An area of health that is often missed, is a practitioner asking what food you are eating and what you are drinking, to see if that may have something to do with what is going on.
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you may have food sensitivities that are affecting your life.
• Do you have a history of eczema or asthma as a child or young adult or do you presently have those symptoms?
• Do you have digestive disorders such as abdominal upset, gas, bloating or abdominal cramping? Are they relieved with eating or made worse?
• Do you get unexplained constipation or diarrhea or alternating constipation/diarrhea?
• Do you have to eat bread, drink milk or coffee, or have some special food or beverage everyday at lunch, at dinnertime or as a snack between meals or late at night?
• Do you have a lot of urgency or frequency with urination?
• Do you have chronic headaches/sinus congestion/ear ringing?
• Do you tend to mood swings/irritability/anger or feeling low?
• Do you have a lot of muscle aching/jt stiffness or pain?
• Do you find it impossible to stick to a diet or feel you need to eat even though you just finished eating?
• Does your child get irritable/have mood swings/temper tantrums after certain meals/foods?
• Do you or your child get drowsy/sleepy after a meal or have a hard time with focus, concentration?
Anyone answering yes to a few of these may mean you are eating foods that are causing problems for the body.
If you think of food as the fuel for the body, then it makes sense that it facilitates every process to function normally.
Most of us know that if a vehicle gets low-grade gasoline for some time, it will start giving you problems, poor starting, performance or mileage.
It is no wonder that health problems result for those not eating well.
Many people eat food that their body is sensitive to or irritated by, but are not aware of it or the connection between their symptoms and the food.
Something that should be noted, some foods may not cause allergic reactions in the blood and therefore do not show up on classic scratch or blood tests, but still cause enough irritation to result in symptoms.
So, the important steps are finding out what is causing the inflammation or irritation and try to remove from the system.
After a thorough evaluation, I can usually tell if foods are causing some of the symptoms and will test for the irritants, allergies and sensitivities.
I have tested two-week old babies! (Typically, the mother has had problems with an older childand doesn’t want to have the same issues again)
So, if you or your children are suffering with eczema or other skin conditions, asthma, allergies, hayfever, digestive problems (such as abdominal sensitivity/upset, gas, bloating, colic, constipation, diarrhea), lack of energy, inability to focus/concentrate, mood swings/temper, cravings, lack of appetite, ADD, ADHD, lack of motivation/drive, you should consider food sensitivities as a possible cause.
If you would like to identify possible food issues call for an appointment.
Dr. Brenda Gill is a naturopath in Rossland and can be contacted at (250) 352-3150 or 362-5035.