Could Food Sensitivities be Affecting Your Health?
Do you suffer from chronic indigestion, gas, skin rashes, acne, headaches, chronic phlegm, excess weight, or mood swings? You may have answered ‘yes’ to a few of these symptoms and wonder how they could all be related!? In fact, they can all be signs of food sensitivities. Often times these conditions are chronic because they are being aggravated by something or a few things that you are eating regularly.
The good news is that most of the time, a few simple dietary changes may be all you need to feel a whole lot better. How can you figure out which foods are causing your woes? There are two main approaches to this: the first is a blood test measuring your immune response (IgG) to 200+ foods, the second option is to try an elimination diet. This diet is a type of experiment where for a period of time you eliminate all the foods that are most likely to cause sensitivities and also eliminate any other foods that you suspect are bothering you. When re-introducing, you try each food one at a time every two days while keeping track of any symptoms. If any reactions do occur, you must wait 4 days before trying a new food. The symptoms can be changes in mood, skin, bowel movements, mucus, gas, headaches, etc.
Which approach is better? The IgG testing or the elimination diet? I believe that doing both is best if you can. This will give you the most information. You will see the numbers in your blood work analysis plus you will gain the physical experience of trying foods one at a time to see how your body reacts. If you are not a nutrition nerd like I am the diet might not be super fun, but it will be a very valuable experience. For more ‘Type A” personalities, I would certainly encourage them to get the blood test. Some people just need to see the numbers on the report from the lab before they believe it. Whatever motivates you to make positive changes for your health is the choice for you.
Our nutrition team here at NutriChem are very passionate about food and helping people discover ways to make healthier choices for their individual needs.
To book in with one of our Registered Holistic Nutritionists, please contact our clinic.