Food Allergy - 5 Steps To Healthy Eating Using An Elimination Diet

By Cinda Crawford
Whether you suffer with pesky health problems like allergies, being overweight, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, Crohn’s Disease or certain types of Arthritis, your daily diet plays a major role in how you feel, what symptoms you battle and how successful you’ll be in feeling better. I’ve lived through such an experience; I was sick for fifteen years. I started healing five years ago. Now I’m completely well using the same strategies and techniques that I share with my clients every day.

Step 1- Think for a moment and decide if there may be a food bothering you and/or making you feel bad. Fact 1: We’re human. We eat things that we know will irritate our bodies. We may be aware of which food causes an unpleasant side effect, but do we always stay away from such a food? No, not necessarily. Sit down today and make a list of what foods should go on an “offender” list. (Hint: If a food produces one unpleasant symptom, it may cause other less noticeable ones, too.)

Step 2- Stop eating all offending foods! Okay, you say, I can think of a couple of possible troublemakers, but how can I figure out all of my problem foods? Fact 2: some trouble foods may not be easy to spot. Consciously, you avoid Uncle Charlie’s chili, but never consider that Aunt Sara’s yeast rolls may be harming you, too. Why? Because you love to eat them! We often crave foods that are “bad” for us. Plus, this second class of offending foods may not produce immediate symptoms thereby prodding us to make that conscious link between eating the food and how badly we feel. (Doctors call this “delayed reaction food allergies” when the symptoms arrive later and cannot be easily attributed to consuming one particular food.)

Step 3- Clean up your diet by eliminating the confusion. One method to pinpoint problem foods is by using a simple Food Elimination Diet. This can be a good tool to help you figure out the foods that bother you—in other words, causing food allergy or food intolerance. Allergists or dieticians can advise and help you through the process, however many people are quite capable of carrying out an elimination diet on their own. It takes patience, persistence and being a bit of a detective.

*Bonus Tip #1: When I started on such a quest years ago, my allergist put me on a limited diet of rice, beef, bananas, green beans, celery, tea and water. (These were supposed to be “good foods” that were easily digested and caused few problems, but not everyone finds this to be true today. Beef is no longer recommended universally and some people cannot consume caffeinated products like tea, cola or coffee.)

Be observant, listen to your body and figure out which foods cause your symptoms. Then restrict your diet to a limited number of foods until you stop having symptoms completely. (Plus, eat plain foods, not pre-fab or combination preparations. That will only confuse matters.) Stick to this food regimen for a few weeks. Later you can add one new food choice about every third day to see if it causes a symptom. (Hint: when you re-introduce a “new” food, overeat it for a few meals to try to provoke a reaction.) If a new food does not cause an immediate or delayed reaction symptom, then move on to new foods according to your schedule.

Note: If you have a complicated problem, this process can take months, but taking such a diet inventory may be worth your time and energy. Be willing to be your own detective. You may discover the foods that irritate your system and you won’t spend a dime at the allergist!

Step 4- Refine this process further by looking into other diet issues, such as blood type and genetics. These issues can play big roles in how your body functions in our complicated world. Some of the best books on this subject are in Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo’s series that begins with Eat Right 4 Your Type (4 Blood Types, 4 Diets). Dr. D’Adamo discusses how foods can create symptoms, including weight gain and hypothyroidism.

**Bonus Tip #2: In the beginning, people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and similar illnesses function better by totally eliminating certain foods from their diet. Removing white flour, milk products and all corn products for someone with Fibromyalgia can help to lessen symptoms. Take away Aspartame (i.e. Nutrasweet™ or phenylalanine) and monosodium glutatmate (MSG) and people with Chronic Fatigue syndrome or any illness where one is troubled with brain fog, fatigue, achiness or headaches-- and you’ll find more incredible results! Additionally, some people discover that they do better by cutting out refined sugar from their diet altogether. New scientific studies reveal that consuming a lower amount of sugar helps to reduce inflammation in the body.

Step 5- If you want faster answers than going through this complicated process, investigate one of the new alternative methods of healing and getting well—such as ELT (a.k.a. Essential Life Therapy). ELT is an amazing energy healing protocol that is helping people by the thousands! You can think of the ELT Protocol as if your mind body and spirit are being re-programmed and re-set, allowing you to become a whole, perfectly functioning and healthy being again. ELT facilitates the body to heal itself from disease, dysfunction and (as one example) food problems. The process can occur relatively fast, plus ELT is usually painless, low cost and effective for the long term.

To find out more information about avoiding allergies and healing many health problems, check out Cinda Crawford’s free report, The Fatigue Factor: 5 Strategies to Leave Fatigue in the dust, Start Feeling Better Fast and Find Your Own Healing From Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Allergies or Autoimmune Illness at
# http://www.linkbrander.com/go/43431
Within this report you’ll discover how the ELT Protocol re-sets the body’s innate healing power back to 100%. Happy Health. Cinda Crawford, an ELT Practitioner, facilitating personal energy healing with clients all over the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cinda_Crawford

Food Allergies - Why the Drama?

Food allergies continue to get a lot of press. Many people wonder why it is getting so much attention. Statistics continue to show that food allergies are on the rise. As an example of that it can be noted that the number of children with peanut allergies doubled in a five-year period ending in 2002. This is significant because food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis which can be fatal in some cases. Most of the press coverage focuses on the young victims of food allergy reactions.

Peanut allergies can be the worst type of allergies. Peanut oil can be found in many ingredients and under many circumstances. Tragically an incident that received a lot of coverage in the last few years was when a teenage girl died after kissing her boyfriend who had just eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Her throw was swollen shut. This tragic type of event happens more commonly than you think.

The danger of food allergies is that the reaction of the sufferer can be quite varied. Some people might feel sick to their stomach after they eat something that they're allergic to. While others may experience swelling in the face, the body and the lips. The swelling can affect the sufferer's airways (anaphylaxis). Rashes and hives are also some common reactions.

What type of foods cause allergies?

* milk/dairy

* eggs

* peanuts

* wheat

* fish

* shellfish

* sugar

* yeast

Since food allergies can cause the extreme allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Many sufferers end up in the emergency room. The key to avoiding those types of incidents is to make sure you do the most you can to educate yourself about possible food allergies that you or your family may be exposed to. Something as simple as an epinephrine pen can save your life.

If you have very young children you need to make sure to tell everyone that takes care of them of any food allergies your child may have. It is very common nowadays to have nut free childcare facilities. Not only should you make sure that you inform people about your own child you also need to be aware of any food policy that may be in effect to safeguard other children. Nut allergies like many of the food allergies can be tricky since not only are they found in the main food itself they can be used as ingredients in other foods. A sugar allergy and the yeast allergy are good examples of that. Keep in mind though that many people are confused by food intolerance and a natural food allergy. A true allergy involves the immune system.

So now that you know what the drama all about is up to you to make sure you get the most information you can regarding any issues that may come up for you and your family regarding food allergies. The best source is definitely your doctor though there is plenty of information available online to help you get started. If you suspect that you or a loved one are suffering from some sort of reaction to food schedule a visit with your doctor. They may also further direct you to an allergist.

Find more on food allergies like sugar allergy and yeast allergy at AllergyFiles.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marilyn_Franklin