Food Sensitivities

Most people wouldn’t think that the following symptoms could all be caused by a food sensitivity, but they often are. I have seen so many clients who come in with a long list of chronic symptoms, each of which has been treated, often unsuccessfully, with different medication, by a different specialist, and all of which we have been able to resolve within months simply by identifying and eliminating food sensitivities.

• Migraines and headaches
• Eczema, Psoriasis, and other skin rashes
• Joint Pain
• Body Aches
• Sinus Problems
• Asthma and other chronic respiratory problems
• Irritability, Depression, Anxiety, Brain Fog
• Constipation and Diarrhea, IBS,. Gas & Bloating, GERD, Acid Reflux
• Anemia
• Acne
• Chronic Congestion or runny nose
• Dark circles under the eyes
• Growing Pains in kids

When I started my practice, I never would have guessed that working with food sensitivities would be such a big part of it, but I have come to understand that, surprisingly, it is one of the fundamental keys to attaining good health. Identifying food sensitivities and helping clients adapt to eliminating them has been one of the most important keys to successfully assisting my clients reach their optimal health and well-being.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is a health essential: without identifying and eliminating food sensitivities, you will not achieve optimal health. Conversely, if you are frustrated about not having achieved optimal health, despite the reasonable measures you have taken, hidden food sensitivities may be the culprit.

When most people think of food sensitivities, they generally think of someone having an anaphylactic response to strawberries, or peanut butter: something immediate, and drastic. Those are sensitivities mediated by the IgE part of our immune system. However, the kinds of sensitivities I’m referring to are mediated by other parts of our immune system, and often take 24-72 hours to manifest, making it very difficult to discern that what you ate – let alone which food – is causing your symptoms, especially if it’s a food you’re eating all the time. Food sensitivities can manifest in any organ or system of the body, as suggested by the list above.

In my practice, I separate food sensitivities into “primary” and “secondary.”

Primary sensitivities are the ones that are life-long, and often genetic, meaning you are born with them. Gluten sensitivity is the most common example of this. Other common ones are dairy, soy, peanuts, and eggs, although these can also be secondary sensitivities, while gluten never is.

Secondary sensitivities happen when reactions to ingesting the primary sensitivities cause a breakdown of the lining of the intestinal tract, allowing undigested particles to leak into the blood stream.

This is what is commonly labeled as “leaky gut”.

The body regards these foods that have leaked into the blood stream as foreign particles, or antigens, meaning it stimulates an immune response, attacking them and causing inflammation. Leaky gut can give the appearance of someone allergic to everything.

It is essential to heal this in order to heal anything else, as improving our health depends on our ability to digest, absorb and assimilate nutrients, whether from our food, or from supplements.

In my experience, once you eliminate the primary sensitivities and heal the gut, you can virtually always restore the secondary sensitivities back to the diet without becoming symptomatic again. Furthermore, I find that eliminating primary sensitivities can often eliminate most environmental sensitivities as well. It can take anywhere from a few months to two years to heal completely, but most people begin to experience improvements within weeks, or even days.

Some people have no food sensitivities. Most people have one or two. I see very few people who have more primary sensitivities than that, although initially, when people have chronic symptoms, there may be many more foods they have to remove temporarily.

In my practice, I test for food sensitivities using muscle testing, or kinesiology. It is simple, quick, non-invasive, and extremely reliable, meaning that when people use the information, they get good results. I am able to muscle test both in person and by phone, for babies and children and as well as adults. Muscle testing for food sensitivities is always a part of my initial consultation.

I have been using muscle testing, both personally and professionally for over 25 years, with very reliable results. Since training with Dr Dietrich Klinghardt in 2009, and incorporated his Autonomic Response Testing (ART) into my practice, I am happy to say that my accuracy and insights are even better than previously.