Children's Health Defense By
The lone star tick isn’t the only source of alpha-gal, a sugar linked to alpha-gal syndrome, also known as red meat allergy. Several ingredients used to manufacture foods, personal care products, medical devices and drugs — including vaccines — also contain alpha-gal.
Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a three-part series on red meat allergy, a serious, lifestyle-limiting disorder that causes individuals to experience mild-to-life-threatening allergic symptoms several hours after eating red meat. Also known as “alpha-gal syndrome,” meat allergy has no cure — the only “treatment” is to avoid certain meats and animal products. Read part 1 of the series here.
Recent news reports on the recent rapid spread of alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), or red meat allergy, blamed the lone star tick. That’s because the tick’s saliva contains trace quantities of a sugar, alpha-gal, a known human irritant that many researchers and clinicians believe induces the dangerous allergic responses that are the hallmark of AGS.
But the lone star tick isn’t the only source of alpha-gal. Several ingredients containing alpha-gal are also used to manufacture foods, personal care products, medical devices and drugs — including vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides an informative, but incomplete list of vaccine ingredients containing alpha-gal, whose chemical name is galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose…
