers), Keys (sheets, pillowcases, unbleached mattress covers and undersheets, and candlewick bedspreads), Limericks (most cotton bedding requirements, plus sheeting by the metre), Littlewoods (sheets, pillowcases, blankets, jersey mattress covers, fleece underblankets and candlewick bedspreads), Nice Irma’s (Indian bedding and quilts).

Wool, Silk and Linen Bedding

The following are suppliers of wool, linen, and silk bedding: Green Farm (wool pillows, wool and silk duvets), HL Linen Bazaars (wool underblankets and blankets), Harrods (silk sheets and pillowcases), The Healthy House (wool underblankets), Keys (wool blankets, pillows and duvets), Limericks (wool underblankets, blankets and pillows; linen sheets and pillowcases), Orvis (wool pillows). Some of the prices are terrifying – be warned!

Pure Cotton Mattresses

The following firms supply mattresses with pure cotton fillings and covers and pure cotton futons (Japanese sleeping mats): Burgess Bedding (mattresses), Futon Express, Futon Furnishings (futons), The Healthy House (mattresses and cot mattresses), Hypnos (mattresses), Pennine Futons, York Bedding Company (mattresses and cot mattresses).

The filling of pure cotton mattresses is usually composed of cotton wadding with coir fibre, a natural fibre which rarely causes reactions. Pure cotton futons are filled with cotton wadding alone.

The Healthy House can supply pure cotton cot mattresses. The York Bedding Factory can make them to order.

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Pollens are produced in the UK from February to September. According to the area of the UK where you live, the season for each pollen will vary slightly, starting earlier in more southerly or warmer parts.

Grass pollens, with a season from May to late July or early August, are the most common cause of allergy. There are numerous species of grass which produce pollen in the UK, but only a dozen are known to be important allergens. There is a high degree of cross-reaction between grass pollens – if you react to one, you are prone to react to others.

Other pollens, such as tree, weed and crop pollens, also cause allergy, often at the same season as grass, as Diagram 8 shows. ‘Hay fever’, as a term used to describe the symptoms of pollen allergy, can thus be a misnomer.

If you get allergic reactions in June and July, the cause can also be mould spores, not pollens at all. Mould spores are often produced in high concentrations in summer at the peak of the pollen season, and mould allergy often goes undiagnosed, or diagnosed as pollen allergy.

Pollens from wind-pollinated plants and trees cause most problems with allergy. In order to reproduce, wind-pollinated species have to produce very large quantities of pollen. The grains can, in the right conditions, be carried long distances in concentrations. This is one of the reasons why people who live in cities can suffer from allergy caused by pollens brought into the city by the wind.

Insect-pollinated plants and trees, by contrast, do not have to discharge large amounts of pollen. Their pollens are only found in a localised area around them, not borne in the atmosphere. Most people do not develop allergies to insect-pollinated species and if you do, you are only likely to react if you are very close to the source of the pollen. Most garden plants, garden flowers, daisies and cut flowers are insect-pollinated, as are many fruit trees, and weeds such as dandelion, cow parsley and rosebay willow herb. These will not affect the majority of people. Some trees are pollinated by both insect and wind; details of these are given in Diagram 9.

Pollens from pine trees appear not to cause allergic reactions in the UK. It is thought that the pollens are very inert and do not trigger the immune system. Studies in Scandinavia, however, have shown evidence of allergy to pine pollens.

Oilseed rape, a relatively recent crop in the UK, is an insect-pollinated plant but, despite this, reports of allergy are increasing in localised areas where it is produced, or, for instance, from people who have driven through areas of crop fields of oilseed rape.

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