Overly clean diets create food sensitivities out of thin air. Or so it seems.

Have you ever cleaned up your diet for a month or so by doing a Whole 30, Paleo, or plant based detox? Unfortunately, a few days after the detox or diet ends, it is easy to return to old (processed) food standbys. When resuming unhealthy eating habits, it is common for people to suddenly react to foods they never seemed to struggle with in the past. What happened?

Did the clean diet make their body weak and overly sensitive?

No. And here’s why.

If you take a common food out of your diet for several weeks that you AREN’T sensitive to and then you re-introduce it, the body won’t respond negatively. Some people do fine eating gluten, dairy, (fermented) soy, corn, peanuts, and other common offenders.

However, if a true allergy exists, a clean diet or a more strict elimination diet will help reveal a hidden dietary offender that is wreaking havoc on the immune system.

Initially when a person’s body is exposed to a damaging food (for their unique gut), their immune system uses a variety of symptoms, such as achy joints, itchy skin, and digestive distress, in an attempt to alert the person of the food’s negative effect. Over time if that warning is ignored, the body often dials down the volume of that message. The immune system becomes too burdened to provide a full-fledged response on a daily basis.

The body continues to be damaged by that food. It steadily becomes weaker and weaker with each exposure to the offending food. This leads to additional health issues such as chronic inflammation and a propensity to get every flu virus, cold, and cough.

When the aggravating food is pulled out for several weeks to months, the immune system has a chance to strengthen because it is not being burdened constantly by the damaging food. Then if the offending food is re-introduced, the immune system can properly flex its muscles and respond loud and clear to this invader.

That’s a good thing. You want your body to give you clear messages regarding what is good and bad for you to consume. Symptoms are the body’s way of communicating with you. Just make sure you listen and adjust accordingly. Learning how to read and respond to your body’s messages is incredibly empowering in taking control of your health.

Side note: So what is causing all of these food sensitivities to gluten, peanuts, and corn to pop up suddenly? People have more recently become increasingly vulnerable to food allergies due to many variables, such as eating the standard American (processed food) diet. A bad diet (often from birth on) leads to gut permeability, chronic inflammation, and a weakened immune system. Poor gut integrity causes food allergies. Having said that, acquiring allergies is a big subject that I can’t address completely here. Let me know if you want more info on it!

I realize that this subject can be overwhelming. Would you like a pro to help you detect and heal from food sensitivities and allergies that are burdening your body and brain? Click here to set up a free 15 minute meet and greet consultation today. We’re here to support you!