Blog Post 5- Food Allergies, what you NEED to know and the FIVE things YOU can do to change your life
MYTH: When suffering with FOOD ALLERGIES you will FOREVER AND ALWAYS need to avoid the allergen in question.
THE TRUTH: Allergies are a secondary condition to a systemic issue. Find the root causes, get to work on addressing them and watch the beauty of the body’s healing mechanisms spring into action!
Food allergies are not to be taken lightly as allergic reactions can be deadly. With peanut allergies doubling over the last two decades(1) it is crucial that we have more resources available to address this “21st century epidemic.” (1)
More on nut allergies soon. Let’s chat about gluten for a moment.
Coeliac/celiac disease is a serious condition whereby your immune system struggles and attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. It causes inflammation in the gut and can prevent you from absorbing nutrients. Symptoms include bloating, pain and diarrhoea/diarrhea. People with coeliac disease need to be on a gluten-free diet until they have utilised the resources to reverse the disease.***
Foods that contain the protein gluten include:
- Wheat based foods such as wheat bran, wheat flour, split, durum, kamut, semolina, bulgar wheat and couscous.
- Barley, Rye, triticale, malt, brewer’s yeast.
The added problem for anyone suffering with allergies is that many products are processed in factories with nuts and gluten products, so cross contamination is possible.
But can I actually prevent allergies from impacting my life? Is it possible to reverse the problem completely?
Yes. There are things that can be done. Do not despair. With the right steps, knowledge and diligence, we can go a long way towards reversing the effects allergens can have on the body. Here are the FIVE steps you absolutely need to know and of course DO if you are having trouble eating gluten in your diet or indeed if you are suffering with other food allergies.
- Products containing gluten must be 100% organic as it is the chemicals and pesticides used in today’s farming methods that can turn gluten from friend to foe. The same goes with nuts and other crops. Our bodies weren’t designed to ingest chemically soaked foods. As good as our detox organs are at excreting toxins, overwhelm has increasingly become the norm, and for anyone suffering with an allergy knows, enough is enough!
- Soaking nuts and grains release the enzyme inhibitors which can make these foods difficult to digest. It really is quite interesting. Soak a handful of almonds for a couple of hours and they will swell in size, revealing a softer, buttery centre. Those almonds are now ‘live foods’ which left will sprout after a couple of days. They are more filling, more nutritious and so much easier on the digestive system.**
- Understanding the Gut microbiome and its role in supporting our immune system is vital. With the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides in our society, it is now, more important than ever to make sure we have plenty of good flora in our guts, increasing probiotic foods, and our vitamin D levels are optimum.
- Ensuring the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM is strong, clear and all of YOUR detox organs are getting the support they need. Destress2Digest is a system that hands you the resources step by step. Simply said, it covers it all. Digestion is the foundation of health and is EVERYTHING!
- The gradual reintroduction of foods. This is an important concept which once learnt makes total sense… BUT for SERIOUS FOOD OR NUT ALLERGIES (1) READ ON…
(1) Dr. Kari Nadeau is the Director of the Sean. N Parker Centre/Centre for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University in California. She has written articles as well as a book about her research and her work with many children and adults which spans across 17 years.
She uses ‘Oral immunotherapy’ under close supervision with her patients to literally reprogram the immune system. The premise being that the targeted allergen is re-introduced in tiny doses, gradually increasing the amount as the body learns to tolerate and re-assimilate the foods through the systems of the body (for up to 2 1/2 years in more severe cases)
Many will -at the end of the treatment- be able to tolerate accidental exposure to an allergen and others will be able to freely eat the allergen. In either scenario it is “life changing.”
(1) Dr. Nadeau calls it a “21st century epidemic” as peanut allergies have doubled over the past two decades. More than 10% Brits/Americans are now allergic to one or more foods.
(1) The UK has one of the highest rates of allergic conditions in the world with 20% of people suffering.
* An article that she wrote in the Health section of The Times newspaper reads:
“An end to food allergies?” — meet the doctor who says it is possible. “Peanuts, eggs and other foods need not be deadly,” Dr Kari Nadeau tells journalist Damian Whitworth.
(1) To read the entire article click HERE You may need a subscription to the Times to read this.
She has also written a book of her findings:
The End of Food Allergy:
The New Science of Reintroduction and Reversal to Take the Fear Out of Food by Kari Nadeau and Sloan Barnett (Ebury, £16.99)
SO as you can see, there is much that can be done towards reversing allergies IF we understand the underlying causes surrounding them. If you are prepared to do the work it is entirely possible to strengthen the bodies ‘terrain” so that you can eventually eat the foods that you love again, and not have to worry about being exposed to allergens that are potentially harmful or even deadly.
Everything you need to know to clear, prepare and strengthen your body and immune system before thinking about point 5 is right HERE
** BONUS: Click HERE for my recipe: Dope (dopamine and serotonin) coconut crusted nuts with a ‘serotonin’ filled buttery centre. Want to know more about the benefits of soaking? With more Myths and all the resources you need for perfect digestion and BUILDING HEALTH? Then click HERE
*** Disclaimer: Anyone with a serious nut or grain allergy needs to always work under the supervision of a doctor or trained health professional. When re-introducing foods, do so with an epipen in a doctors’ office until you are told that the programme can be continued in the home.
