Hi I'm so sorry about your friend,
How considerate of you to make the effort to help. I noticed some of the symptoms your friend was having are very similar to mine. I was told some time ago by a holistic doc that I might have a yeast allergy. After reading up on it on the web & books, I came to the conclusion that I had almost all of the symtoms of a yeast allergy & other food allergies. Back pain for years, unable to loss weight, rash on my chest, hair loss, constipation, irritable bowel, constant bloated feeling, stomach looked like I was pregnant but I was thin everywhere else etc etc. I decided to go to a Traditional Chinese Medicine doc, who tests for food allergies. He performed Applied Kinesiology testing on me and determined that I was allergic to yeast. It began to all make sense to me. He also determine that the yeast allergy was making me intolerant to many other foods. He told me to go on a strict diet of only organic beef & chicken & organic vegs (mostly green). No bread, flour, sugar, sweetner or yeast of any kind. He put me on chinese herbs & a vitamin called yeast fighter. He also told me to take baking soda (sodium Bicarbonate) & water if I ate anything I was intolerant to. He said this would neutralize the food I was intolerant to, I did this and spent months researching yeast allergies, baking soda & every remedy he suggested. Needless to say I dropped the 20 lbs that I wasn't able to drop for 20 yrs in a matter of 3 weeks. To make a long story longer when I was researching sodium bicarbonate I came across on the web a doctor in Spain that claims he can cure cancer with sodium bicarbonate. He claims that cancer isn't cancer at all but an overgrowth of yeast or Candida (which is an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the body). He also claims that 98% of cancer patients that pass away are loaded with candida or an overgrowth of yeast. I found this very ironic...& remembered that my doctor who studied in China told me to take baking soda. I am no doctor but I do know that 1 in 3 people in the U.S. have a yeast overgrowth & arent' aware of it. Yeast overgrowth is usually caused by too many antibotics or the birth control pill. I also found out that I have had this yeast allergy for almost 20 yrs. & didn't know it. I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure or (menopause) in my early 20's after 4 yrs of taking Birth Control pills. I always attributed all of my symtoms to the menopause. I never quite understood why I would have premature menopause as my mom had 7 kids & come from a very fertile family. I always blamed it on the BC pill & with good reason...now I know that it caused the yeast allergy & my doctor believes the yeast allergy caused me to go into premature ovarian failure. You should know that after taking this doctors advise I feel better than I have in 20 yrs. Like I said I'm no doctor but it sounds to me like your friend might have a yeast allergy. Most docs in the US do not diagnose adults having yeast allergies, tell your friend to find a Traditional Chinese Medicine Doc that has studied in China. This doc should also do food allergy testing (not the kind with the skin pricks) Tell your friend to do his research & change his diet & I bet the symptoms will start subsiding. Best of luck to you both. Anne