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

It's not just about gluten

Something motivates people to purse a career...my pursuit began when I was 8 years old. After spending 1-1/2 years in the hospital, I knew I wanted to be in the field of healing. I spent several years working in the hospital as a Respiratory Therapist and then I decided to study nutrition. I found myself drawn to the healing power of " the right " foods. I joined an Endocrinologist and we created a weight loss clinic. I talked to the patients about good food, cooking and shopping tips and saw great results, but there was something missing. I did not just want to focus on weight loss because so many of these patients had multiple issues. I was still dealing with my own personal health issues that were getting progressively worse. I started to realize that food was the culprit. In fact, I remember the day I told my doctor that "Food was killing me". I did not know how true that statement was until I went to school to study holistic nutrition.I have a grandson that has some mental disabilities and while I was writing papers I decided to look for a diet that would help with his "melt downs". I discovered a way to find what foods might be causing inflammation of his brain and one of those foods was gluten along with many others. I then realized that gluten was one of the foods that had been destroying my gut since I was a child. It was just the beginning. I soon found that a variety of foods were the root to all of my health issues.

Gluten seems to be today's BUZZ word. Today I have become a certified nutrition consultant and owner of Essentials for Health (www.essentialsforhealth.info) and have many clients who see me to work on their health issues by improving their diet. I am often told that they have "tried" a gluten free diet. Some have felt an improvement in their health and some little, if any, improvement. The reason, because it is often more than just a gluten intolerance. I have worked with a variety of clients having diabetes, several autoimmune conditions, high cholesterol, asthma, high blood pressure, ADD and ADHD, fertility issues, neurological symptoms, GI problems, and menopause and andropause symptoms. The common bottom line to all these diseases and illnesses is inflammation. Inflammation can be caused by a variety of issues such as; overindulgence of coffee and alcohol, stress, medications,imbalance in gut bacteria, sensitivities to molds, chemicals and food additives and the big culprit, proteins in foods that cause an immune response in the body. Gluten can be one of these foods, but I find it is a lot more complex than just eliminating gluten containing foods. The improvements my clients have experienced in their health when we looked "beyond gluten" have been remarkable. In my blog "It's more than just gluten" I will share these stories with you, how we successfully helped these clients and the results they have incurred. You may find one that relates to your personal health issues and we may possibly journey together to improve your health.