How I Reversed My Food Allergies. And How You Can, Too!
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Do You Have Food Allergies? Do you suffer from food allergies? Maybe you’re gluten intolerant. Or you can’t digest dairy. Perhaps you have Do You Have Food Allergies? eczema or unexplainable rashes. Or despite your many Do you suffer from food allergies? Maybe you are gluten attempts to loseMaybe weight, scale always back where intolerant. youthe can’t digest dairy. go Maybe you don’t you even know you have food allergies, but you suspect you started. may.
Maybe you don’t know that you have food allergies, but you It’sthat Not a Life suspect you may. Sentence A lot of people suffer with food Did you know that 99% of food allergies are reversible? allergies. Sometimes allergies upalso in the body It’s true! Sure, therefood are some food show allergies, known as as pain ortrue fatigue. allergies can up recover as weight allergies,Food that you are born withalso and show you can’t those account for about 1%symptoms of all food allergies. gain, from. skin But problems, respiratory such as sneezing, wheezing and mood disorders such as depression My Story and anxiety, colic, or ADD/ADHD or autism. Arthritis at 25
When I was 25, I was diagnosed with arthritis. My knees hurt so much, the pain would wake me up at night. It
Modern solutions. people liveand with food allergies and all the related hurtmedicine to squat oroffers kneel. few And the pain was Most spreading to myjust fingers elbows. symptoms. This is no way to live your life.
Did
I had other issues, too. I suffered from seasonal allergies and was sick all the time with chronic sinus infections. I had thrush on my tongue like white carpet. I had sores in my mouth and inside my nose that You 99% of Food areallReversible? wouldKnow not heal.That I had chronic fatigue andAllergies was exhausted the time.
It’s true! There are some food allergies (“true allergies”) that you are born with and can’t change. These OldofPerson’s are theAn kind allergiesDisease that result in fatal anaphylaxis. When I told my mother that I had arthritis, she told me that was impossible. “That’s an old person’s disease,” she said. She said I should just take ibuprofren for the pain.
But true allergies account for only 1% of all food allergies. The vast majority of food allergies are I started taking sinceifit you was have easier “true to take pills twice a day hours. alsobook.) getting shots reversible. (How doAlleve, you know allergy”? See thethan Q &every A at4the endI was of this for my allergies and using an inhaler.
My Story Doctors Couldn’t Help Me
When Doctors I was 25, I was diagnosed withforrheumatoid arthritis. My knees hurt so to much the pain woke didn’t have any solutions me. They said that eventually I would have havethat surgery, but that I waitItashurt longtoassquat I could. said that it was just a matter of time before I ended up in a wheelchair. me up should at night. or They kneel. You see, arthritis is a degenerative disease. Which means it just keeps getting worse and worse.
Then the pain started to migrate to my fingers and elbows. Going Off the Grid
It was at that point that I decided to go “off the grid”. Doctors didn’t know everything, I reasoned. There had
I had other too. I suffered from seasonal allergies and was sick all the time with chronic sinus to be issues a way out. infections. I had thrush of the tongue. It was like white carpet. I had sores in my mouth and inside my We didn’t have the internet back then. So I went to the library and instead of studying, I read every book I nose that would not heal. I had chronic fatigue and was exhausted all the time. could find about arthritis. When I found a book that talked about wheelchairs and surgery, I tossed it aside. I was looking for alternatives.
When I told my mother that I had arthritis, she told me that was impossible. “That’s an old person’s disease,” she said. To alleviate my pain and deal with my sinus problems, I was: • taking Ibuprofen every 4 hours • getting allergy shots • using an an inhaler How I Reversed My Food Allergies. And How You Can, Too!
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Doctors Couldn’t Help Me Western medicine offers no cure for arthritis. Doctors told me that I would have to have a knee replacement surgery. Arthritis is a degenerative disease. In other words, it just gets worse and worse. The doctors told me that it was just a matter of time before I ended up in a wheelchair. Going Off the Grid There had to be a way out. I was determined to find my own way to back to health. It was 1995, and there wasn’t much at all on the internet back then, so I went to the library. I read every book I could find on arthritis. There were books that talked about wheelchairs and surgeries – I tossed those aside. I was looking for an answer. Lifelong disability was not an option.
90% Better in One Week My research led me to books on nutrition and its connection to arthritis. I found a book on nightshade vegetables. This was the beginning of my cure. Nightshade vegetables include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and tobacco. I read that if you stopped eating nightshades, your joints would stop hurting. I gave it a shot. It was difficult at first... no more pizza, no french fries. But if it worked, it would be worth it. And it did work. A week later, 90% of my pain was gone. I still had the chronic fatigue and the allergies, thrush on my tongue. But the pain in my joints had almost completely disappeared. I was absolutely blown away by the power of food. I told a college friend about my “No Nightshade” diet. He said, “Nightshades can be hard to digest if you have problems with your immune system. But if you have a healthy immune system, you shouldn’t have a problem with nightshades.”
I went back to the library and started reading about immunity. I learned that it is our digestive tract that governs our immune system. That made sense. But then why did I have so much trouble eating these foods that most everybody else can eat? What was wrong with my immune system? And what did I need to do to fix it? The Digestive System and Gut Flora The human digestive tract is 25 feet long. It contains anywhere from 2-9 pounds of bacteria.
Antibiotics, the birth control pill, chlorinated tap water – all of these things kill off good bacteria in our gut. The good bacteria are there to protect us, and keep us from getting sick. If we don’t have enough good bacteria, we end up with all sorts of problems. We have trouble digesting our food. We start having auto-immune reactions like eczema, and arthritis.
The Elimination Diet I then embarked on a 4-week program to find out what foods I could digest, and what foods I could not. And so I began my Elimination Diet. What Is an Elimination Diet? In order to find out what I was allergic to, I did an “elimination diet”. I removed all possible allergens from my diet for a period of one month (an elimination diet typically lasts 3-6 weeks). After 4 weeks, I began to reintroduce new foods again gradually, one by one. During the Elimination Diet, I cut out dairy, grains, nuts, fruits, beans, eggs, all sugars and sweeteners, starches, and alcohol. Pretty much everything except meat, fish, and non-starchy veggies like broccoli and lettuce. I was allowed non-dairy fats like olive oil and coconut oil. During the reintroduction phase, I allowed anywhere from 3 days to a full week to get reacquainted with each of the new foods. If I noticed that I developed an allergic reaction, I knew that I was not ready to consume that particular food yet, and that I would need to continue to avoid it for a period of time.
My Results At the end of my 4-week Elimination Diet, I realized that my body reacted negatively to gluten and sugar. I had to stay off gluten and sugar for about two years while I was healing.
I was able to start eating dairy right away and was still able to eat honey and fruit. I had to avoid all refined sugar. I could eat all grains with the exception of wheat and anything that contained wheat (including soy sauce, for example). I also took strong probiotic supplements to help repopulate the beneficial bacteria in my gut which would help me build immunity. Needless to say, I was astounded to find out that food was the cure for my ailments. At that point, I resolved to make a difference in the lives of others. I became an advocate for healthy living and started teaching others how to reverse their own allergies.
After The Allergies It took about 2 years, but by avoiding gluten and sugar, AND taking strong probiotics to repopulate my beneficial gut bacteria, I was able to reverse my food allergies and heal all of my symptoms, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and recurring sinus infections.
The GAPS Diet and the Digestive System A decade later, I stumbled on a book called Gut & Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha CampbellMcBride. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride’s son was diagnosed at age 3 with autism. As a medical doctor and nutritionist with a clinic in Cambridge, England, Dr. Natasha was used to giving her patients a diagnosis. She never thought she would be in this position – faced with a condition that her son would have to live with for his entire life. According to most doctors, there is no cure for autism. Just as I was unwilling to accept the “fact” that there was no cure for my arthritis, Dr. Natasha refused to accept her son’s autism. She started researching and in time, uncovered a direct link between a numbers of disorders (learning disorders, psychological disorders, eczema, asthma, allergies, etc.) and the condition of our digestive system. She detailed her findings in her groundbreaking book, Gut & Psychology Syndrome. successfully reversed her son’s autism!
She also has
“The brain has a direct effect on the stomach. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach’s juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. The brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) system are intimately connected — so intimately that they should be viewed as one system.” – Harvard Health Publications
SCD: The Specific Carbohydrate Diet In her research, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride came across SCD which stands for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. SCD was founded by Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas, and made famous by Elaine Gottschall’s book Breaking the Vicious Cycle. Here’s the theory of SCD in a nutshell: 1. When we don’t have adequate good bacteria in our digestive tract, we don’t secrete the enzymes to break down complex carbohydrates. 2. These undigested carbohydrates cause pathogenic bacteria to grow. 3. As pathogenic bacteria increases, their toxic waste proliferates. 4. In the gang wars going on in your gut, the good guys are losing and the bad guys have the upper hand. The good bacteria are so busy trying to deal with the onslaught of pathogens and toxins, they don’t have the ability to protect the gut lining, which causes gut damage (also known as “leaky gut”). What Is Leaky Gut? Leaky gut is surprisingly common. It affects a significant number of adults and children, including most (if not all) people afflicted by ADHD, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma. Many people have had excellent results with SCD in reducing or reversing symptoms of autism, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, allergies and ulcerative colitis. Moving From SCD to GAPS As Dr. Natasha used SCD on her family, particularly her autistic son, she found ways to improve it. She called her new diet The GAPS Diet.
How the GAPS Diet Can Help You Reverse Your Food Allergies There are three steps to healing on the GAPS Diet: 1. Stop Eating Things That Damage Gut Flora and Gut Lining As long as we keep eating things that we are allergic to, we continue to damage our gut. It is imperative that we avoid these foods until we heal our gut. We also need to stop ingesting drugs and other thigns that kill beneficial bacteria. Antibiotics, the birth control pill, steroids, other drugs, and chlorinated water all damage our gut flora. (See your doctor before stopping any medication.) 2. Repopulate Good Gut Flora with Fermented Food and Probiotics Probiotic supplements and fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, and naturally-fermented sauerkraut are loaded with good bacteria, which helps rebuild beneficial flora in the gut. 3. Rebuild the Gut Lining with Bone Broth Bone broth (chicken, beef and fish stock) is rich in gelatin, which helps to strengthen the mucosal membrane that lines the intestinal tract. For those of us with “leaky gut”, this is just what the doctor ordered to heal and seal the gut lining.
What You Can Eat on The GAPS Diet The GAPS Diet is based on meat, fish, non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, squash, onions, spinach, etc.) and “bone broth” (such as chicken stock), which is very healing to the digestive tract. You start out with a very simple diet and then slowly reintroduce more foods as you are able to digest them.
What You Can’t Eat on The GAPS Diet Starches, refined sugar (honey and date sugar are OK), grains, and processed foods. Eventually, when you are healed, you can bring whole grains, starches (such as potatoes) and sweets back into your diet.
Reintroducing Foods The Intro Diet The “Intro Diet” is the GAPS version of the elimination diet. It lasts for 3-6 weeks. During this phase, you eat only meat, fish, “bone broth” (chicken, beef or fish stock), fermented and cooked non-starchy vegetables – homemade sauerkraut, and cooked squash, onions and carrots. How to Start Reintroducing Foods on the “Full Diet” After you’ve eliminated the possible allergens from your diet for a few weeks, and you’re starting to feel better, now you can reintroduce new foods one at a time. These are introduced one at a time, waiting at least a few days in between each new food. Honey, wine, beer, coffee, and even Scotch are allowed in moderation on the “full” diet. Try a bite of a new food, wait 24-36 hours, and see what happens. If you don’t have a reaction, you can keep eating it. Try eating a tiny amount of the new food (yogurt, for example), and then slowly increase the amount. Start with 1 teaspoon or less each day and increase until you are eating 1/2 cup to 1 cup per day. If you have a severe reaction, stop and wait a month or so to to try again. For dairy, it’s best to start with fermented foods – yogurt, kefir and sour cream (homemade versions which are fermented at least 24 hours – store-bought yogurts and kefir are typically only fermented for a few hours). Next you can try ghee, which is butter that is cooked and all the casein is removed, so most people who are allergic to dairy can eat it. Next you can introduce butter, and after butter, you can try hard cheese, then soft cheese, then milk and finally cream. Signs That You’re Not Ready If you break out in a rash or start sneezing or feel foggy and fatigued, that’s a sign that you may not be able to digest that food just yet. Stay away from it for a while longer, continue on the diet, and try introducing a different food.
Probiotics You will want to start taking probiotics and/or fermented foods. Probiotics helped tremendously when I healed myself. I recommend Biokult and ThreeLac. (Both are available on Amazon.)
How Long Will It Take to Heal? It’s different for everyone. Some people get better in a matter of months. For others, it can take up to a few years. It took me about 2 years. You’ll know you’re better when your symptoms are gone.
What to Expect After that first few weeks, you should see a lessening or abatement of your symptoms (i.e. your eczema clears up, you stop sneezing, etc.) That said, sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. Be aware that many people go through a “healing crisis” before they start feeling better. Hang in there, wait a few weeks, and see if you start to feel better. Also, watch out and don’t take too many probiotics or eat too many fermented foods at first. Go slow. Too much of a good thing (good bacteria) can cause a “die-off” reaction. (The good bacteria kill off the bad bacteria and if it happens too fast, it can be uncomfortable and cause an increase in negative symptoms.)
Working with a Doctor It’s always ideal if you can find a certified GAPS practitioner while doing the diet. I really sped up my healing, and stayed motivated, when I was working with a holistic doctor. Click this link for a complete list of GAPS practitioners with contact information. They are located around the world, and many will work with you remotely (via phone or Skype).
Will It Work For You? Results will vary among individuals. I can’t guarantee that the GAPS Diet will work for everyone. That said, I’ve heard lots and lots of success stories. And what have you got to lose?
Are You Ready To Reverse Your Food Allergies? Ready, Get Set, Go! I hope this e-book has provided you with an insight into the real possibility an allergy-free life. We’ll be sending you a FREE monthly email newsletter with tips, recipes and encouragement. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)
Online Cooking Class for the GAPS Diet I would also would love to personally invite you to take my online cooking class. Over the course of 12 weeks, you’ll learn how to prepare the foods that will promote a healthy gut and help you to rid yourself of your allergies. Since the class is online, you can watch whenever you like, from the comfort of your own home, and go at your own pace. You have lifetime access, so you never have to worry about missing a class. You get over 50 hours of video tutorials and over 200 grain-free, sugar-free recipes with dairy-free options. Click here to see the full class schedule. For a limited time, I’m offering $50 off my online cooking class, Reversing Food Allergies. This special offer includes a copy of the book, Gut & Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha CampbellMcBride.
Click here to sign up and save!
Q&A
Questions and Answers About Reversing Food Allergies
How do you know if you
Unfortunately there are no reliable tests. The best way
have food allergies? Are
to tell if you have food allergies is to do an elimination diet for about a month. Then try re-introducing foods one by one. If your symptoms come back when you eat specific foods, you will need to avoid them for a period of time.
there tests you can take?
Can you really eat anything Yes! Pizza, chocolate chip cookies, croissants -- you you want now? With no symptoms?
name it. I haven’t had any symptoms since I healed in 1997.
Can this diet really help my Yes! There are many success stories online with child with autism?
children who have recovered from autism and other spectrum disorders by following the GAPS Diet.
Got more questions?
Email me at
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Share Your Success Stories I hope you decide to embark upon the journey of reversing your food allergies. I look forward to hearing your success stories! Please email me your testimonials at
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