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Despite this New York
Times’ reporter stating that no one knows whether food allergies
are actually rising as fast as some people believe, a 2006 study
published in the medical journal Thorax found a
400 percent increase in
hospitalizations due to food allergies
in the UK
since 1990. Admissions for anaphylaxis increased by 600 percent.
Food allergies send another 30,000 to the emergency room each year.
The Difference Between Allergies and
Sensitivities
Allergies occur when your immune system overreacts to
environmental triggers, causing tissue inflammation, organ
dysfunction and an array of other symptoms.
Sensitivities on the other
hand may include both true allergies and/or
reactions that are not triggered by your immune
system. So whereas allergies typically trigger
immediate antibody reactions in your bloodstream,
sensitivities trigger slower responses
within your cells.
Signs of Food Sensitivities and
Allergies
Are there certain foods you crave often, such
as milk, ice cream, pasta or bread, for example? Ironically, the
foods you crave are often the foods that cause you problems;
that you have sensitivity to.
Other questions that can help you determine
whether or not you might have a food sensitivity or allergy
are:
-
Do you experience bloating after meals,
gas, frequent belching, or any kind of digestive problems?
-
Do you have chronic constipation or
diarrhea?
-
Do you have a stuffy nose after meals?
-
Do you have low energy or feel drowsy
after eating?
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Do you have frequent headaches or
migraines?
-
Does anyone in your family have food
allergies?
Which Foods are the Most Allergenic?
Topping the
list of the most allergenic foods are:
If you
think you're suffering from a food allergy,
avoiding these foods is a good place to start. You can also
be sensitive to food additives like artificial colors,
preservatives and flavor enhancers (MSG), so avoiding
processed foods can also help. And, although the jury is
still out on the health effects of
cloned foods, I am willing to bet
they’re not without ramifications.
How to Figure Out What Foods You’re
Allergic to:
One of the best things you can do if you
believe you are suffering from a food allergy is to
do a diet elimination challenge. Simply remove all
foods that contain what you believe you are allergic
to and see if your symptoms improve over the next
few days. You may need to go as long as five days to
give it a full trial. If the symptoms
disappear in one day, of course you have your
answer. The real clincher, though, is to reintroduce
the food or drink (on an empty stomach). If the
suspected food is the culprit you will generally be
able to feel the symptoms return within an hour.
This can be difficult if you
eat a lot of processed foods, as these often contain
"hidden" ingredients like corn, milk, soy, wheat,
yeast and artificial additives that are often
problematic. The most suspect foods will be those
eaten daily or more than once a week, as well as
foods that you crave or eat at night. In extreme
cases where it is difficult to isolate the offending
food, you may even need to go on a fast to see if
your symptoms resolve.
Why You Should Always Address Your
Food Allergies?
After you identify what foods you are
allergic to, you will want to avoid them as much as
possible. Your symptoms will likely disappear or
improve once you reduce your exposure.
If you
don't take measures to address food allergies, you
can end up with permanent, long-term damage.
Allergies can put constant and unnecessary stress on
the immune system that will weaken it over time,
possibly leading to chronic or degenerative disease.
As an added
bonus, eliminating your food sensitivities and
allergies can also
help you lose weight!
How?
When you eat a food that you are
sensitive to, it causes a series of negative
biochemical reactions in your immune system and
digestive tract that can hinder your weight loss
efforts. It also decreases your serotonin levels,
which can make you feel slightly depressed, causing
you to turn to simple sugars and carbohydrates for
relief.
Tips to Resolve Your Allergy
Symptoms:
In terms of food
sensitivities, a comprehensive nutritional approach is vital,
and most people's sensitivities dramatically improve when they
follow my
nutrition plan. This includes avoiding
sugar, fruit juices, most grains, and
pasteurized dairy products. If you
find that
milk (one of the
most common allergies) is the problem, it would be worthwhile
experimenting with raw cow's milk to see if that still causes a
problem. If it does, you can also try other species’ milk, like
sheep, goat or lamb's milk.
Another important principle is to
avoid all gluten
for a few weeks. That would mean absolutely no wheat products.
We use this approach in my clinic with really great results. It
is quite shocking how many people are actually gluten sensitive;
their condition radically improves once the wheat is removed
from their diet.
Making certain that enough long-chain animal based omega-3 fats
(DHA and EPA) from fish or krill oils are included in your diet
is also helpful, and another trick that also frequently helps is
to add some beneficial bacteria to your gut by taking a high
quality probiotic. Chemical sensitivity is a very real
affliction, and those who suffer from it are not making their
symptoms up. However, the causes of chemical sensitivity can
extend beyond just the physical -- there are often emotional
traumas, sometimes not readily apparent to the sufferer, which
have set the stage for the major disruptions in the
detoxification and immune systems. In these cases, emotional
treatments like the psychological acupressure method known as
the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can be extremely helpful.
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