Cure Food Sensitivities

Accompanying recipe: Millet and Buckwheat Waffles

Once you’ve clearly identified your food allergies and sensitivities, you could avoid those foods for the rest of your life. But that’s just taking care of the symptoms. Instead, resolve to cure your food sensitivities.

Your digestive system was designed to digest food. But if it can’t handle, for example, wheat, that’s not wheat’s problem. The hitch is in your gastrointestinal tract.

Your next logical step is to fix the problem at its root, that is, to mend your digestion. Or, shudder, imagine the other scenario. Left unattended, this problem won’t go away. The odds are that your sensitivities and symptoms will multiply. Here’s why.

If wheat is an irritant this means it’s not fully absorbed and so it engages your immune system every single time you eat wheat. It’s not just for an hour or two. Rather, your immune system is overworking for 36-hours following one bite of a bagel. That’s how long it takes to clear the antibodies (immunoglobulins) from your system.

In time your immune system becomes compromised. Symptoms develop…maybe a stuffy nose or slight bloating. If not checked, it may progress to an auto-immune allergic reaction to gluten. In some cases, this necessitates life-long gluten avoidance.

If you identify this early the cure may be as simple as amending your diet and lifestyle and enhancing your digestion function. If not corrected, and if you continue eating wheat or another allergen, the insult continues and symptoms become exaggerated and increase.

By addressing the original cause of your digestive imbalance, ideally you’ll soon be enjoying all foods in good health.

Lactose intolerance is typically a functional reaction. After early childhood, three-fourths of the world’s population stops producing the lactase enzyme. Thereafter, they cannot digest the lactose carbohydrate found in human or cow milk.

However, about 10 percent of lactose intolerant individuals can digest goat milk. Some can tolerate lactase-enhanced dairy products, but I challenge the quality of such products. And some people can tolerate fermented dairy products like hard cheese. Most lactose intolerant people can enjoy ghee.

Inflammation   Sometimes digestive problems are exacerbated by inflammation. Use, as necessary, anti-inflammatory foods and supplements. They include turmeric, bromelain, cabbage and aloe vera. Signs of inflammation include: edema, infections, chronic pain or arthritis.

Toxins  Whenever you ingest toxins, they further compromise your digestive system. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, chemicals, drugs, food additives and colorants, refined fats, stimulants, sugar and artificial sweeteners and tobacco.

Difficulty Digesting Protein, Fats or Carbohydrates   Sometimes taking specific supplements to support digestion of the problematic component of the food will resolve the problem. For example, a negative reaction to eggs often indicates an inability to absorb fats, and less often, protein. Identify the specific problem and then take appropriate digestive aids.

For fat-only digestion problems, use a digestive enzyme with lipase (for fat). To support protein digestion, use pepsin or a protease enzyme such as trypsin.

Whereas, to help digest both fat and protein, use hydrochloric acid or herbal bitters (such as Swedish Bitters) and L-carnitine.

To enhance carbohydrate digestion, use enzymes containing amylase.

Glutamine helps support intestinal integrity. Also, frequently enjoy naturally fermented foods like miso, sauerkraut and kefir or else take a probiotics.

Virtually all culinary spices aid digestion as do the herbal teas, ginger, licorice, mint and rooibos.

To help identify the cause of the imbalance and to determine a course of treatment, find and work with a health care practitioner who successfully treats people with food sensitivities.

Be your food sensitivities mild or severe, favor easy to digest, quality foods as part of a balanced a balanced diet. By enhancing your digestion and taking good care of your overall health, hopefully your bodies own recuperative powers will repair any damage. If you address food sensitivities early on, then correcting imbalances may be relatively simple.

For a hearty wheat-free waffle, see our featured recipe.

May you be well nourished,

Rebecca Wood