Monday, August 9, 2010

It’s not a healthy food if it’s not healthy for you

Several of my clients come in and are complaining of GI symptoms; bloating, heartburn, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea or have migraines, headaches, depression, sleep disorders, joint pain, asthma, and skin issues. Inflammation in the gut is a major reason for these symptoms. With all of my clients, I start with detecting what foods are causing irritation. Although for many, gluten is an underlying problem, in order to completely heal the gut lining we need to detect all the sensitivities that are causing irritation. In some of my cases clients have sensitivities to spinach, chicken, and eggplant, all which would be considered healthy foods. When we tried to reintroduce these foods they had a reoccurrence of their symptoms. Hence my saying “It’s not a healthy food if it’s not healthy for you”.

Every food has protein and enzymes as part of their individual make up. Every person is also a unique individual and will have an “altered response” to a food. Some can eat a particular food with no issues while others will have a variety of responses. The response is sensitivity, an allergy or intolerance. In some way, they all involve the immune system. In a food allergy response, the immune system is responding to a certain size of protein particle. Small molecular particles, such as haptens, can combine with food particles and then cause an immune response. The body has millions of antibodies that combat offenders which are released when the body is exposed to these proteins or molecules. Food allergies have an immediate response and are recognized in main stream medicine. However, many food sensitivities can take as long as 72 hours to respond which make them difficult to detect. Food sensitivities are commonly controversial in conventional medicine and not addressed. To detect these food sensitivities I use a cytotoxic test that mixes the clients blood with liquefied food antigens. The granulocytes (part of the white blood cell) will remain intact if there is no response. If the immune system is going to respond, the white blood cells will swell and possibly granulate. In severe cases, they will blow up and disintegrate. Removal of the foods that cause a response along with gluten can help to repair the gut which will reduce inflammation and eventually decrease symptoms.

Many people are diagnosed with Celiac disease, but those with undetected gluten sensitivities are often told that they do not have an issue because they did not have a positive allergy testing or serum antibody test. They are not advised to avoid gluten. As they continue to eat foods made with the gluten protein, the body cannot break them down and antibodies build up leading to the destruction of the villi in the gut lining from the inflammation. Eventually, the lining of the gut becomes so compromised that the proteins and particles of other undigested food proteins leak through the gut lining causing a delayed food reaction from the immune response and the client has mild to severe symptoms. The gluten that was the original problem that caused the damage now has the company of many foods causing the irritation. Eliminating only gluten is just the beginning of the healing process. In order to reduce the inflammation, all the foods causing the reaction of the immune system must be eliminated. This is why many people who remove “only gluten” feel that it does not help their symptoms and return to eating gluten thinking it was not the culprit. In reality, gluten was the culprit but so are many other foods which all need to be removed in order for the symptoms to be completely eliminated and the feeling of ultimate health to return.

Removing the sensitive foods is a process. As the gut lining is healed, the client will be able to reintroduce about 95% of the foods that were causing irritation. It takes time, patience and someone to guide you through the reintroduction of the foods. See my website at www.essentialsforhealth.info

2 comments:

  1. Do you think that one of the contributors to the seemingly mass food sensitivity in the U.S. is our poor quality food supply due to Genetically modified crops?

    After moving to the Dominican and eating largely natural foods vs the 'Grocery Store' counterparts everything about my digestion improved, and I lost a few pounds.

    I have never been able to stand American soft wheat but French or Italian hard wheat give me no problems.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karl,GMO food has proteins people are often sensitive to and they do create reactions. People are not breaking down these proteins which cause an increase in antibodies and eventually inflammation.Our wheat in the US has been modified over the last 50 years. I have attended seminars that have shown pictures comparing wheat from then and now and they do not
    look the same. The gluten content in our whaet continues to increase. That is why when you had bread made in France or in Italy you were able to digest the gluten protein. Some of my gluten intolerant, not celiac, clients will travel and are able to eat bread and pasta in Europe and not have the symptoms they have when they eat gluten products in the US.

    ReplyDelete