Got Food Allergies? Here’s What to Do!

Please note, the food allergies I am referring to in this article are of digestive nature–the allergies that create stomach upset, cramps, pain, bloating and breakouts. I have successfully healed my allergies to garlic, kidney beans, green beans, pineapple and more. I am not experienced with any other allergies; this guide is not intended to replace naturopathic or medical advice.

As a Green Monster, you’re doing all that you can to live a sustainable life. If you’re anything like myself, that includes forgoing many food items you probably once loved, but now realize aren’t eco-friendly. Toss some even minor food allergies on top of that and it can quickly seem like there’s simply nothing left to eat. Don’t worry though; despite what you may have heard, a food allergy diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean you can never enjoy that item again. Rather, it means your intestinal lining requires healing, you need to avoid the item for that period and then, you need to reintroduce the item back into your diet incrementally. Healing a food allergy takes patience and self-awareness. You’ll need to monitor how your body feels when you consume the item now and when you slowly begin reintroducing it later. This green monster guide to healing your food allergies makes it simple, though. Follow these three steps to eating what you want again:

1. Get a Diagnosis

Even though this article is essentially a DIY, I wouldn’t recommend self-diagnosis when it comes to food allergies. After deciding it was time to get tested, I went into the naturopathic clinic thinking, as many people do these days, that I was celiac, or allergic to wheat gluten. As it turned out, that was about the only thing I wasn’t allergic to. Do yourself and your body a favor by seeking professional help with your diagnosis. There are several test options: an elimination diet where you “eliminate” one food item at a time, monitoring your body’s reactions to the changes; a scratch test for common allergies; and finally, you can opt for the most accurate, but expensive option: a blood test. The blood test can profile up to 90 of the most common food allergies and give you an indication even of the severity of allergy you’re living with.

2. Deny, Deny, Deny

Yes, this is perhaps the hardest part: you must, I repeat must, deny yourself the food items that you are allergic to for a minimum of three months. That means if you’re allergic to garlic, you’re also avoiding most pasta sauces, conventional packaged meals and so on. If you’re allergic to dairy, you’ll need to be checking most prepackaged goods labels including chips, cookies, pasta mixes, cereals and dips. Now, if your food allergies are bad enough that you’re determined to heal them, this step isn’t as hard motivation-wise as it is in practicality. In other words, the hardest part isn’t always the avoidance, but knowing which products contain those allergens and avoiding those, too. This step begins your intestinal healing. Help yourself along the process by eating cleansing and easy-to-digest foods like flax seed oil, oatmeal and avocados. Remember to drink lots of water as well to help clear your system.

3. Go Slowly, But Surely

After about three months of avoiding the allergen completely, you will notice a huge difference in your digestive abilities. You should be feeling much less bloated, more energized and healthier all around, keeping in mind that eating foods you were allergic to caused inflammation that prevented efficient nutrient absorption. Use this time to relearn what feeling good feels like. Now, you’re ready to begin slowly adding back in the food item. For my garlic allergy, which was severe and caused days of stomach discomfort and pain, I reintroduced cautiously. I literally started with a spoonful of pasta sauce. If you have a reaction, don’t take this as a failure. Get some good healing foods in you and start smaller next time. Keep increasing the amounts, testing yourself and monitoring how you feel. Know that every single body is different; healing times vary; allergens differ, etc. For my garlic allergy, it took two years from my diagnosis until I could eat whole raw cloves. Before, I would react to even a bite of soup with garlic in it; now, I eat several cloves per day. For my kidney bean allergy, which was much less severe, the process only took a matter of months. Be patient with yourself.

This guide helps heal allergies that create great discomfort and pain in the digestive track, bloating and water retention, as well as acne breakouts. I have not experienced allergies that cause anaphylactic shock or potentially fatal reactions and thus, would not recommend this process for such problems. Please remember to consult a naturopathic or medical doctor about a diagnosis before doing anything.

Image source: Dan4th Nicholas/Wikimedia