Last night, over dinner, Harry confessed. He's an addict. If I don't seem surprised it's because I'm not. Disappointed, of course, but not surprised. He's not alone and he's in good company. Many people who have food allergies are addicts. They're addicted to the foods they're allergic to. I'm not exactly sure of why this it but if you're wondering if you have any food allergies, the best place to start is by looking at your diet: what do you crave and eat every day?
To recap: back in April, I put my 17 year old son Harry on an elimination diet to test for food allergies and sensitivities. I suspected some "childhood alllergies" to wheat, eggs, and dairy were again causing him problems. I also suspected that he had Candida, a systemic overgrowth of yeast. He did well on the diet, feeling calmer and more energetic. When challenged with the offending foods (meaning, eating them after a 2-week break), he was clearly sensitive to sugar (he was able to report a clear physical reaction to it). I also noticed a reaction to oats, which I hadn't expected. Other results were murky, which is not uncommon in the realm of food sensitivities - some reactions are quick and severe (i.e. anaphylaxis) but others can take days to develop and are more subtle. These were the reactions I thought Harry was having to foods (brain fog, a general sense of dis-ease).
A friend mentioned having great success with a functional medicine chiropractor. Functional medicine focuses on correcting underlying causes of disease, rather than focusing and treating the symptoms. It is integrative (looks at the whole body and whole person) and individual (recognizes that conditions may have different origins in different people). Functional medicine looks to affect healing without the use of pharmaceuticals whenever possible. For example, whereas most conventional medical doctors will prescribe a statin drug for high cholesterol, a functional medicine doctor would first have the patient try diet and exercise to control it.
Dr. Wayne Hogan (www.waynehogandc.com), the chiropractor, also uses energy medicine. Functional medicine is based on science. Some energy medicine has much scientific testing behind it as well, and some does not. Some energy medicines does have thousands of years of practice and experience (think acupuncture).
So, into this triple-whammy world of complementary medicine (chiropractic, functional medicine, energy medicine) went Harry. Dr. Hogan confirmed that Harry is allergic to wheat, dairy, and eggs and that he's having problems with his pancreas and that's why he's having problems with sugar. He didn't think Harry has a Candida problem, but thinks he's having a problem with molds. He thought gluten and the food that typically exacerbate a Candida overgrowth were okay. But.....
On this newer, less restrictive diet (yeast, spelt), Harry's back to feeling poorly. When I mentioned this to Dr. Hogan, he won me over because he said that it doesn't matter what the tests show, what matters is how the person feels. Of course.
With all the recent fuss over food allergies saying that they are over diagnosed - let me state my opinion clearly. I don't care what you call it (food allergy, food sensitivity, a food that makes me feel lousy), and I don't care if you test positive or negative on an IgE, IgG, or any other test or not. If a food you're eating makes you feel poorly, call it what you may, but keep ingesting something that makes you ill! There's really no food you must eat to be healthy. If a food is making you feel sick, there's no benefit to be derived from eating it. There are alternative sources of nutrients for all foods out there.
That said, our next step is to get Harry tested (conventionally) for Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. The reason for this is two-fold. First of all, if you go off gluten, a blood test for gliadin will come up negative and this is usually the first (though possibly inconclusive) step in testing. Many doctors will stop testing right there. A test of the intestinal villi, which is damaged in people with Celiac disease may also come up negative if you've already stopped eating foods that have gluten. Also, should he have Celia disease, Harry would need documentation of this - gluten is in many products, more than just food (shampoo, envelope glue, medicines) and no amount of gluten is safe for people with Celiac disease, so it's good to have this confirmed in case of emergency so that you're not given any gluten-containing meds in an ER, for example.
So, back to last night. Harry confirmed that after going off the elimination diet, he realized he felt much better on it. He also realized that once he started eating the foods that were eliminated, although they made him feel sick, he still craved them. Therefore, my super-straight-laced son realized he's an addict. But, he's ready to go back to rehab. Hard as this diet is (and believe me, Harry's personal chef), it's hard - he's found he likes feeling good.
BTW, an hour later, Shay, my younger son walked into the kitchen and told me he's an addict. What's the Collins family coming to? Shay realized he's addicted to the computer. Oh. Phew. This is something his father and I have known since he was three. My daughter declared us all enablers. Guilty as charged.
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