Did you know 70% of chronic diseases are preventable. You could be eating a balanced diet and doing what you can to improve your condition, without suspecting that the very foods you’re eating are contributing to (or even causing) your problems.
A couple of years ago I began to experience some discomfort and even pain in my hips. I also felt achy all over and bloated – I just felt like I’d aged 20 years. Going up the stairs was do-able but not without some effort – I was ‘trudging’ up the stairs, not running up the stairs. Some investigation led me to believe that I had bursitis due to inflamation. Hey, I thought, that’s for OLD people!!
With this reality staring me in the face I realized it was probably something in my diet. This was a sobering thought because I can eat anything, have never noticed any adverse reactions and rarely have any indigestion. But I thought, I could either find out what was going on and make some changes or I could ‘grow old before my time.’
I knew about the BloodPrint test I could have done (through my Naturopath) that would tell me what foods might be contributing to bursitis. Food sensitivities are less severe than a food allergy (like celiac reaction), but if your body is reacting to a food it will show up somehow.
So I decided to go for it.
The test measures not only what foods you’re sensitive to but also the degree of sensitivity (scale of 1-4) , My results were a little shocking – 18 food showed up as contributing, some to lesser or greater degrees.
OK, taking the test is easy – it’s the follow-through that’s tough. The process is that you cut out the foods (entirely!) you’re sensitive to for 3 months allowing your intestinal track to heal. After that you can decide if you want to try adding food back into your diet or at least minimize how often you eat them.
So I bit the proverbial bullet and cut out entirely all 18 items listed which included milk, cheese, eggs, wheat, yeast, green beans, peas etc. (pretty much the American diet!) …and…it was amazing!!! Within 2 weeks my hips stopped hurting, I lost weight, and I felt like a new woman…really!! And I was literally running up the stairs again.
After 3 months (which included the holidays!) I began to add foods back in. The ones that were rated lower didn’t seem to have any adverse effects. Then I came to eggs – my favorite go-to protein! Within days of consuming eggs, my hips began to ache again. Now I allow myself to have eggs once a week and that seems to be ok.
For me, my food sensitivities played out as bursitis, for others, food sensitivities can manifest themselves in other ways. Don’t ignore the signs your body is giving you just because ‘never in all my life’ have I had problems. As we get older it feels like our bodies are betraying us. Maybe they’re just trying to tell us it’s time for a change!!
If you want to know more about the Bloodprint test, keep reading…..
Here’s a link to the test.
http://www.immunolabs.com/patients/
I had it ordered thru my Naturopath (highly recommend) but if your doctor goes to the immunolabs.com site there’s a link at the top for doctors and he/she can order the test (but most likely your regular doctor will tell you that you don’t need this test, it’s not valid etc etc). The doctor will be sent a kit with the necessary blood vials and order forms for them/you to fill out and a pre-paid mailing envelope. The lab that draws your blood then sends it in. The results will be sent back to your doctor.
My Naturopath recommended that I send in payment ($350 at the time) with the test rather than send it thru insurance because your insurance likely won’t pay for it and then the charge will be $1000.
They will send back not only what foods you’re sensitive to and the degree of sensitivity (scale of 1-4) but will send a lot of nutritional information and diet suggestions based on your results.
The follow through is up to you.
Here’s another related website for more information including info on other ways you might be experiencing food sensitivities
http://www.betterhealthusa.com/
Another site re. food causing inflammation is
Dr Weil is a medical physician who has done a lot of research on diet and how it affects our health. He has an anti-inflammatory diet that he recommends. I like the BloodPrint because it is tailored specifically to you. (example: Ginger is supposed to be a good anti-inflammatory food but it came up as a food I’m supposed to avoid!)
Yes, it’s a pain to give up food and change one’s diet but for me the choice was that or grow old before my time.
So I give this 2 thumbs up. Its a way to take charge of your health. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Happy eating and good health to you!
