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Food allergies are an abnormal immune reaction to certain foods. For many reasons, food allergies have become more common. This article explores the causes of food allergies, as well as ways to identify and manage them.
Food allergies cause a range of symptoms from mild to severe. True food allergies (anaphylactic) are less common in nature. Less severe inflammatory and immune responses are common. Symptoms provoked by the allergen may develop in the gut or in other parts of the body. For example, food may provoke rashes, hives, heart palpitations, headaches, mental fog, etc.
Food allergies can have a big impact on one's quality of life - causing either uncomfortable symptoms or a highly restrictive diet leading to nutrient deficiency. Food allergies may also restrict one's ability to participate in social situations involving food.
Causes of Food Allergies
1. Difficult to Digest Foods
The most common food allergies are caused by difficult to digest foods such as peanuts, wheat and dairy. Few people are allergic to easily digested foods. However, there are some exceptions to this rule with notable examples including shellfish and oranges.
Difficult to digest foods strain the digestive organs and tend to sit stagnant in the gut. The longer a food lays stagnant in the digestive tract, the more the body starts to perceive it as a foreign invader.
2. Toxins in the Gut
Stagnant food also ferments in the intestines, leading to gas, bloating and the formation of metabolic wastes (ama). The spongy small intestine absorbs these wastes into the bloodstream where they circulate and effect all organs, particularly the liver.
These toxins irritate the liver, and the immune system may be activated to assist the liver in cleanup. This activation of the immune system makes a person highly reactive and likely to develop an allergy.
3. Leaky Gut, Gut Inflammation & Tissue Injury
Food allergies may also develop after an episode of severe indigestion which compromises your digestive function. The injury causes the breakdown of the barrier between the intestines and your immune system, a condition known as leaky gut syndrome. Source of gut inflammation and injury include:
Infections & parasites
Crohn's, IBD, Auto-immune
Eating foods you are allergic to
Bile reflux
SIBO
4. Immune Overstimulation
A history of viral infections can overstimulate the immune system and leave your body predisposed to allergic reactions. Certain viral infections, such as mono, remain in the body for life, usually in a latent or inactive state. The immune system never completely gets a chance to relax after that. Stress and other autoimmune disorders can overstimulate the immune system as well.
5. Addictive Food Allergies
Omitting a food from the diet can cause a nutrient deficiency - and lead to strong cravings. The strong craving for an allergen is known as a addictive food allergy. The strong craving makes the offending food difficult to omit from the diet.
Managing Food Allergies
1. Elimination Diet
An elimination diet can help you identify which foods youa re allergic to. Observe this diet of easy to digest meals with five or less ingredients for one week. Avoid eating any processed foods.
Slowly begin to add the difficult foods back in one by one. Give each one a full 48 hours in your system before introducing the next. Keep a food journal during this time and make note of all digestive symptoms and troublesome foods.
2. Cleanse the Gut
A kitchari cleanse can scrub the digestive tract of lingering wastes and reduce high ama levels that are likely irritating the liver and immune system. Avipattikar churna strengthens digestion and reduce ama formation without creating excess heat or provoking an already inflamed GI.
Herbs such as shatavari, licorice root or Joyful Belly's Food Allergy Healing Tea may be appropriate to reduce long standing inflammation in the digestive tract and soothe the liver. For healing and rejuvenating the intestines following food allergies, amalaki is Ayurveda's top choice. Haritaki is a laxative that can clean the gut. Baical skullcap can reduce immune sensitivity in the body.
Food allergies have become more common in recent years. The Ayurvedic approach to food allergies includes identifying the allergen, reducing toxins in the gut, repairing the gut barrier, calming the immune system, and following a Pitta pacifying diet. Taking steps to manage food allergies can signfiicantly improve one's quality of life. As allergies can be serious, consult a medical doctor before making changes to your health & wellness plan.
Disclaimer: 'Food allergy' could be serious and should be checked by a medical doctor.
Augment your diet with these specially chosen ingredients below which may be useful for 'Food allergy'.
Individual results vary depending the cause of your imbalance and by constitution.
Please research the ingredients below to find which are most helpful for you, and check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.
Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.
An herb that strengthens the liver. It is helpful for people with a history of substance abuse, chronic liver issues from hepatitis and hemolytic anemias. Generally, liver tonics are oily, cool, sweet, mildly sour, or contain beta-carotene.
A herb that contracts tissue or blood vessels. Generally styptics are astringent. They are often used topically as a hemostatic to stop bleeding, or to reduce secretions.
Flavonoids are a colorful type of polyphenol. As all polyphenols, they have a strong antioxidant effect. Many flavonoids have an anti-inflammatory, and/or antiallergen effect.
In Ayurveda, oily refers to anything moistening. More specifically, oily refers to building substances that increases fat, or are themselves fatty. For example, sugar is Oily.
Bland means doesn't have much taste. In Chinese medicine, bland taste refers to afood without little macronutrients, such as cabbage, radish or bok choy.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.
An herb that strengthens the liver. It is helpful for people with a history of substance abuse, chronic liver issues from hepatitis and hemolytic anemias. Generally, liver tonics are oily, cool, sweet, mildly sour, or contain beta-carotene.
A herb that contracts tissue or blood vessels. Generally styptics are astringent. They are often used topically as a hemostatic to stop bleeding, or to reduce secretions.
Flavonoids are a colorful type of polyphenol. As all polyphenols, they have a strong antioxidant effect. Many flavonoids have an anti-inflammatory, and/or antiallergen effect.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
Bland means doesn't have much taste. In Chinese medicine, bland taste refers to afood without little macronutrients, such as cabbage, radish or bok choy.
DISCLAIMER: The pathogenesis of each person's condition is unique, and so the diet must be fit to the individual and the unique root causes of the condition in your body.
The information on this page is for educational purposes only and should not be used to treat a medical condition. It is not a substitute for medical care.
Please check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.
Balance Your Body with Diet, Herbs, & Lifestyles Having These Biocharacteristics
Everything you eat has an effect on your body, which Ayurveda categorizes in a simple and easy way, using biocharacteristics (gunas).
Biocharacteristics are qualities (like cold and hot) that describe the effect a food or herb has on your body.
Cooling foods like cucumber, decrease metabolism.
Heating foods like chili pepper, stimulate your body and increase metabolism.
For 'Food allergy', you should select foods with the following biocharacteristics.
Individual results will vary, based on your body type and the root cause of your imbalance.
FOODS TO FAVOR
MATCH WITH YOUR WELLNESS PROFILE
COLD
ABOUT COLD BIOCHARACTERISTIC
Cold refers to anything that reduces body temperature, metabolism, and blood flow.
Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.
A herb that contracts tissue or blood vessels. Generally styptics are astringent. They are often used topically as a hemostatic to stop bleeding, or to reduce secretions.
An herb that strengthens the liver. It is helpful for people with a history of substance abuse, chronic liver issues from hepatitis and hemolytic anemias. Generally, liver tonics are oily, cool, sweet, mildly sour, or contain beta-carotene.
Flavonoids are a colorful type of polyphenol. As all polyphenols, they have a strong antioxidant effect. Many flavonoids have an anti-inflammatory, and/or antiallergen effect.
FOOD ALLERGY IS IN STAGE OF DISEASE #3 - ATTACKING TISSUE
If you have symptoms in this category it means that your imbalances are becoming stronger and weakening your body's resistance.
Most people have a weakness in one or more organs.
These areas of weakness are the 'weak link in the chain.'
They are first to succumb when an imbalance reaches a tipping point.
Repairing imbalances in this category often represent your last opportunity to prevent disease.
At any moment, these imbalances could overwhelm weakened tissue and develop into a disease.
You may feel pain or discomfort in the weakened area.
At this stage you will need to support the weakened tissue with specialized foods and herbs for the weakened tissue.
(See all disease stages on JB)
AVOID DIETS, LIFESTYLES & HERBS THAT AGGRAVATE THESE EFFECTS
According to Ayurveda, one or more of the following
doshas
and biocharacteristics may aggravate 'Food allergy'.
If you have an excess of one of these doshas or biocharacteristics below, Ayurveda recommends reducing foods and lifestyle habits that aggravate them.
Click on the biocharacteristic to learn what foods and
lifestyle habits should be reduced.
Symptoms Tell A Story
The first step to healing is learning patterns from your symptoms.
Symptoms are clues that reveal underlying imbalances.
Symptoms show you where your body is weakened.
Ultimately, all disease has a root in tissues too weak to defend itself.
Ayurveda describes these patterns of weakness using doshas & biocharacteristics.
If you notice a biocharacteristic or dosha appears next to many of your symptoms,
it helps you establish a pattern that may be systemic.
The following symptoms & habits may be related to 'Food allergy'.
See your quiz results for a computerized assessment of your body type.
Please click on the symptoms below to learn more about them.
Risk Factor: 100% more often Complication: +1.8 times as often
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Food allergy and Hives.
Biocharacteristics of 7,844 People Reporting Food allergy
On average the biocharacteristics
of people reporting Food allergy were less aggravated than 57% of other symptoms.
From the 7,844 people who reported Food allergy in this research study of 74,671 individuals,
average deviation in biocharacteristic levels were the following:
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Food allergy and Toxic.
17.6% avg client level
28.6% (2,240) of cases
7,099 have Toxic constitution
Risk Factors of Food allergy
Below you will see general risk factors as well as the greatest risk factors, i.e. those who were also more likely to report Food allergy.
Overall, 20.42% of people surveyed in this research study reported Food allergy.
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Food allergy and Unable to exercise due to Injury, disease, breathlessness, etc.
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Food allergy and Gout.
124 cases with both
+1.4 times more likely
2% of cases
1.4% (451 cases)
WHAT'S NEXT?
DISCOVER YOUR BODY WITH YOUR FREE INDIVIDUALIZED BODY MAP
Find ideal foods, herbs and lifestyle tips.
See your imbalances, and locate intervention points.
Your body map contains a complete analysis of your Ayurvedic imbalances, organ by organ.
Give your chart to your functional medical doctor or any alternative health practitioner.
Ayurveda strengthens the body while opposing disorders. It takes a holistic,
systemic approach that looks at the whole body. Ayurveda
shows how to interpret signs and symptoms of imbalance, and how to address them
using diet, lifestyle adjustments, and herbs. It shows a person how to optimize their health on a continual basis. You can't
take the doctor home with you, but you can take Ayurveda home with you.
Ayurveda is the most advanced and easy to use home system for self healing.
HOW DOES AYURVEDA WORK?
Ayurveda starts by identifying your body type,
which identifies certain tendencies in your body to get sick (as well as identifying your strengths).
It uses body type to determine the likely root causes of your disorders.
Next, Ayurveda analyzes the nature of your disorder.
It fits all your signs and symptoms into a pattern, expressed as a combination of biocharacteristics (gunas).
For example, you may have a heat disorder, a cold disorder, or an oily disorder, etc.
This simple categorical approach shows you how to correct systemic imbalances and strengthen your body as a whole.
On Joyful Belly, we've created an extensive categorization of food so you can easily match food to your imbalanced biocharacteristics.
By eating an optimal diet that balances your biocharacteristics, your whole body is strengthened
and the conditions that created the disorder are removed. Once the root causes of the disease
are removed, the disease lessens in strength or disappears altogether. Additional remedies -
such as herbs and lifestyle practices - focused on the specific disorder, can greatly enhance
your healing.
GET STARTED
To get started on your Ayurvedic journey, we first recommend that your find your body
type by taking our free quiz. In Ayurveda, every solution is based on your unique body type, so
by taking this quiz, you’ll get the best results.
5 WAYS TO HEAL YOUR BODY WITH AYURVEDA - FREE REPORT!
New to Ayurveda? Not sure how Ayurveda can help you?
This free report shows you 5 simple ways you can heal your body with Ayurveda.
It shows you simple, practical ways manage your health.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's hobbies & specialties include advanced digestive disorders, medieval Catholic philosophy,
& botany. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
His wife and family of 7 kids live in Asheville, NC.
Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’
Comments & Personal Experiences
How does 'food allergy' affect your quality of life?
What aggravates it? What has helped you? Is there something else you'd like to know about 'food allergy'?
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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.
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Ayurvedic Perspective on Food allergy
Stage of Imbalance (Samprapti)
Diet Remedies by Dosha, Biocharacteristics (Guna), Action, etc.
Herb Remedies by Dosha, Guna, Action, etc.
Biocharacteristics & Herb Actions to Favor
Biocharacteristics to Avoid
Related Symptoms
Live Report: Biocharacteristics
Live Report: Risk Factors
Live Report: Complications
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