QuestionMy son is 8 years old. He has had asthma and allergies since 1 year of age. He was recently at his pediatrician because his allergies were acting up so bad that it was causing his asthma to flare. His Advair was upped to 250 from 100 and he was also put on singulair. He is also on Nasocort AQ, Zyrtec, and albuterol(when needed). He is still having breakthrough allergies but not as bad as before. A couple days ago he complained of a sore throat with no fever and was gone in one day. I am now noticing him snoring in his sleep, not normal for him. And he has one swollen tonsil and one swollen node (same side) in his neck. Can the swollen tonsil and node be caused by allergies?
AnswerNo, they are other symptoms suggestive of an immune deficiency disorder from nutrients that are low in his diet because they are no longer adequate in the food supply. As the pollutants increase the value of minerals like magnesium in the diet or as a supplement become more important. Maybe some B complex twice a day with Vit C would help his immune system. Ask his peds doctor although they sometimes do not keep up on nutrition. see the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. http://www.ajcn.org/
Studies reported by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that the typical American diet incorporating increasing amounts of restaurant meals and fast food may not contain all the necessary nutrition, or the proper nutritional balance, to promote sustained optimum health.
Ecologic data regarding the quantities and types of foods and nutrients available in the United States between 1970 and 1998 were reviewed to provide an alternative perspective on trends in energy intake.
Literature searches in agriculture, business, and medical library databases were conducted to identify data regarding the quantities and types of foods and nutrients available in the United States between 1970 and 1998.
Per capita energy availability estimates from the US Department of Agriculture, US Food Supply Series, indicate that energy availability increased by 15% between 1970 and 1994. Data regarding trends in food purchasing and preparation suggest that Americans are eating more meals outside the home, relying more heavily on convenience foods, and consuming larger food portions. Americans appear, in some cases, to be selecting lower-fat foods over higher-fat alternatives. In addition, availability and sales of reduced-energy and reduced-fat products have increased.
Consistent with trends in overweight, most of the ecologic data reviewed suggest that energy intake has increased over the past several decades and is likely a major contributor to increases in average body weight.
Three food consumption patterns were identified:
The "cosmopolitan" pattern (greater intakes of fried vegetables, salad, rice, chicken, fish, and wine),
The "traditional" pattern (greater intakes of red meat and potatoes and lesser intakes of low-fat dairy and fruit),
The "refined-foods" pattern (greater intakes of French fries, high-sugar beverages, and white bread and lesser intakes of whole-grain bread and boiled vegetables).
Higher scores for the traditional pattern were associated with older age, and higher scores for the refined-foods pattern were associated with younger age, but both were associated with lower educational level, cigarette smoking, less physical activity, and higher body mass index.
Independent of other lifestyle factors and body mass index, the cosmopolitan-pattern score was significantly associated with lower blood pressure and higher HDL-cholesterol concentrations, and the traditional-pattern score was associated with higher blood pressure and higher concentrations of HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and glucose.
The refined-foods-pattern score was associated with higher total cholesterol concentrations and lower intakes of micronutrients.
see:
http://search2.google.cit.nih.gov/search?site=NIH_Master&client=NIH_frontend&pro...
