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Food for life

Trying to determine what foods you may be allergic to takes time. It also takes patience and help from a Naturopath Doctor practicing natural medicine. The doctor will give you nutritional counseling to figure out what foods are causing you problems.

Using an elimination diet

bread-wheatIf you want to use the natural methods, then you can start with the elimination diet. You will have to keep a diary of the foods you are eating. You will also have to carefully read all food labels plus ask questions to servers about any food you have doubts about when eating out. You will monitor any symptoms you have during and after eating. If you have a reaction, remove the food from your list.  If your symptoms disappear after removing it, then the food is suspect. By talking to the doctor during counseling the doctor will recommend replacement of same value nutrient foods. This is to make sure you are still eating healthy.

After a period of time, you will be asked, under supervision, to slowly add the eliminated foods back into your diet. By adding them one at a time and waiting to see if there is a reaction, you’ll be able to see what symptoms belong to what foods. When you do add foods back in and if you have a reaction, write down the symptoms. This food then is confirmed to be a trigger food. The doctor will then have you stop eating the suspect foods. If the symptoms clear up for good, then you know these are foods to avoid.

Other food issues

Some people are allergic to additives. The main ones which cause problems are: glutamates, preservatives, additive colors and flavors. When undergoing the elimination diet, these additives should be eaten sparingly. If necessary, the additives can be tested one at a time in foods you would like to try or eliminate.

If you have lactose, whey or casein intolerance, this can cause some issues in your diet as well. Lactose is a milk sugar that causes intestinal distress. Whey and casein are proteins in milk that cause food sensitivities. Drinking lactose free milk, does not prevent reactions to casein and whey. A common mistake is to drink lactose free, hoping it will correct a sensitivity to milk. Unfortunately it won’t. Other milk alternatives like hemp, almond coconut or soy  milk may be suitable replacements.

Even if you have food intolerances, you can work around them and identify them with the help of a good Naturopath doctor. By working together you can find the source of the food problems, eliminate them and feel better.

Nutritional counseling can be extremely beneficial to your overall health. It can help you with a healthier lifestyle, advice to build up your immune system and generally just help you feel better.

Why is nutrition important?

Poor nutrition has a lot of side effects. You can feel tired all the time. You can have weight issues and digestion problems. Eating poorly can cause migraines, other types of headaches and high blood pressure. By having nutritional counseling you can change all that. You can get help with identifying the foods causing the issues. Eating the right foods can improve your overall health and let you live longer. A Naturopath doctor can help you with these new life choices.

What is nutritional counseling?

Nutritional counseling is counseling which helps you to achieve health goals and maintain them. Learning about nutrition and how it affects your body will help keep you healthy. By making an appointment with a Naturopath doctor, you will have taken the first step. In nutritional counseling, the doctor will get to the root of the problem as well as your concerns. A personalized chart of information will be made to fit your lifestyle and needs. There will be a discussion about what you are eating and where to change the foods you consume. You will learn the best foods which help to increase your energy levels as well as making you feel better. If weight loss is an issue, there will be help for that too.

What are the benefits of nutritional counseling?

runningThe benefits of nutritional counseling are many. You will have increased energy because of a healthier lifestyle and correct food choices. You will sleep better and have an increased ability to concentrate. Your immune system will be strengthened. There will also be a lesser chance of diseases and disorders showing up. Also by improving your overall health, your doctor may be able to lower the strength of any prescription drugs you are on. By eating healthier you can experience weight loss and fat loss which will lower your cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

If you want to feel better and have more energy, schedule an appointment for nutritional counseling with your Naturopath doctor or family physician today.

When talking to a Naturopath Doctor, it will be stressed that natural is always better. In homeopathic and in naturopathic  medicine, the belief is the closer to the source of nature, the better you will feel. This is also true of why you should juice with organic ingredients whenever possible.

Why organic?

Organically grown fruit and vegetables are not genetically modified or altered. Strong chemicals and harmful pesticides are also not used when growing organic food.  What this means, is that the fruit and vegetables are as close to naturally grown as possible. Also, by using organically grown ingredients for juicing, there are more vitamins and nutrients to increase your overall health. Since organic juicing has such a high level of antioxidants, it will also help to rid your body of toxins and harmful impurities. Another plus to juicing is it can help with weight loss while still keeping you healthy.

appleJuicing is one of the natural remedies used to help raise energy levels too. When you drink juice made with organic ingredients, 95% of what is needed in vitamin and enzymes are supplied. Also so by drinking juice, the concentration of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes go directly into your bloodstream. This gives your digestive system a rest, yet the nutritional benefits are still there.

More good points

Using juicing as a natural medicine can promote strengthened immunity; help develop strong bones while reducing your chances of heart disease, stroke and can even cut down the risk of cancer. It has been proven that vitamins and mineral which are plant based are absorbed into the body more easily. Think of it this way, when you are drinking freshly pressed juice you gain the living enzymes plus essential minerals, natural antibiotics, and antioxidants it contains. It would be as if you were drinking a living vitamin as part of your natural medicine.

A smart thing to do is to have nutritional counseling by a Naturopath Doctor before starting a juicing program. Since your body requires all the food groups for proper nourishment, juicing alone can have side effects. You need to give your body what it requires to stay both healthy and strong so counseling is always advisable.

People who have bad reactions to food are sometimes confused about it. They may think they have a food allergy when they suffer from food intolerance or visa versa. While food intolerance can be distressing, a food allergy can be deadly. It’s important to know the difference and how to treat each one. You can be treated by a Naturopath Doctor to discover what you have and how to live with it.

What is a food allergy?

An actual food allergy causes an allergic reaction in several ways. If it affects your digestive system, you may experience the symptoms of vomiting, nausea, and cramping. Physical symptoms which can be seen and felt may be your mouth tingling and/or your face, lips, tongue, and throat swelling. You may break out in hives. A food allergy can also cause a reaction called anaphylaxis. This causes severe breathing problems and extremely low blood pressure. Even the smallest amount of food which causes your allergy can cause devastating illness and even death.

What is food intolerance?

milk-cookiesA food intolerance usually develops gradually. It doesn’t affect your immune system, and sometimes you can even eat small amounts of the food. One of the most common food intolerances is lactose intolerance. Also, while lactose intolerance doesn’t cause anxiety itself, consuming lactose products when you shouldn’t can cause anxiety from the symptoms. It can cause a lot of discomfort with cramping, diarrhea and sometimes constipation. Other common foods which cause problems are foods containing gluten. Studies which have shown that people who have celiac disease are more prone to also have ADHD and ADD. When they went on a gluten-free diet, their symptoms improved. Some people also have sensitivity to food additives which can cause reactions when foods that have the additives in it are eaten.

How can food allergies and food intolerances be treated?

One way to diagnosis exactly what you have is to have a Naturopath doctor or your physician sit down with you. They take a detailed history of what you eat and ask a list of related questions. If the doctor cannot figure out from your history what your problem is, the doctor may have you do a food elimination diet. In this you write down what you eat and what if any reactions you have afterword. If there are any, you eliminate that food. After a period of time, under supervision, you eat that food which gave a reaction and see if there is a problem. If there is, you know you have a problem for sure with that food.

In Homeopathic and natural medicine, if you are allergic to certain foods then nutrition counseling is a great idea. You will be taught what to look for and what to avoid, so you can feel better and get on with your life.