Have you ever wondered about those itchy white bumps on the back of your arms or on your thighs? After you eat a strawberry or banana, does your tongue or throat tingle? Do you sneeze while eating chocolate? Do you feel sick to your stomach after you drink milk? Thousands of people suffer daily from medical conditions they don’t even know they have.These are all indicators that you may be suffering from food intolerances or allergies.
Paying attention to your body is a vital key to staying healthy. Many people don’t understand the meaning behind an allergy or an intolerance. An allergy causes the body to react in a life threatening manner or an immune response. An intolerance is less serious but still causes many problems and digestive issues. It is like mixing water and oil together in your system. It just doesn’t work. You may get a quick response to something you consume by a sneeze or rash. While, a delayed response may result in a headache, stomachache or nausea. The symptoms can vary from person to person. Sometimes distinguishing whether you may be allergic to dairy or wheat gluten could be difficult because some of the symptoms are the same. Finding out what your allergens are, can be very beneficial to your body.
I myself have suffered all my life with food allergies. This is a daily challenge for me but it is worth the effort to be healthy. My health has become much better over the years and I wish to inform others. Everyone’s symptoms can vary but mine were stomachaches, cold sores, acid reflux, constipation, itchy skin, eczema, vitamin deficiencies, headaches and sleep disturbances. The vitamin deficiencies alone wreak havoc on your entire body. Poor absorption leads to many illnesses. Bone problems, nerve damage, and failure to thrive are some. Staying away from allergy related foods will help your body heal over time. Taking vitamins will help replace what you are missing in your diet. Removing the allergens will not only repair your gut, but will also help your skin, hair, mood, and overall well being. It is a daily battle and can be very hard to keep up with. You have to learn to retrain your brain that you can do it. Mind over matter!
Allergists can help in determining what allergies you have by doing scratch tests. Your regular Physician can perform a 10 Panel Allergy Blood Test that will test for the most common allergies such as egg, dairy, and wheat. Some can eliminate foods for a few weeks and see what response they have if you choose not to see a Physician. However, this can be tricky because we consume so many varieties of foods.
Products have greatly improved since I was diagnosed. Some of my favorite food brands are Glutino, Pamela's, and Udi’s. They offer a wide range of Gluten Free items that are very tolerable. More stores are carrying these items in or around our area. Economart and North Crossings Foods are local places. If you want to travel for bigger varieties, Woodman’s and Festival Foods in Eau Claire have just about everything! Walmarts now have a Gluten Free section as well. Dining out can be very frustrating for people with allergies but restaurants are improving also. Especially in our area. Many local restaurants have gluten free options. One of my favorites is China House, located in Spooner. One new dish they now serve is Mai Fun Noodles, which is a rice noodle. These can be made with any meat of your choice. Also, you can have almost any of their meals by substituting their soy sauce, with the packet soy sauce and cornstarch. The to go packets of soy sauce are gluten free while, the bottled brand they use is not. This is very important to remember because not many places in our area will do this special request for you. Also, Lakeside Pizza in Cumberland offers an amazing gluten free pizza crust that they will custom make for you. They also have gluten free pasta available. I love this place!
If you are suffering from symptoms that you are unsure about, it may be worth looking into what you are eating. Why suffer when you can be happy and healthy? So many things have been added to our foods over the years that we have no clue what we are consuming. It’s worth investigating!
[Photo by Kara Vincent Art]
Last Update: Jul 28, 2017 1:31 pm CDT
