I was visiting with a friend recently and we were talking about her son, a few issues he had going on, how he’d been to the doctor and they were checking for allergies among other things.  I mentioned food being a possible source of the problem, but she didn’t think so of course.  I mean most of the time when we think of food causing problems and severe allergies or other issues, we think more along the lines of extreme cases like hives & rashes to swelling, throat closing up and anaphylactic shock.  If we don’t see a big reaction like that, we don’t typically think of foods as having such ill effects on our health.

However, if you start doing your homework and researching for a root cause of allergy type symptoms in the body you might find out it is caused by inflammation in the system.  Inflammation in the system is caused by foods that we may not be allergic too per say but that we are sensitive to, that maybe aren’t the best foods to be eating that our bodies react to over time.

Instead of all systems go, it’s all systems inflamed! We are a society of chronic inflammation. Ever notice how the following symptoms are more prevalent these days: asthma, allergies, type 2 diabetes, obesity, sinus issues, bone issues, arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, thyroid conditions, high blood pressure, heart disease, adhd, autism, behavioral issues…and the list goes on. Most of these ailments are caused by chronic inflammation and sensitivities to foods and chances are you know at least one person that suffers from one of these issues if not many, many more. Chronic inflammation starts out as a simple runny or stuffy nose or maybe a headache here and there, becoming more frequent over time until you feel bad more often than you feel good. It may come and go or may be constant, chronic pain all the time. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies have been trying for years to figure out where the inflammation is coming from but keep coming up short. The only solution they’ve found is to put a band-aid on it by treating the symptoms with a pharmaceutical, which in turn causes more problems, side effects, and it turns into a vicious cycle of stopping the problem in one area only for another one to pop up down the line.

Our body is an amazing system of intricate parts that all function together. Each part has a specific job to do which requires certain vital components like vitamins and minerals and if one of those systems breaks down or falls short, inflammation occurs and we experience some sort of symptom like a headache or pain, fatigue, etc. If this problem of inflammation continues over and over again, we become a walking inflammation factory. For some people it affects their stomach and digestive tract, for some their sinuses, for others their muscles and joints, and for others it affects them psychologically, their brain function, while some may have a combination of one or more system malfunctions. Think of those kiddie water parks where they have the bucket filling up with water and every so often it dumps the water down onto the kids below. Well, that’s what happens in our bodies, only the bucket is constantly overflowing, sending mucus and inflammation to all the parts throughout our bodies. Once it’s to this level it’s almost impossible to even know the culprit and there could be numerous causes unfortunately.  It’s your body attacking itself because it’s so overrun by inflammation.  

Our bodies are fueled by food or should I say by the micro & macronutrients that we get from our food. When we get the right micronutrients and plenty of them, our bodies function as they are supposed to, each part functions as it knows how and we are healthy and happy. The problem is we aren’t getting a lot of nutrients from the majority of the foods found in your local grocery store, fast food chain or restaurant. In order to cut down on the cost of inflation, our foods have been adulterated with cheap, toxic ingredients leaving us little to no nutritional value. Have you ever wondered how the 2 for $1 Jack-in-the-Box tacos have stayed 2 for $1 over the last 10 or more years?? Or how the dollar menu is still the dollar menu at McDonald’s and has been for as many years as I can remember? It certainly isn’t because their food is chocked full of nutrients. I’m sure you’ve seen the posts floating around too about how you can leave a McDonald’s burger and fries sitting for 6 years or more and they will not mold. Why do you think that is?

The good news is the majority of these issues can be severely reduced if not completely eliminated by changes in our diet. Now I’m not talking about going ‘on a diet,’ I’m talking about changing your diet for good, changing the way you eat and the way you see food. I’m talking about cutting out processed and fast foods and changing to real foods for the most part, at least 85%.  Real foods are foods that come from living things like lean meats, fish, fowl, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and oils like coconut, avocado, grapeseed -not canola. We have too many foreign substances in our bodies from our modern day food supply, from chemical additives, chemical vitamins and minerals, chemical sweeteners, chemical processing, chemical pasteurization, imitation foods and so on. The main thing for you to focus on and remember is to eat real food, food that comes or came from a living thing whether it be an animal or a plant. Once you stick to these real, clean foods on a consistent basis you will start to look and feel different and the inflammation will subside, leaving you healthier and happier.

And just for the record, I practice what I preach.  ;-)  My diet is largely plant based, with some protein in there, and a variety of foods.  Your body is your temple, feed it and fuel it right inside and out…and let’s show our kids by example what that looks like.  ;-)