There are so many food intolerances, sensitivities and allergies that plague the population, it’s hard to know what to eat anymore. To figure this out, it’s important to know:

What the intolerance is;
What’s causing the intolerance; and
Is it an intolerance or an allergy.

Let’s start with the answer to number 3 first.

Intolerances and sensitivities are very different from true allergies

A food allergy can be a life-threatening even. It is induced by an IgE reaction, which is the allergen that flares up the immune system that thinks it is being invaded by a foreign species. Even touching or inhaling a microscopic amount of the food can have serious consequences where a cascade of events take place within the body that cause widespread swelling and can result in the airway being closed and other essential processes being shut down.

Do you have bloating?
Do you regularly have cramps in your stomach?
Do you experience a lot of gas?
Do you feel very full after meals?
Do you often have to avoid certain foods because they make you feel unwell?
Do you have constipation, diarrhea, or both?
Do you have hemorrhoids?

If the answer to any of the above is “yes!”, it may be worth paying extra attention to this intricate system your body uses to break down and absorb the nutrients it needs to function.

Your digestive system, from mouth to anus is approximately 30 feet in length. It is divided into eight parts, which includes the mouth, the esophagus, the stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum, liver, pancreas, and lastly, the gallbladder. Each of these part plays an essential role in how the digestive tract functions as a whole, and dysfunction or imbalance in on of them, can severely affect how the others work.

You, like so many others, may think digestive upsets are a normal part of your life. Or worse, that you simply have to learn to live with them as it’s just the way your body has chosen to work.

I want to assure you that this is not the whole truth. Of course, certain foods can cause different reactions within our systems, but there shouldn’t be dramatic symptoms arising with every meal you eat. Or cause you discomfort most days. Food is there to nourish you, and when you’re reacting to it in a way that you shouldn’t, something needs to change.

And these changes may need to be implemented depending on the level or levels of the digestive tract that are out of balance.

Common areas of imbalance that may cause digestive symptoms

Digestion starts in the mouth. Eating on the run, not chewing your food thoroughly, or eating the wrong types of food can cause bloating, stomach pain, malabsorption issues or constipation/diarrhea.
Stomach acid is not only important in the digestive process as it’s where protein and fat begin to be broken down, it also protects the otherwise sterile environment of the body from foreign invaders like food-borne bacteria, from entering and infiltrating into your system. Low stomach acid of often the cause of infection, of partially digested food passing through to your small intestine, and may even contribute to reflux disease.
The small intestine is the area of the digestive system where most of the nutrients from your food are absorbed. Bacteria, digestive enzymes and other intricate processes help this process along, and any imbalance in this area can reduce the rate at which your body receives nutrients. Inflammation may seriously hamper the effectiveness of these processes and reduce the integrity of the intestinal wall. The intricate parts of the intestinal wall are key to healthy digestion and the maintenance of tolerance to food. There are several, common issues that lead to impaired function of digestion relating to the small intestine, for example hyper-intestinal permeability (leaky gut), SIBO, SIFO, Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
The large intestine is where the leftover food is fermented and prepared for excretion. It’s also the area of the digestive tract that essential vitamins are absorbed from these bacteria as they process the food. Abnormalities in the bacteria, how much fluid is available to be added to the food, and the integrity of the lining of the colon can be the reason you have diarrhea, constipation, malabsorption issues, LIBO, hemarrhoids, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and other IBDs.
The liver, gallbladder and pancreas also play an important role in digestion. Among their functions is the addition of bile for fat digestion and digestive enzymes for food digestion that has already left the stomach. Where the liver is heavily taxed, the gallbladder is dysfunctional or absent, and the pancreas is not meeting the demands of digestion, it can cause a host of imbalances in the body related to poor food breakdown and absorption.

A thorough clinical history and analysis of your symptoms can reveal at which level there is dysfunction. Reworking your diet, adding certain supplements and tacking your imbalances can go a long way to reduce the dysfunction in your digestive system and steer your health into a state of balance.

While it may appear silly to even suggest, many people are leaving the proverbial thorn in their foot every day, while taking medication to soothe the pain.

Inflammation and autoimmunity
In reality, a poor diet, hidden allergens, infections, toxins, stress, trauma and a number of other factors are the thorn and the resulting inflammation is being treated by medication to relive it. It may be by over-the-counter anti-inflammatories or, if you’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition where your inflammation has begun to degrade one of your body systems, you’ll likely be taking a more serious dose of drug.

But what if you were to tackle the underlying cause of your inflammation. What if you were to change your diet, address your hidden allergens and infections, help your body to process toxins in a more effective way, practice stress relieving techniques or seek counseling for past traumas? Do you think that would help you to remove the thorn from your foot and allow your body to then put processes in place to begin the repair?

It very well may.

That’s where I come in.

Diet and inflammation
Autoimmune disorders are compounded by inflammation, and inflammation is compounded by an inflammatory diet. The first step to promoting balance across your immune system and its reactions, is to mediate the inflammation within your gut.

Inflammation in the gut has been suggested as one of the major causes of ill health. The longer the inflammation affects the gut, the more likely the imbalance. Hyperpermeability – or leaky gut as you may know it as – within the intestine may leave the body at risk of toxins, heavy metals, viruses or bacteria, or larger food particles entering into the otherwise sterile environment of the body, which causes the immune system to flare up. Typically it begins to attack these ‘foreign invaders’ – even if they are harmless, like food – which, after a while, may cause the immune system to react to the body’s own tissues as it becomes confused. As a result an autoimmune disorder arises, and occurs in a body system like your joints, brain, thyroid gland, nerve cells or any other, depending on the area of the body most vulnerable.

Reducing this digestive inflammation and reducing the immune reaction by means of an anti-inflammatory diet may promote balance in these inflammatory processes, which may help you to better manage your condition.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach, however, and an individualized programme, tailored to your specific needs is often required. Together we can target your diet, determine whether you need help from specific supplements, and your requirements to eradicate parasites, viruses, bacteria and/or heavy metal loads. Let me help you get it right.