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If the sugar-free diet does not do the trick, the next step is to cut out all fruit for a while. White bread and anything made with white flour (eg pastry, pasta) should also be excluded. Whol emeal bread and flour can be eaten instead, as these are broken down more slowly and do not release glucose all at once. But they should only be eaten in small quantities, as should potatoes. The bulk of the diet should be made up of vegetables and high-protein foods, such as meat, fish, eggs and cheese.

Eat plenty of freshly-crushed garlic, as this is thought to combat yeasts in the gut. Fresh herbs, and green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and ‘greens’, are also recommended as they contain anti-fungal agents. It may also be worth trying a herbal tea, called taheebo or pau d’arco – it is said to have anti-fungal properties, although this has not been verified scientifically. Eating live yoghurt may also be worthwhile as it contains some of the ‘useful’ members of the gut flora, and may help to reestablish a healthy balance among the inhabitants of the gut.

Giving up fruit may make you concerned about Vitamin C deficiency, but if you eat sufficient quantities of fresh vegetables this should not be a problem. Cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts are rich in Vitamin C, and potatoes are a valuable source. It is important not to soak potatoes, as this leaches out the vitamin, and not to overcook cabbage and other green vegetables, as heat gradually destroys Vitamin C. Rosehip tea is also an excellent source of this vitamin, as is fresh lemon juice, which is permissible on this diet as it contains little sugar.

Again, you should stay on this diet for at least a month, and longer if you begin to feel partially better. If there is a good improvement on this diet, fruit and other excluded foods can be gradually reintroduced later, but not sugar. If you feel worse on this diet, then you may have food intolerance – to eggs or cheese, for example.

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Some patients were clearly being made ill by the food they ate. But their symptoms were very different – and so was the treatment they received from the medical profession. Food allergy – which caused Jane’s dramatic illness -is a recognized complaint, whose underlying mechanism is fairly well understood. Food intolerance, on the other hand, is not regarded as a sound diagnosis by the majority of doctors. Most would agree that there is such a thing as food intolerance (although they might use a different name for it), but they would argue that it affects relatively few people. Like Susan’s doctor, they would regard the majority of patients with vague, multiple symptoms, including headache or migraine, fatigue and diarrhoea, as suffering from emotional and mental problems that expressed themselves in ill-health.

This book deals with both food allergy (Jane’s problem) and food intolerance (Susan’s problem), but it concentrates most attention on food intolerance, since this is the area that has been sadly neglected by conventional medicine.

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The prince sits on a chair or stool and takes Cinderella’s foot into both hands, lovingly. He soaks a washcloth in a bowl of warm water, rinses it, and proceeds to tenderly wash around Cinderella’s left ankle, foot, and toes (and even between her toes). Then he kisses her toes, the bottom of her foot, the ankle, the calf, the inner knee, and the thigh—and then works his way down again. He takes his time, preparing the foot for the ultimate fitting.

“Is this part of the fitting process?” Cinderella asks.

“Oh, definitely.”

“I think I like it.”

“I thought you would.”

Perhaps because it is based on such a familiar story, this game will most likely not encounter much resistance. It is fun to play and appeals to the grandiose fantasies of both wife and husband. The game will in effect take on a life of its own. Cinderella will sportingly try on the shoe, and the prince will exclaim, “It fits! It fits! Now—you will be my lawful-wedded wife!” They embrace. From there the story is up to the participants. The prince may present her with a princess gown, and she may dress up in it and then actually go through a wedding ceremony. There could even be a wedding ball, with candlelight dinner and midnight dancing and brandy punch drunk from her slipper. Finally he carries (or leads) her over a threshold and right into bed.

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“Who are you?” she may ask—or, “What are you doing?”

“Never mind,” he will answer in a brave new tone of authority. “Put down that magazine [turn off the television] and come with me.”

“Where?”

“Never mind where. Just do as I say.”

“No. I’m reading my favorite book [watching TV].”

“I said, put it down [shut it off].”

“Stop being so silly. Where did you get that costume?”

“I’m not going to ask you again.”

“Stop talking like that. What are you trying to prove?”

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I have nothing to prove. I am who I am. I am the Kissing Bandit, and I may just steal some kisses from you.”

“Oh, yes?”

“Yes!”

The conversation goes on like this for a while, perhaps. Then the husband walks up to the wife, tosses the book aside [turns off the TV], and takes her into his arms. If he is physically able, he lifts her up and cradles her in his arms. If not, he pulls her to a standing position and leads her by the arm.

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What happens next may vary. The passive spouse may continue to stand gaping, and the aggressive one may walk out of the bathroom—and only later will they talk about it. Or the passive one may become angry and reprimand the aggressive spouse. Or the episode may lead to a wild lovemaking scene in the bathroom. In any event, something out of the ordinary will happen.

È all goes according to plan, the passive spouse will be provoked out of his or her passivity, and will express the real anger and hate that underpins the passive-defensive posture. Since that person already views the spouse as a monster, this scene sets off—even exaggerates—this fantasy, forcing the passive to recognize and verbalize what was formerly secretly thought. It also provides the “psycho” spouse with a way of expressing her or his anger at the passive spouse in a constructive way (a way that has a humorous undertone and leads to resolution) rather than through destructive sarcasm, guilt-tripping, or temper tantrums.

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Players: Bored husband and bored wife. Activists: Both husband and wife take part in creating this game.

Setting: A room with two plain chairs facing one another.

Aim: To force a husband and wife out of their boredom by giving it expression while adding an erotic element. This method is referred to by psychotherapists as “joining the resistance.” In this case, both the husband and wife, ironically, join each other’s resistance.

Game Plan: The husband and wife sit facing one another. The husband begins the game by saying, “I don’t feel like having sex.”

The wife replies, “I don’t feel like having sex.” “It’s boring,” the husband says. “Who cares?” the wife retorts.

They may repeat these or similar phrases as often as necessary. At first they may find themselves snickering, not really “feeling” them: The words may sound artificial. But if you are truly a bored couple, these phrases (or something similar to them) should eventually feel right.

Then the husband removes an article of his clothing—a belt, a hat, a ring—and says, “This is boring, but I’ll do it anyway.”

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Melanie Klein, the child psychoanalyst, noted that during intercourse an individual’s frustration is soothed and aggression is lowered:

Libidinal satisfaction diminishes his aggressiveness and with it his anxiety. In addition, the pleasure he gets from such satisfaction seems in itself to allay his fear of being destroyed by his own destructive impulses and by his objects [inner demons], and to militate against … his fear of losing his capacity to achieve libidinal satisfaction. Libidinal satisfaction, as an expression of Eros, reinforces his belief in his helpful imagos and diminishes the dangers which threaten him. . . .

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Are your lips chronically dry, cracked, peeling or swollen? Do mascaras irritate your eyes? Do deodorants leave your underarms itchy? Do certain creams or face powders irritate your face or your hands?

If so, you could be one of the millions of people – primarily women – with allergies to something in their cosmetics. And ‘cosmetics’ means face creams, lotions, rouge, blusher, powder, eyeliner and shadow, lipstick, nail polish and polish remover, as well as nail lengtheners, shampoos, hair dyes, hair waves, hair straightness, hair removers (depilatories), shaving cream, perfumes, cologne, sachets, bubble baths, douches, mouthwash, toothpaste – even dentures!

It’s easy to see why cosmetics and other personal grooming products are the most common cause of skin reactions. They’re usually applied daily, directly to the skin. And, as we mentioned in earlier chapters, chronic exposure breeds allergy. Also, over 5,000 different chemicals and compounds go into these products – as bases, dyes, fragrances, preservatives and the like – multiplying the odds that something is going to disagree with you, no matter how minuscule the amount.

No wonder one doctor estimates that 85 per cent of people who are allergic to cosmetics don’t even realize which substances are causing the problem. Where do you start?

With creams and lotions. These accounted for almost half of all allergic reactions in a study of seventy people sensitive to cosmetics, according to Dr Schorr. It’s not that creams and lotions are any more allergenic than other products, he says. People simply tend to apply them to already irritated skin -which is more prone to react. And they use them all over their body.

An American study of cosmetic reactions found that the most frequent reactions were to: deodorants/antiperspirants, depilatories (hair removers), moisturizer lotions, hair spray, mascara, bubble bath, eye cream, hair colour, dye or lightener, facial creams or cleansers and nail polish – in that order.

Is a woman with cosmetic allergies dreaming if she hopes to wear makeup? Must men swear off all grooming aids? Not at all. They merely have to choose products carefully and apply them with extra care.

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The most effective insect repellents contain Deet (diethyltoluamide). Repellents do not actually repel flies and mosquitoes, they simply fog their radar. Mosquitoes are guided to their victims by the sensations of moisture, warmth and carbon dioxide – exactly the qualities people exude while exercising or working outdoors on a hot, humid day. Repellent sprays or lotions give off fumes which block the bugs’ sensory pores on their antennae. So as bugs approach you, they get confused and hover out of striking range.

Sounds great. Except for two problems. While repellents turn off biting insects, they attract some bees and stinging insects. And some people may be more sensitive to the chemicals in repellents than they are to mosquito bites themselves.

To get around those problems, some doctors recommend taking tablets of thiamine (à Â vitamin) as an internal insect repellent. It seems that when we consume large quantities of thiamine, some is excreted in our perspiration, creating an odour that repulses bugs. (Humans can’t smell it.)

In addition, you can wear light-coloured clothing (such as khaki or tennis whites), with long trousers and sleeves to expose as little skin as possible. Put up good screens, Discourage mosquitoes from breeding by eliminating, filling in or draining watery areas around your house: rain barrels, old cans and tires, stagnant puddles, ditches, hollow trees and stumps, and marshy ground. Install an electronic bug zapper near your front door or in the garden. Or buy non-toxic insect traps.

Delayed reaction to stings or bites

Headache. Malaise (general uneasiness). Hives. Aching joints. Lymph gland involvement.

Psychological reaction

Rapid heartbeat. Rapid, shallow breathing. Weakness. Dizziness.

You should consult a doctor without delay -

• when a local reaction exhibits undue swelling covering two joints of leg, arm or hand, or when a sting causes swelling in the throat, nose or eye, particularly the latter. A sting close to the eye should be seen by a doctor because resulting complications can threaten eyesight.

• when a sting results in symptoms of a generalized systemic reaction, no matter how mild.

• when multiple stings produce signs of a toxic reaction.

• when the swelling accompanying a normal or local reaction persists. (Infection may have set in.)

• when symptoms of a delayed reaction appear.

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Air filters range from small, inexpensive desktop models to whole-house air conditioning systems. Some do you a lot more good than others. Some, in fact, are worthless. The ones that work are a real blessing, though.

‘I almost always prescribe air filtration,’ says Dr Boxer. ‘I feel it’s helpful. I’ve seen asthma patients who were helped immensely by just using an air filter.’

‘Air filtration is certainly a very natural way of controlling symptoms,’ says Dr Falliers. There are dozens of products, and each has to be examined for what it does and doesn’t do.’

Air filters may be installed in the ductwork of either your warm-air furnace or air conditioning system. Or you can buy portable models that sit anywhere in the room. Or even hook up to the cigarette lighter in your car. Portable units can sometimes be rented.

Activated Charcoal Filters. The odour-eating capacity of activated charcoal varies with the humidity and temperature of the air in the room, the concentration of fumes and the type of odours in the air. Dr Guy O. Pfeiffer, of Mattoon, Illinois, studied activated charcoal filters and found that they’re generally pretty good for absorbing cooking and food odours (even from burned dinners and foods such as garlic, onions, cheese and citrus); cigarette and tobacco odours; diesel and petrol fumes; smog and ozone; and the odours from pets, mothballs and perfume. Charcoal is slightly less powerful against pollen, coal smoke, mildew, chlorine, fish odour and some noxious gases. And it’s useless against carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Installed piggyback with another type of filter, however, charcoal can be helpful; one catches what the other misses.

Electronic Air Cleaners. The most common type of electronic air cleaner is the electrostatic precipitator. Until a few years ago, electronic air cleaners were standard equipment for treating asthma and respiratory allergy. They act much like an electromagnet for air pollution: a fan draws in particles, zaps them with an electric charge and collects them on a plate. The charged particles are supposedly taken out of circulation. However, J. Gordon King, a consultant in air contamination, writes that although electrostatic precipitators are popularly advertised as being 95 to 99 per cent efficient, they’re not. In reality, says Mr King, electrostatic air cleaners available for home use rarely trap more than 80 per cent of the particles in the air. What’s worse, efficiency can drop to as low as 20 per cent within a short period of time – especially for bigger particles like pollen (Respiratory Care).

That means electrostatic air cleaners are no more effective than putting a sheet of gauze over your mouth. And the charged particles that escape the filter build up on walls and furniture faster than if no cleaner was used at all. To top it all off, all electronic air cleaners produce ozone, a highly toxic gas which causes headaches in some people. So you may not want to bother with them at all.

HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) Filters. These filters work a lot better than electronic air cleaners. Air that’s been cleared by a HEPA is free of 99.97 per cent of all contaminating particles, according to the US National Bureau of Standards. That’s about as clean as you can get in today’s environment. And they maintain their efficiency throughout their operating life of two to five years. HEPA filters work well against pollens, moulds, yeast and other fungi, bacteria and viruses – a boon to allergy sufferers prone to frequent colds and flu attacks. HEPA filters have been known to relieve hay fever and asthma symptoms within ten minutes to half an hour. When potassium permanganate or activated charcoal is added, an HEPA filter can clear the air of jumbo particles like dust and pollen as well as minute chemical odours.

HEPA units with metal casings are better for chemically sensitive people than units with casings made of pressboard (which contains formaldehyde) or plastic.

HEPA filters did wonders for reducing nightly asthma attacks for asthmatic children at a summer camp in West Virginia, according to the camp’s medical director Dr Merle S. Scherr. In his report, Dr Scherr emphasized that HEPA units are an important part of treatment of allergic asthma (West Virginia Medical Journal).

HEPA units are also a godsend for preventing nightly asthma attacks for asthmatic children at home in winter. Normally, cold nights require furnaces to work harder, so furnace fans circulate more dust – and trigger more asthma. But when HEPA filters were tested on eighteen children with hard-to-control asthma, the children collectively logged 140 nights of undisturbed sleep with use of the filter, as compared with only forty-five peaceful nights without the filter. ‘This … not only relieved the parents of having to get up in the night and care for these children,’ say the researchers who conducted the study, ‘but we feel that the child, if well rested, felt better, performed better during the day and was probably more resistant to illness.’ Several of the children were also able to cut down on their asthma medicine, and they no longer missed any school (Annals of Allergy).

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