Whether it’s a true food allergy, an intolerance, or a sensitivity, (and yes, there’s a difference between them) no one wants to be told that they can’t eat a food that they love for the rest of their life. Even fewer of us willingly choose to test for potential allergies because we are scared of what we might find. However, food allergies are rampant these days thanks to multiple modern day factors that overload, suppress, and confuse our immune systems. When we can’t identify something as a real food, our body tries to attack it. This can cause unnecessary inflammation, bloating, weight gain, joint pain, etc. Whether or not you plan on eliminating these foods from your diet, it’s good to know if there are potential foods that can be sabotaging your health, well-being, and physical appearance. There are three methods that I recommend to my clients for a food allergy testing. If you’d like to spend the money, you can have IGg or IGe food sensitivity blood panel done. If you’re looking for a free option, you can simply keep a food journal where you document everything that goes into your mouth and how you feel subsequent to that. The easiest free option is a food elimination diet where are you pick certain common food allergens, and eliminate them from your diet for 2 to 3 weeks and see how you feel. If you feel fine, try adding one food back in and then see how you feel for comparison. Here are the foods that I would start with:
1) Gluten
2) Dairy. This includes whey protein
3) Eggs
4) Soy
5) Nuts