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It is now fairly generally accepted, even in conventional medical circles, that traumatic events or experiences are 'remembered' by our subconscious minds while being dismissed or 'forgotten' by our conscious minds. Yet that subconscious memory can, without us being aware of it, affect not only the way that we think but the way that our bodies behave.

The logical progression from this assumption is that if you can 'change' that subconscious memory — from a negative experience to a positive one, for example — you may also be able to change the way that you think and that your body behaves.

Imagine if food allergies and intolerances were curable

Wouldn't it be great? You could greet the spring without sneezing, go to a restaurant of your choice, buy what you wanted at the supermarket without studying the ingredients… It seems impossible — we have been told that allergies can't be cured. But what if it is only that we have not discovered how to cure allergies — not that they cannot be cured? It was always possible to fly to the moon, but until 50 years ago we didn't know how to. Maybe it is possible to cure an allergy but we haven't yet discovered how to do it.

How an allergy appears to an NLP practitioner

Imagine your immune system is a part of a sophisticated army protecting your land against enemy invaders. You have your radar in place to detect any foreigners and several battalions of troops are on standby. Suppose the guy watching the radar screen mistakes an innocent ice cream van (your allergen) for an enemy tank (bacteria or a virus). Thinking he is under attack, he issues an order to destroy the ice cream van. Heavily armed troops attack and within moments the van and any civilians in the vicinity have been destroyed (any wonder why you go red or swell up?).

In our analogy, the innocent ice cream van is that allergen that so affects your life. Doctors agree that an allergy is a mistake — allergens in themselves have no ability to harm the body — it is only the body's response to that substance which is dangerous. The ice cream van has no weapons, just as a peanut doesn't have any ability to attack other cells in the body.

So what options do we have? One would be to banish all ice cream vans from the area (avoid your allergen). Another would be to drug our troops so they don't fight very effectively (antihistamines). But the best way by far would be to teach the radar man the difference between an ice cream van and a tank (education).

The role of NLP and imagination

The field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) provides practical methods to help us to try to re-educate our immune system. It teaches us to use safe tools like our imagination. Each of us experiences NLP processes in everyday life. For example, have you ever watched a sad film and your eyes have watered? Or a comedy and you have laughed out loud? Of course we know that the film isn't real, and yet our body's chemistry changes as if it were.

Imagining a movie is one of the ways NLP can help change the body's chemistry and teach the immune system to behave more appropriately. We imagine our body's current response and replace that with a picture of how we want our response to be. Whilst this is obviously not all there is to it, it is a very important and powerful part of the process.

How allergies develop

It may also help to examine how and when your food allergies and intolerances developed. We often find that allergies begin at transition times in our lives. We all go through huge changes such as puberty, leaving home, getting married or becoming a parent. Or more subtle ones such as gaining a younger sibling, learning to walk or moving school. These changes affect how we see ourselves and the world around us and they can also affect how we see things on the inside — on a cellular level.

In our army analogy, it's as if the radar machine has been replaced with a different model. Things look different. The radar man no longer recognises egg (for example) as being harmless, so he has to re-learn whether it is friend or foe. Suppose you happen to catch the flu as you're eating egg. To the radar man, he's not sure which one is making you ill — so just to be safe he labels them both as viruses. There's the mistake.

The next time you come into contact with that same flu virus, the radar man doesn't wait for you to be ill again. He recognises and attacks it straight away. That's why you don't catch the same flu twice. The trouble is that egg is in the same category — labelled as an enemy. So the next time the radar man detects egg, he sends the troops out automatically. That's an allergy.

Part of the NLP re-education process involves figuring out how your allergy might have developed. With the benefit of hindsight, your body might have acted differently. Using your imagination, you can give your body the correct information that it had failed to grasp at that critical time.

These techniques have been used successfully for over 15 years to help sufferers from allergy and food intolerance to re-educate their bodies. Obviously, they do not work for everyone or for every allergy but they are drug free, non invasive and involve no contact with your allergen. Our work lies entirely in 're-programming' the way your immune system sees, and therefore reacts to, your allergen. Treatment consists of a maximum of three two-hour sessions and although you don't have to believe in the process for it to work, you do have to desire the outcome.

But no matter how successful you feel the sessions may have been, if you suffer from an IgE mediated classical allergy we are very insistent that you should return to your doctor or your allergist and be retested for your allergy before assuming that it has disappeared.

Rob Mesrie is a certified NLP Health and Master Practitioner. He has trained extensively in London and California directly with each of the originators of the Allergy Elimination Process. As food allergy may be dangerous, we recommend that you seek the advice of your GP or allergy clinic and only work with a qualified NLP Health Practitioner.

We all know how important it is to have an immune system that is working well in order to combat and ward off allergies. Each of us is becoming more aware of the products that we eat and drink so that we strengthen our immune system. Many people I come across believe that strengthening our immune system is the answer to dealing with their allergies and are disappointed when reactions continue, despite having taken extra vitamins to boost their immune system. The truth is that while it is important to have a strong immune system, strength alone isn't everything.

If we were to really think about an allergic response — whether it is a dog allergy, cat allergy, food allergy or whatever — what is really going on? Allergies are overreactions to substances called allergens. Let us use the example of a cat allergy, although the same logic can be used for most allergies. The immune system will detect cat dander and then fight against it. The stronger the immune system, the stronger will be the allergic response. This isn't very helpful. In fact it can be very dangerous.

So I suggest that what we need is a smarter immune system, not just a stronger one. A smarter immune system will be able to detect cat dander and choose not to fight — choose not to have an allergic reaction. When this happens, the immune system can reserve its strength for fighting those substances that really are dangerous.

So yes, eat well, exercise and make your immune system strong. But remember that we also need an intelligent general to direct the troops. Teaching the troops what to fight against and what to leave alone is all part of being smart. It makes sense that being smart as well as being strong is included in effective allergy treatment.

By Rob Mesrie, NLP Master Health Practitioner; TPM Advanced Master Practitioner.

Imagine if allergies and intolerances were curable. Wouldn't it be great. You could greet the spring without sneezing, go to a restaurant of your choice, buy what you wanted at the supermarket without studying the ingredients. It seems impossible — we have been told that allergies can't be cured. But what if it is only that we have not discovered how to cure allergies — not that they cannot be cured? It was always possible to fly to the moon, but until 50 years ago we didn't know how to. Maybe it is possible to cure an allergy but we haven't yet discovered how to do it.

The immune system as an army

Imagine your immune system is a part of a sophisticated army protecting your land against enemy invaders. You have your radar in place to detect any foreigners and several battalions of troops are on standby. Suppose the guy watching the radar screen mistakes an innocent ice cream van (your allergen) for an enemy tank (bacteria or a virus). Thinking he is under attack, he issues an order to destroy the ice cream van. Heavily armed troops attack and within moments the van and any civilians in the vicinity have been destroyed (any wonder why you go red or swell up?).

In our analogy, the innocent ice cream van is that allergen that so affects your life. Doctors agree that an allergy is a mistake — allergens in themselves have no ability to harm the body — it is only the body's response to that substance which is dangerous. The ice cream van has no weapons, just as a peanut doesn't have any ability to attack other cells in the body.

So what options do we have? One would be to banish all ice cream vans from the area (avoid your allergen). Another would be to drug our troops so they don't fight very effectively (antihistamines). But the best way by far would be to teach the radar man the difference between an ice cream van and a tank — education.

NLP and the power of imagination

The field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) provides practical methods to help us to try to re-educate our immune system. It teaches us to use safe tools like our imagination. Each of us experiences NLP processes in everyday life. For example, have you ever watched a sad film and your eyes have watered? Or a comedy and you have laughed out loud? Of course we know that the film isn't real, and yet our body's chemistry changes as if it were. Imagining a movie is one of the ways NLP can help change the body's chemistry and teach the immune system to behave more appropriately. We imagine our body's current response and replace that with a picture of how we want our response to be. Whilst this is obviously not all there is to it, it is a very important and powerful part of the process.

How and when allergies develop

It may also help to examine how and when your allergies and intolerances developed. We often find that allergies begin at transition times in our lives. We all go through huge changes such as puberty, leaving home, getting married or becoming a parent. Or more subtle ones such as gaining a younger sibling, learning to walk or moving school. These changes affect how we see ourselves and the world around us and they can also affect how we see things on the inside — on a cellular level.

In our army analogy, it's as if the radar machine has been replaced with a different model. Things look different. The radar man no longer recognises egg (for example) as being harmless, so he has to re-learn whether it is friend or foe. Suppose you happen to catch the flu as you're eating egg. To the radar man, he's not sure which one is making you ill — so just to be safe he labels them both as viruses. There's the mistake.

The next time you come into contact with that same flu virus, the radar man doesn't wait for you to be ill again. He recognises and attacks it straight away. That's why you don't catch the same flu twice. The trouble is that egg is in the same category — labelled as an enemy. So the next time the radar man detects egg, he sends the troops out automatically. That's an allergy.

Part of the NLP re-education process involves figuring out how your allergy might have developed. With the benefit of hindsight, your body might have acted differently. Using your imagination, you can teach your body what it needed to know at that critical time. These techniques have been used successfully for over 15 years to help sufferers from allergy and food intolerance to re-educate their bodies.

Obviously, these techniques do not work for everyone or for every allergy but they are drug free, non invasive and involve no contact with your allergen. And no matter how successful you feel the sessions may have been, if you suffer from an IgE mediated classical allergy we are very insistent that you should return to your doctor or your allergist and be retested for your allergy before assuming that it has disappeared.

By Rob Mesrie, NLP Master Health Practitioner; TPM Advanced Master Practitioner. All rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all links intact.

Allergy Alternatives works on the mind-body connection. We understand that your mind and body are linked very closely. Many successful sports players use this connection to help them gain exceptional results on the playing field. For example, many athletes are trained to condition their mind almost as much as they work out in the gym — as both a healthy mindset and a healthy body are needed for optimal performance.

Your Allergy Alternatives Practitioner understands how to communicate with your immune system. We work to encourage your immune system to respond differently to your allergen. Many clients who have been through the re-education process report that their body no longer reacts as it once did to what was previously an allergen — though individual experience varies.

Immune systems learn quickly and are great learners. They generally don't understand English. They do however speak a different language — the language of pictures, of feelings — a level deeper than just words. We speak to your immune system in ways understandable to your immune system. Just like a vaccine can easily train the immune system, so can pictures and feelings. This is the foundation of the Allergy Alternatives method.

Interestingly, the latest science concurs with the approach of Allergy Alternatives.

Psychoneuroimmunology

The science of Psychoneuroimmunology is the scientific study of the influence of the mind on health and in particular the immune system. It emphasises links between emotions and the brain, the immune system and health. Scientific studies have shown that mice can be taught to have allergies. So experiments show how mice that are healthy can be taught to become allergic. Allergy Alternatives takes this to the next logical step — exploring whether that process can be encouraged to go in reverse.

Epigenetics

Similarly, the science of Epigenetics is the scientific study of 'beyond genes'. While most newspapers still recite the view that genes define us, this is an outdated model and is now considered inaccurate. The implications of epigenetics radically change our understanding of life. As Professor Bruce Lipton Ph.D. states: "it shows that genes and DNA do NOT control our biology — instead DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell, including messages emanating from our positive and negative thoughts." In other words, "Genes are not destiny!"

This means that even if you previously thought that you are stuck with your allergy — that it's in your genes — this is no longer the case. As Professor Lipton says, "We are the drivers of our own biology."

While we are huge fans of doctors, medicine hasn't yet caught up with these findings. For years, medicines have been tested against the power of the individual's brain, but it has failed to build upon its power and potential.

Allergy Alternatives makes Psychoneuroimmunology and Epigenetics practical and bite-sized. We translate theory into practice and help individuals to apply these ground-breaking concepts. Many clients have found a path towards freedom from allergy through this work — and we are here to explore whether that is possible for you.