Fatigue and CFS

Chronic ill health is a "normal condition" among adult North Americans. Aching and fatigue are the two most common complaints. Close to 50% of the adult population in the US and Canada report chronic symptoms such as headache, fatigue and joint or muscle pain.

Data from the U.S. National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) estimated that the   number of outpatient visits  for fatigue was 7 million visits; 9.6 million visits for headaches; 17 million visits for joint pains; 14 million visits for skin rash; and 7 million visits for depression. Patients commonly report experiencing multiple symptoms. Studies have shown that when patients complete symptom checklists one third of patients complain of 0-1 symptoms, one-third complain of 2-3 symptoms, and one-third complain of 4 or more symptoms.

The Food Allergy Complex

Fatigue, sleepiness, mood, and sleep-disturbances are consistent symptoms of the delayed pattern food allergy complex. The clinical correlation of more specific food-allergic symptoms (nose congestion, headache, and abdominal pain) with fatigue and insomnia is so consistent that food allergic symptoms which do not include a disturbance of the arousal system should be considered unusual.

Careful observation of family and friends before and after eating and drinking should reveal obvious changes in their arousal, attention, cognitive ability, and emotional expressions. The food allergy sufferer manifests the food-brain connection more obviously and will verbally report or act out some form of arousal disturbance after a meal. Irritability and inappropriate, angry outbursts may be as common as the antisocial withdrawal caused by arousal inhibition in circuits of the brain. For example, some patients report extreme sleepiness 20-60 minutes after eating. If there is no opportunity to sleep after the meal, they continue to function at a compromised level, making more mistakes in their work and having more difficulty with interpersonal relationships.

Milk products and grain-related foods seem to be the most consistent sedative-hypnotic foods. All foods high in protein content may have this effect. Coffee and tea will briefly postpone the sedative-hypnotic effects of food, but at a cost to proper brain function. Alcoholic beverages increase the brain-disturbing effects of other foods.

Dr. Gislason's Note:

 I started seeing CFS patients in the early 80's before "CFS" existed. In those days there were just sick people who were tired. Most of them ran the gamut of tests and treatments without success. Most of them were dismissed by their family doctor as hypochondriacs. I had realized that diet revision would help many of them get better and had described their illness as delayed pattern food allergy. Later I would call the recurrent flu-like illness the Type 3 food allergy pattern.

Most of these people had typical signs and symptoms, but no laboratory test could identify them or explain why they were suffering. In the early days, most of the patients had no idea what was wrong and just wanted to get better. Most of them continued to work or continued to look after homes and children but all struggled with some loss of function and stamina. A few were disabled.

I found that similar syndromes have been described in the medical literature over many years. Several popular books had been written describing the food causes of the syndrome and various kinds of diet revision were recommended as the solution.

One of the concerns of patients with the type 3 food allergy pattern was disbelief in their illness. They all wanted a name for their suffering. They needed a diagnosis that would be accepted by physicians, employers, insurance agencies, family and friends. Even the patients who did very well with diet revision therapy were dissatisfied because they could not name their disease. As the years passed, various support and lobby groups emerged with their own versions of this story and names to label their suffering.

The Alpha Nutrition Program

The Alpha Nutrition Program is designed to improve aching, chronic fatigue and related disorders. The most definitive clearing program is a food holiday, using an elemental nutrient formula (Alpha ENF), composed of nutrients in their pure form with no other food intake. Alpha ENF allows a sick person to return to a baseline of normal functioning, without the intake of numerous adverse substances that may have been present in their food supply.