A Random Thought/Idea/Inspiration/WAEG . . .

[tex]

Hi All,

The thought just occurred to me that maybe there is an explanation why many of us who are sensitive to eggs and yeast, may be able to tolerate them under certain conditions, (such as in baked goods), or after healing is well under way, or completed, or in limited amounts, such as in a rotation diet, etc.

Of all the foods that can generate an autoimmune reaction, unless I'm overlooking something, those are basically the only two that are not neolithic foods. IOW, eggs and yeast are paleolithic foods, so our digestive systems evolved for over a million years, with at least occasional exposure to them. Yeast, of course, probably wasn't intentionally eaten back in those days, (the way that some health "fanatics" choose to eat it these days, as a protein supplement), but it was almost certainly accidentally ingested from time to time, on other foods, such as fruit.

Of course, I could be all wet, but I have a hunch that the fact that we evolved eating those foods, implies that somewhere in our immune system, that information is coded into our DNA, and it may still have a significant influence on the way our immune system handles those foods. Things may get a little crazy during a no-holds-barred reaction, but after the dust begins to settle, that coded history may make a difference.

Just thinking out loud.

Tex

[sarkin]

Well, I just love the way your mind works, wise friend!

Of course we must be biologically capable of having tolerant and even symbiotic relationships to wild yeasts (as bacteria do); and of course we would have tucked into whatever eggs we could hunt/gather, in paleolithic times.

In fact, I like this idea *not only* because it means there may be eggs on some future menu for me, but because it coheres so well with so much else that we've been discussing since I was fortunate enough to find myself here.

It's my belief that, other than major toxins, we're meant to be able even to eat some antinutrients from time to time - as hunter/gatherers would have eaten suboptimal forage, rather than starve. Come to think of it, that would likely have included some inadvertent yeast organisms (if dried fruits were saved for winter, and when over-ripe fruits were consumed late in their season).

Part of the intolerance problem may have to do with moving those foods to the center of the plate (or bottom of the pyramid, or whatever size/shape is in vogue these days!). In fact, it's possible that yeast was a minor or infrequent ingredient, and making beer and bread into major dietary components increases the risk for a reaction - along with the use of antibiotics which knock out the benign bacteria that keep the yeast populations friendly and balanced...

Great idea, thank you!

Love,
Sara