The first method of treatment for allergies starts with avoiding the substance that is triggering your problems. That's fine if you know you're allergic to eggs or cat hair or ragweed.

But what if you don't know what you’re allergic to?

Uncovering your hidden food sensitivities

For food allergies and sensitivities, the easiest way is to self-diagnose with what Dr. Crook called The Elimination Diet. You'll find a helpful symptom diary at: www.yeastconnection.com/pdf/DailySymptomChart.pdf

Before you begin the elimination diet. Continue to keep the diary throughout your three-week elimination diet.

During this phase, you'll avoid:

• milk
• sugar in all forms (including fruit and high fructose corn syrup)
• all wheat products (read labels carefully!)
• processed and packaged foods
• all food colors and dyes
• corn
• eggs
• chocolate
• condiments like vinegar, catsup, soy sauce and all fermented foods

You'll probably notice that your symptoms will begin to diminish over the first week or so. Keep careful note of this in your diary.

You'll probably also notice that sugar cravings will disappear after two or three days.

While the purpose of this diet is not to lose weight, you may drop a few pounds – a pleasant side effect of this diet.

What you can eat on this diet:

• lots of fresh vegetables
• lean meats
• fish
• nuts and seeds
• unprocessed oils

• dried beans and other legumes
• plain yogurt
• whole grains like brown rice, barley, oats
• grain alternatives like amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa

After three weeks, you'll enter what is known as the Challenge Phase.

During this time, you'll introduce the most common allergy-causing foods, one at a time, and watch the effects carefully.

Most people with wheat allergies, for example, will notice that congestion returns if they eat even half a slice of bread.

Many people with yeast-related allergies and food sensitivities have problems with sugar, which is doubly problematic because it actually feeds the yeast that is already overgrown in their systems. Once you have identified your allergy triggers, you can avoid these foods or eat them only on rare occasions.

You'll find more details on the anti-candida diet plus recipes, an online support group, supplements especially designed for this condition, and lots more information at www.yeastconnection.com.

Identifying environmental triggers for your allergies

Environmental triggers for your allergies are usually easier to identify. You know if your head fills up when you’re around cats or if you can’t bear the smell of cigarette smoke. Allergies to specific pollens, household cleaning products, fabrics and other common substances around us are sometimes more difficult to identify. These types of allergies can be fairly easily identified through a skin prick allergy test.

A 1999 Mayo Clinic study concluded that some allergy sufferers have a systemic response to yeast rather than bacterial infection as an underlying cause of chronic sinusitis, which is a common complication of allergies.

Treatment of yeast overgrowth with non-prescription and prescription antifungal medications provides relief for many people who have suffered with allergies for years.

Treatment