Belle Cheshire's Page

Hey Belle,

I think it is important first to note that salicylate intolerance isn't an allergy. Allergies are immune mediated, whereas salicylate intolerance is more about of a sensitivity that is caused by the phenol  salicylate in foods. It might sound like just a semantic difference, but it really isn't. True allergies are not dose-dependent usually - any amount will cause a reaction. And usually, they are not fully reversible. The immune system will always react, no matter what.

With salicylates, because it is caused by the chemical, rather than the immune systems reactions, it is very much dose dependent. And the causes are often complex.

There can be a number of reasons why people develop salicylate sensitivity. Sometimes it is related to the way the liver is detoxifying salicylates. There are several aspects of liver detoxification, which are often separated into 2 common phases. These are all highly dependent on enzyme reactions and on adequate amounts of nutrients. At some point in liver detoxification, pretty much every nutrient you could think of is required for a reaction. Some nutrients are required in almost every phase. Since many of these nutrients are low in some peoples diets, and since many of these nutrients are competitively required in other parts of the body (eg. for digestion, for the nervous system, for the adrenals), this can become affected if there is a chronically inadequate nutrient supply.Especially if there is a history of stressors to the liver (eg. drugs, toxins etc).

Other reasons might be related to gut flora imbalances. Not only because detoxification can occur in the gut too, in response to gut flora levels, but also because some gut flora can actually produce small amounts of salicylates.

It may also be related to poor excretion of salicylates. So although there isn't a direct causal link between salicylate sensitivity and large intakes of salt, it is possible that for some people, if they are very dehydrated (which can occur with large intakes of salt), there is poor excretion of salicylates. Also, dehydration can also impair the integrity of cell membranes, which could perhaps make the cells more reactive to the salicylates.

Stress is also a common factor in all sensitivities. Often people with chronic stress can have more inflammation in the body anyway (because although stress hormones initially offers anti-inflammatory effects, over a long period of time certain inflammatory hormone like chemicals such as cytokines can promote inflammation). This can make the body more sensitive to additional stressors, and can also have an impact on elimination, blood flow and detoxification.

In reality there are so many reasons why someone might become sensitive to salicylates that it wouldn't be possible to cover all of them here without knowing personalised info. However, what I can say on a general basis, is that it is usually dose dependent. Often, people may need to cut certain foods out initially, to lower the overall load of phenols, since symptoms usually only arise once a threshold has been surpassed. Once the symptoms reduce consistently, then you may be able to introduce small or less frequent quantities of some or all of these foods. Usually with salicylates people react to some foods more than others. And not all of the time. 

As for "cure", I really don't know. If you can correct some of the underlying causes of why the body has become more sensitive, then it may be that the body can reduce its senstiivity to the salcicylates. But as I said, since it is not allergy mediated anyway, there is usually some tolerance to the foods as long as the dosage is not too high.

Take care

Adam x

Hey sorry for such a late reply, I'm not going back to my dentist for my teeth problems because I'm hoping they go away on their own :)

I had not used toothpaste in so long, but I did buy some natural tooth powder, it says it's non abrasive and neutralizes the acids in your mouth so it sounded good to me. I find it helps with the natural staining which happened a little. My teeth aren't really sensitive anymore but near the gumline still has signs of acid erosion. I hope this helps a bit, how are your teeth?