How Even “Good-For-You” Food Can Harm Your Body
Yes, like salad
For more than 30 years, I’ve been studying and researching to figure out why my body, not only, failed to drop the pregnancy weight left behind after my first pregnancy but to also understand why dieting — for me and many others — leads to more weight gain.
This journey of mine has included earning two degrees in natural health and numerous certifications in related fields of study, such as aromatherapy. None of that taught me anything about food sensitivities nor how eating reactive foods can make it literally impossible to lose weight. I was super frustrated and was just about to give up on myself when I saw a post in my Facebook newsfeed from my absolute most favorite medical doctor, Elson Haas.
You see from the very beginning, Dr. Haas has used nutrition and not medication in his practice. Dr. Haas experienced a time where he too was gaining weight and he didn’t know why. What made it worse was the fact that what he was telling his patients to do wasn’t working for him either. It didn’t matter how perfect his diet was and how much he exercised, the weight gain continued. He began to research and discovered what he calls False Fat. Once he took care of the cause for his false fat, his body naturally released weight.
False fat is what makes you appear fat and feel lethargic. To many the answer is simple — eat less and move more. What I’ve discovered is that it really isn’t that simple. I am the one living this and each time anyone made the comment to me “eat less and move more,” I felt sorry for them. I’ve learned over the past 30 years that diets don’t work and the body definitely does not work in the simplistic way that is thrown in our faces every single day.
I’m going to share all that I’ve learned about nutrition, your body’s only goal and how diets work against the design of your body and its singular goal. Let’s begin with False Fat…
If you’re carrying excess weight, you are most likely not as fat as you think you are. False fat is not your fault and actually proves what you most likely already know — you are not a glutton. You are not lazy. You are not crazy. You have a metabolic problem known as food reactions. The good news is that this is a very solvable metabolic problem and when you solve it, you’ll experience a cascade of other wonderful benefits.
This is a long list of problems that are often caused, or exacerbated, by food reactions.
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Candidiasis (yeast overgrowth)
- Cardiovascular disease
- Chronic ear infections
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Chronic pain
- Cognitive disorders (including memory and concentration impairment)
- Diabetes
- Digestive disorders (including heartburn, indigestion, and ulcers)
- Eating disorders (including bulimia, bingeing, and anorexia nervosa)
- Eczema,
- Acne, and Hives
- Fibromyalgia
- Hay fever and airborne allergies
- Headaches (especially migraines)
- Hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder
- Hypoglycemia
- Insomnia
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Mood disorders (including depression and anxiety)
- Sinusitis
When food reactions are eliminated these problems are frequently cured or more easily controlled. Of the problems listed above, I was personally experiencing:
- Asthma
- Candidiasis (yeast overgrowth)
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Cognitive disorders (including memory and concentration impairment)
- Eating disorders (including bulimia, binging, and anorexia nervosa)
- Hay fever and airborne allergies
- Headaches (especially migraines)
- Insomnia
- Sinusitis
Here is how food reactions contribute to catastrophic metabolic disorders:
- Interfere with the hormonal balance of the endocrine system, including the thyroid and adrenal glands. This makes it harder for your body to burn stored fat.
- Disturb insulin levels, even in people who are able to maintain normal function of the thyroid and adrenals. This signals the body to convert food energy into fat, and also contributes to hypoglycemia.
- Cause mood chemistry disruptions. Food reactions cause levels of the calming neurotransmitter serotonin to plummet, leading to depression, anxiety, and compulsive urges, all of which commonly trigger overeating. Serotonin instability also exacerbates many physical disorders, including migraines, premenstrual syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome. These troublesome conditions often disrupt healthy eating patterns.
- Cause energy and immune dysfunction. Food allergies and sensitivities markedly (1) decrease energy, (2) contribute to insomnia, and (3) dysregulate immunity (because food reactions are usually malfunctions of the immune response). All three of these problems interfere greatly with the ability to exercise. They also contribute markedly to the previously mentioned metabolic disorders.
Within days of removing reactive foods from my daily routine the asthma I had been experiencing disappeared. Within weeks, I had stopped taking 9 nutritional supplements. Those supplements were for:
- My thyroid
- My adrenals
- Sleep
- My lungs
Because I wanted to know which food was doing what to my body, I began to eat one of those reactive foods every few days. This didn’t last long because I much prefer falling asleep easily, sleeping all night, waking feeling rested and having energy to get through my day with an even emotional state regardless of what my kids might throw my way.
The foods that people are most commonly reactive to are:
- Wheat,
- Sugar,
- Dairy products,
- Eggs,
- Corn,
- Soy, and
- Peanuts
This is not true for everyone. I am reactive to dairy products, soy and eggs. The other items I am free to eat. I promise to discuss fully the different ways for you to discover for yourself which foods you are reacting to. For now, take the time after each meal to check in with your body.
- Do you feel bloated?
- Do you feel gassy?
- Do you feel tired?
- Is it hard for you to concentrate or think clearly?
- How do you feel emotionally?
Now consider what you ate. When I began this process for myself, I stopped eating bread because I noticed that I had a hard time breathing afterwards and my belly began to bloat. It turns out the problem wasn’t the bread but the butter I was putting on it. This is a more complex puzzle than I had ever considered before.
Discovering the Foods that Harm Your Body
I know of many people choosing to start this journey by doing an elimination diet. This is a viable option. As mentioned previously, the seven most common reactive foods are:
- wheat,
- sugar,
- dairy,
- eggs,
- corn,
- soy, and
- peanuts
This also means eliminating all food products that contain any form of these seven food items so be prepared to read the ingredients list of everything you buy. You may be surprised by what’s been added to your food supply.
The best way to do an elimination diet is to also keep a food journal. When keeping a food journal, you’ll write down all the food you eat — including the ingredient listed on prepackaged foods — and answer the following questions:
- Do you feel bloated?
- Do you feel gassy?
- Do you feel tired?
- Is it hard for you to concentrate or think clearly?
- How do you feel emotionally?
- Do you feel irritable?
- Do you have a short temper?
- Do you feel angry?
- Is there tension anywhere?
- Do you feel rage?
- Are you feeling any weakness or dizziness?
- Do you feel any nausea?
- Do you have a headache or migraine?
- Do you feel nervous?
- Are you sweating?
- Do you feel like crying?
- Are you over-reacting to anything?
- Do you feel any fear, panic, or anxiety?
- Are you feeling extreme hunger?
- Do you have a dry mouth, or blurred vision?
While food journaling, my husband also included his blood pressure and pulse numbers. Doing this helped him eliminate chicken from his daily routine. His blood pressure and pulse was higher when his body was digesting chicken than with any other form of meat. As long as he avoids chicken, his blood pressure remains in the normal to moderate range.
Use a food journal to keep track of what happens as you eliminate foods. Remember also that your thoughts and emotions about a specific food will play a role in how your body responds to it. So if you feel guilty eating cake, your body will respond — in some way — to that feeling of guilt.
If you talk with an allergist, they may attempt to talk you into doing a scratch test instead of doing a blood test. Where food sensitivities are concerned, the blood test is better and more reliable than a scratch test or urine test. It’s okay to insist that the blood test be done. Your doctor works for you. I am hearing that some doctors aren’t “allowed” to order the blood test because insurance companies block them. You have the right to go around your insurance company and pay out of pocket. Sometimes this means using your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flex Spending Account (FSA). This is precisely what these accounts were created for. If you do not have access to either of these accounts, consider saving up to get the test done or apply for a Care Credit account.
The blood test is called the Alcat test. As a Doctor of Natural Health I have access to request blood work. The system I use is setup so I pay a wholesale fee and then can choose to either have my client pay the same amount; thereby reimbursing me, or charge them a little bit more. I’m saddened to say that the wholesale price of the Comprehensive Alcat test is just under $600. Not only that, it’s a test kit that requires one to pay an additional lab fee to complete the process. When I discovered this, I almost gave up on the whole thing. Why are there so many obstacles?
One day, while scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I saw an ad for an at home basic food sensitivity test. I’m glad I clicked on that ad because it introduced me to EverlyWell.com and all the at home blood test options they have to offer. Once you’ve completed the lab form by pricking your finger and filling the circle with blood, you mail the test back to them and receive the results via email. I recently discovered that the EverlyWell tests are also available at my local Target. You may find them near you as well.
The biggest reason I decided to do the blood test was because even the smallest bit of a reactive food can wreak havoc on your body. Dr. Elson Haas, in his book THE FALSE FAT DIET, writes about a patient who had chosen to forgo the blood test. He started by removing the seven most common foods people react to along with keeping a food journal. He continued to struggled and finally gave in and did the blood test. The blood test results showed that one of the foods he was reacting to was papaya. The only thing he was using at that time with papaya in it was his digestive enzymes. Once he changed to a papaya-free brand, his body began to heal.
The hands down best way to discover what foods your body is reacting adversely to is the one that fits your lifestyle and budget. EverlyWell.com has a comprehensive food sensitivities test for $259 and tests for 204 foods. That’s an amazing price! If that’s outside your budget comfort, their basic food sensitivity test — the one I started with — is $159. It tests for 96 foods.
A super fast way to test for food sensitivities is to eat just one food at a time. Write out what happens as you digest that food over the next few hours. This is why mom’s are taught to start their kids on solid foods one item at a time. It’s much easier to know what one is reacting to when one has only eaten one food. Just a thought…
For today, take the time to consider the options for discovering your food sensitivities. Could you spend the next few days, weeks and possibly months eating only one food every day? If so, perhaps that’s the best approach for you. Believe it or not, this article is not about getting you to do what I did. It is about sharing the information I’ve gathered so you can choose the best course of action for your life and budget.
