whether the bread be fine or coarse, of wheat or without the hull, whether mixed with much or with little water, strong wrought or scarcely at all, baked or raw.

`Whoever pays no attention to these things, or paying attention does not comprehend them, how can he understand the diseases which befall a man? For by every one of these things, a man is affected and changed this way or that, and the whole of his life is subjected to them, whether in health convalescence or disease. Nothing else, then, can be more important or more necessary to know than these things.' ---- Hippocrates It's generally agreed that you are what you eat, and for those suffering from food allergies the problem can be particularly severe, even life threatening.

Food allergies are wide ranging and depending on how quickly one's body reacts to eating the wrong foods can be an indication of the severity of that person's allergy.

According to Jutta Harvey, Nurse Manager at the Allergy Clinic of Bermuda, there are two classifications of food allergy, immediate (or fixed) and delayed (or cyclical). One is life-threatening and the other possibly just a hindrance to a good quality of life. Neither should be taken lightly.

"The immediate reaction is when you eat a food and within minutes to a couple of hours you have a reaction,'' explains Mrs. Harvey.

"It can hit many different target organs and the target organ for a food allergy is the same as the target organ for an inhaled allergy. They more specifically react on the skin, the digestive system, but also the nose, eyes and the chest.

"The severity of an immediate reaction can range from mild where you get a cramp in your stomach or you immediately get a running or itching nose. That would be the mild version of the reaction, but it can range all the way to near fatal or fatal.'' Added Mrs. Harvey: "The term for that is called anaphylaxis when the person takes in a small amount of a food that they are highly allergic to and has an almost immediate severe reaction.

"That would include itchy skin, hives, swelling of the lips and the tongue to the point where it obstructs their airwaves to swelling of the voicebox, blood pressure drops where they can't breathe and the heart has irregular rhythms and without quick treatment a person can die.

"The immediate treatment is epinephrine and for people who know that they have this type of allergy it is often recommended that they carry this around with them. It's a prescription medication and they can administer it to themselves if they inadvertently have some of that food that they are so hugely allergic to.'' Eating out can pose problems especially as some allergic foods might not be easily recognised in various dishes.

"One time a lady had a severe nut allergy and she ordered a dessert -- she let the restaurant know that she was allergic to nuts and please don't prepare any foods even in the pans that nuts might have been in -- and felt safe that they would take care of her,'' explained Mrs. Harvey.

"But the information wasn't relayed all the way to the desert chef and on the menu there was no mention of the nuts in the chocolate dish she ordered. The chef ran out of chocolate shavings so he sprinkled some nuts on there, she ate it and ended up in the hospital and almost died!'' Because of the wide variety of foods that can trigger an allergic reaction, it is often not easy to determine what might be the cause.

"If it's the first time that it has happened to them and they have eaten a mixture of foods then it is important to determine exactly what caused it so that they can avoid it,'' explained Mrs. Harvey.

"The way to diagnose that is through a detailed history of what the person ate and a blood test to test each of the components and then discussion and guidance after that. It's not a very common allergy but it's important to highlight it because the potential is so severe.'' The delayed food allergy is not life-threatening but can be ongoing and chronic and a severe hindrance to a good quality of life, Mrs. Harvey noted.

"This type of allergy is related to the amount of a particular food eaten and the frequency with which that food is eaten.

"The types of food that can cause this type of allergy could be almost anything, depending on what the person eats. The symptoms are not as severe as what I mentioned in the anaphylaxis but they may affect the eyes, ears, nose, throat, skin and digestive tract.

"The onset of the symptoms can be soon but is often distant from the time the person ate the food, it could be the next day of even 48 hours later. By that time the person has eaten many other kinds of foods so it is hard for that person to identify which one was the culprit.'' Added the nurse: "I ask the person to write down a typical two weeks' worth of their food intake -- their food diary -- whether it was a drink, what kind of bread and spread. The more comprehensive the better.

"This problem is usually ongoing, chronic and in their system all the time.

By looking at the food diary you can identify which foods come up more frequently, so that raises the suspicion.

"Then we do skin testing -- as opposed to anaphylaxis -- and a blood test to further look into the problem to see if anything comes up positive. If you avoid the food long enough then gradually you can reintroduce the food in small amounts now and then.'' While an upset stomach might be one of the symptoms, a digestive problem may not always be allergy related, so the patient may be advised to see their physician.

Statistics show that 33 percent of adults have adverse reactions to foods and about eight percent of children.

"Children can outgrow certain food allergies and if those foods are avoided for a certain period then they may be able to tolerate these foods later on in life,'' explained Mrs. Harvey.

"To eliminate yeast is a big thing because it is found in so many foods.

Yeast, mould and fungus are all in the same biological family. These people might also be allergic to mould in the atmosphere so there is a double whammy, they are inhaling it and then eating yeast and mould.

"Fermented beverages, especially beer and wine, have yeast as part of their processing. Anything that is aged and is not considered a fresh food is considered part of the mould family. Cheese is basically old milk and really bad are the mouldy cheeses like blue cheese.'' Added the specialist: "Processed foods have a lot of additives that can be detrimental to people with allergies and leftovers are one of the biggest sources of mould in our diet.

"After the food has been in the fridge more than two days, even before it gets blue and fuzzy, it has already started to get microscopic mould on it.'' A pregnant woman can also pass on allergies to her unborn child whose immune system is developing up to the age of three.

"She can pass on through her umbilical cord a dust mite allergy to the child,'' said Mrs. Harvey.

"In terms of food, breast feeding helps so long as the mother is careful with her own diet. Cow's milk has this big reputation as being so important for our nutrition but it's not really.

"You don't see any other species drinking the milk from another species. You don't see a sheep suckling up to a cow to get cow's milk.

"Soy is a good alternative as long as you're not allergic to soy.'' Photos by Nigel Richardson Let me see: Curious seven-year-old Ebony Butterfield peaks through the miscroscope during the Allergy Clinic's open house last week. Looking on is nurse Jutta Harvey.

Taking the test: Thirteen-year-old Edmeiko Butterfield volunteered to be tested for various allergies at the Allergy Clinic's open house last weekend.