Be Smart, Beware of Hidden Food Allergens

On my recent trip to Ireland I saw restaurant menu notes on food sensitivities. Every dish has a number code for allergens such as gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, and such, so the ingredients are more fully revealed.
About 4 years ago the EU mandated restaurants to use this list of 14 allergens. See the picture below (zoom in ;-).

How cool is this, for those of us who want to feel good all day with no surprise ingredients?
How sobering is this, to realize food sensitivities are rampant all over the globe?

A person might have a classic food allergy, an immediate reaction where they go into anaphylactic shock and cannot breathe.
Or they may have a food intolerance where they lack the enzymes needed to digest that food.
Or they may have a food sensitivity, also known as a subtle food allergy, with a delayed reaction hours later or even three days later.

These food sensitivities begin with leaky gut which affects 80% of the population.
The microbiome (the bacteria in your gut) is unbalanced; the intestinal membrane gets weakened,  and this allows large food molecules to slip into the bloodstream.
The immune system forms antibodies against these large food molecules.
A subtle battle of inflammation begins.
Now the person is sensitive to gluten or dairy or whatever.
They may not know it. Maybe they feel only a little itching or phlegm in their throat.
Then the phlegm (or some other tiny symptom) becomes chronic.
Then more inflammatory troubles arise such as joint pain, arthritis, heart palpitations, SVT, asthma, weight gain, acne, eczema, rashes, autoimmune diseases like lupus and fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, headaches and more.

Yes, a ton of illnesses have their root cause in food sensitivities. This is worth investigating! Before you go running to the medical doctor for pharmaceuticals, look at your digestive health and food sensitivities.

To do-it-yourself without spending a ton of money, you can avoid the “sensitive 7 foods” for three weeks.

• wheat
• corn
• milk (all dairy, ice cream, cheese)
• sugar
• soy
• peanuts
• eggs

You are likely to feel better, more energetic, just by holding off those 7 foods.

After three weeks add one item into your diet for a couple of days and see how you feel.
Take your time, testing each one.
This is the method used in Britain to pinpoint food sensitivities.
If you like, you could test yourself on the 14 foods listed by the EU in the photo.

(In the USA we spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on blood work and/or samples of saliva and stool to figure out one person’s food sensitivities. But you don’t have to spend like that.)

Now – food is not the entire story because many of us unwittingly carry mold, fungus, yeast and all kinds of unwelcome bugs in our digestive system. To figure that out, you might find a naturopath who does Applied Kinesiology, muscle testing. Or a regular naturopath who will do lots of lab work.
Whatever approach you take, it is totally worth it to heal your digestive system.

Never underestimate the power of eating healthy food!
As a friend told me recently, “I didn’t know I was feeling bad until I felt so much better.”

Soon you’ll be saying, “I didn’t know I could feel this good.”

 

Get a Clue Subtle Food Allergies
https://drchristinemaren.com/food-allergies-and-sensitivities/

(Thanks to pixabay for this pic.)