I have always been a pretty healthy eater. But for much of my life, I have had two issues plaguing my self esteem. My skin was one. I always broke out more than the average person, but a couple of years ago it got REALLY bad. I became super self conscious and did not want to have any pictures taken. Being from a Taiwanese family also didn't help because my mother pointed it out constantly! The other is the fact that normally, I would finish each day feeling bloated and GIGANTIC. If I let my belly relax, I literally looked like I was 5 months pregnant, and that really did not do a lot for my self image. I would just think that this was normal, and eventually I became accustomed to feeling this way. Stretchy pants were my best friend.
It wasn’t until I went to nutrition school, that I learned about food allergies and more importantly for me, food sensitivities. Allergies can cause pretty severe reactions, which I never had, but food sensitivities could cause bloating, gas, acne, brain fog, weight gain and a host of other symptoms. I had a LOT of these problems. Lightbulb! Bing! My “healthy” diet wasn’t really healthy anymore... at least for me. I began playing around with different foods, taking them out of my diet and checking to see how I felt, and finally, I found out which ones didn’t work for me. Since I've made a big switch in my diet, I know which foods make me bloat and my skin has cleared up tremendously. Last time I went home, a family friend (Taiwanese of course) couldn't stop raving about how my skin looked. Taiwanese are quick to point out the good and the bad. :)
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What is a Food Allergy?
An allergy triggers the immune system. The immune system reacts to a foreign substance, or allergen (for our purposes something edible). The body will create antibodies against this allergen and can cause inflammation and tissue damage, especially if chronically exposed.
Immediate allergic reactions are acute and can include symptoms such as hives, rashes, itching, trouble breathing, and unconsciousness. These are the type of allergies that cause people to carry around epi-pens. In general, however, this only affects 7.5% of children and only 1-2% of adults.
What is a Food Sensitivity?
Delayed reactions are much harder to detect because they can take several hours or up to 72 hours after to manifest. They are often called “hidden” food allergies or also sensitivities. Delayed reactions are much more common and affect about 25% of the population. Those with intolerances are unable to either completely digest a food or unable to handle the chemical structure of a food. One of the most well known intolerances is lactose intolerance where a person is missing the enzyme “lactase” and therefore cannot digest the lactose in dairy products. Delayed reactions are much more insidious, because people often do not connect their symptoms (such as eczema, brain fog, ear infections, joint pain, or fatigue) to something they ate. Uncomfortable problems can persist for long periods of time.
Some delayed reactions or intolerances can be resolved over time by abstaining from the food, and then allowing it back into the diet only occasionally.
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Explosion of Allergies
Chances are if you know any children, you know that there is an explosion of food sensitivities and allergies in children today. I’ve worked in education for the last 10 years and I have seen it. What has happened in the last decades that has changed so drastically? Well, let’s take a look.
Likely culprits:
1) Adulteration of the food supply: antibiotics, artificial flavors and colors. Some people are extremely sensitive to these additives, but it is also an issue to think about how all these chemicals interact with each other and over time.
2) GMO’s: Genetically Modified Foods. To be clear, we are talking about when scientists go into the DNA of a plant and add usually a different organism’s DNA into its genetic code, not selectively breeding and cross breeding. The most common GMO foods are conventional corn, alfalfa, soy, canola oil, rice, tomatoes, potatoes, milk (rBGH), and cotton. There has been little research done on the safety of GMO’s and many articles have been published possibly linking the two.
3) Increased environmental pollutants: More pollutants mean more stress on the body, and the body can only take so much.
4) Leaky Gut: Leaky gut is when the membrane of your gut lining is compromised, and larger food molecules pass through into your bloodstream. Your body recognizes these molecules as foreign, and starts to create antibodies to these foods.
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Have Symptoms? What can you do?
Not sure if you have any symptoms? Here are some common ones that could be from food sensitivities.
* bloating * joint pain * excess weight
* gas * fatigue * chronic ear infections
* acne * diarrhea * depression
* eczema * asthma * chronic sinus infections
* brain fog * Irritable Bowel Syndrome * headaches
If you have some of these symptoms, it would be worth your while to try and take out some suspected culprits for a couple of weeks, and then add them back in one at a time, waiting 3 days between each one. This is commonly called an elimination diet, which I often work on with my clients, and if you are experiencing a lot of symptoms, then it would be a good idea to find a health care practitioner that can support you through it.
Not sure what to take out? Here is a list of commonly allergenic food and foods least likely to cause problems.
Most Allergenic Foods
· Wheat
· Nuts (peanuts, tree nuts)
· Eggs
· Sugar
· Dairy (Casein)
· Soy
· Corn
· Citrus
· Yeast
· Shellfish
Least Allergenic Foods
· Lamb
· Fish (cod, haddock, mackerel, and trout)
· Artichokes
· Beets and beet greens
· Carrots
· Celery
· Fennel
· Green Beans
· Onions
· Parsnips
· Peaches
· Pears
· Rutabagas
Pulse Testing
Developed by Dr. Andrew Coca, pulse testing is a helpful tool in narrowing down your sensitivities. Here are the steps:
1) Sit quietly for 5 minutes
2) Measure your resting pulse for one minute by counting the number of beats for 60 seconds. Record.
3) Ingest the suspected food.
4) Measure immediately for 1 minutes, record results.
5) Measure again at 10 minutes and at 30 minutes. Record.
6) If there is a significant increase or decrease (by 10 beats or more per minute), this indicates a likely sensitivity.
Good luck in finding out how to eat better and learning to avoid foods that are problematic! Happy Nourishing :)
References:
Bauman, E, and Jodi Friedlander NC. (2011) Foundations of Nutrition. Bauman College.
Knoff, Laura J. (2010) The Whole-Food Guide to Overcoming Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Oakland. New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
O’Brien, Robyn. (2009) The Unhealthy Truth. New York. Random House.
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/5-common-genetically-modified-foods10.htm
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