“My digestion is off, and it seems that healthy foods are bothering me now..."
“My digestion is off, and it seems that healthy foods are bothering me now. I try to avoid them, but it isn’t consistent. It is very frustrating to try and figure out what is going on. I see ads for food sensitivity testing, but I’ve heard that they aren’t reliable – what should I do?” ~ a new patient
Food allergies and sensitivities are typically the result of multiple factors. The food itself is rarely the cause but rather the gasoline on hot embers, inflaming an already upset system. Real food is rarely the main cause.
Other factors like stress, imbalances within your gut, eating processed/packaged foods, medications, alcohol, etc., these can all cause inflammation within your body. Inflammation can cause unpleasant side effects that may seem to be related to food some days but not others.
My recommendations are to avoid any foods that don’t agree with you while you work to manage your stress response, reduce your intake of inflammatory foods and beverages, while increasing your intake of anti-inflammatory foods and beverages.
A few quick examples of how I do this:
1. Drinking anti-inflammatory ginger infused water
2. Eating real food – food without labels – as much as possible – ideally multiple times a day
3. Meditate daily and practice yoga several days a week to manage my response to stress in a healthy manner
4. Reduce/eliminate sugary foods and beverages
5. Save indulgences for special occasions but don’t deprive myself of foods and beverages I really enjoy!
6. Give myself grace and focus on making the best decision I can in that moment because I know trying to be perfect will lead to stress!
7. Start each day with a clean slate
Testing is only as good as the actionable information the results provide you. Many food allergy or sensitivity tests give only a portion of the picture and since food is rarely the root cause, avoiding the food rarely balances out everything out of balance causing your symptoms. My recommendation is to:
1. Listen to your body.
2. Avoid foods and beverages that upset it.
3. Lead a healthy lifestyle.
4. Reach out for help when needed.
Food reaction testing, including food allergy, sensitivity, and immune activation testing, are tools I utilize in my practice, but I utilize them as one piece of the intricate puzzle that is our health. I first examine all factors that affect your health going all the way back to how you were born as this is the foundation of your immune system, identifying imbalances and dysfunctions along the way. This way we can identify the root causes of your symptoms. Typically, there is systemic inflammation within your body, like embers from a fire, and the offending foods are like gasoline on the embers, igniting the fire. Rarely is the food, in its natural form, the cause.
Digestive imbalances are often an underlying root cause of food sensitivity. Therefore, I offer a group digestive wellness program a few times a year. My next session is coming up and I have a free info session on June 8th. Click here to register. Even if you are unable to attend live, register and I’ll send you the replay so you won’t miss a thing!
Connect with me to start the discussion today so you can get back to enjoying your favorite foods again!
Yours in health,
Dr. Anya