I have food allergies and it has only come about the past couple of years, since I have made changes to my diet and become more aware of the foods I eat. I am lactose intolerant, and if I eat something I shouldn’t, my stomach blows up like a balloon and I get gassy. It’s the most awful feeling! Good to know there are alternatives. Another allergy I have recently discovered is bananas. My mom has the same allergy.
If you want to find out if you have allergies, keep a food log and write down how you feel after you eat certain foods. It might be time consuming, but will be worth it in the long run.
Here is some more information about food allergies…
Some nutritionists estimate that up to 75% of all people have undiagnosed food allergies. They may not be allergies in the way that we commonly think of them – that is, we may not sneeze or get a rash, or go into anaphylactic shock. But they are allergies all the same, if these foods provoke a negative immune response in the body. A good example is lactose intolerance – sometimes called a ‘milk allergy’. People with lactose intolerance cannot digest one of the sugars that milk contains, and milk is harmful to their bodies. They might get a stomach ache, or they might develop a problem with phlegm in the lungs, windpipe or throat. Many people have a similar allergy to wheat or other grains, or to certain vegetables.
But what does this have to do with weight loss? Studies show that food allergies are a leading cause of weight gain. When you eat foods that you are allergic to, they aren’t metabolized properly, and your body will hold onto the calories in these foods for longer, according to one theory. Also, some nutritionists feel that there is a correlation between your food allergies and the foods that you crave or binge on. Often, they are the same foods. In fact, if you eat the foods that you are allergic to, you can develop an addiction to them. Apparently, this is often the case with wheat and other carbohydrates. Apparently, there are some people who are addicted to carbohydrates and sugar – if they eat just a little bit of these foods, they will lose control, and start to eat more and more. To make matters worse, these foods are not metabolized properly by those people, so the natural result is weight gain.
In most cases like this, the underlying cause may be an allergy to wheat and other grains. If you decide to eliminate these foods entirely, it will initially be difficult – just as it’s difficult for a smoker to stop smoking, or for an alcoholic to stop drinking. Once you do it, though, you will be able to reap the benefits. You will lose your urge to binge on these and other foods, and the weight will come off much faster.
If you are trying to lose weight, therefore, it is well worth your while to find out what your food allergies are, if indeed you have any. A naturopath will be able to help you discover this information, often using a process called ‘vega testing’. This may be a little costly, but as more people are doing it, the cost is coming down. At the end of the the visit, the naturopath will give you a printout of the foods you should avoid. You may be dismayed to find that some of your ‘favorites’ are on the list – but if you are committed to your health and weight loss, give it a try. You may be surprised by how little you actually miss the foods you are allergic to once they are gone from your diet altogether.
Some people are skeptical about this process and about the whole notion that so many people are allergic to common foods. Why would so many people have this disorder? It may seem strange – even counter-intuitive. Think about the great variety of foods we eat today, though. In the past, people generally stayed in the same part of the world in which they were born, and they ate the food that was indigenous to that region. Nowadays, that’s all but impossible. For one thing, people move around a lot more. Also, food doesn’t come from the region you live in - it comes from everywhere. Every food is available to everyone all the time, and that’s very different from what it was like in the past. Therefore, there’s a much greater potential for food allergies, because there are probably foods that you eat that your ancestors never would have seen. As a result, you may not have the necessary enzymes to digest them.
You could, of course, try to eat as your ancestors did. For many of us, though our ancestors came from a variety of places, and there’s no telling which set of genetics were passed on to us. Allergy testing, on the other hand, is individual, and may well give you the answers you need.
For more great information visit Gabae Weight Loss the premiere resource for weight loss, diets, nutrition and living a great healthy life style!
ShareThis
译文:
食物过敏与减肥
几年前我开始对一些食物产生过敏，那时候我开始改变我的饮食习惯，并且对吃什么很在意。我对乳糖过敏，如果我吃了什么不应该吃的，我的胃就会鼓得像个气球，使我很难受。这种感觉是最吓人的，幸好有其他食物可以选择。最近我发现我对香蕉也过敏，我妈妈也一样。
如果你想找出自己的过敏源，你就得记录自己都吃了些什么和随后身体的反应。这样可能很费时，但从长远的角度来说是值得的。
下面是一些关于食物过敏的小知识。
一些营养专家估计超过75%的人对一些食物过敏，但他们对此可能不知情。他们过敏的症状或许和通常我们认为的症状不一样，比如他们没有打喷嚏，出疹子，抑或是过敏性休克。但如果这些食物对我们身体的免疫系统造成了负面影响，他们就是过敏源。乳糖过敏就是一个很好的例子，即牛奶过敏。患有乳糖过敏的人不能消化牛奶里含的某种糖，所以牛奶对他们的身体健康是不利的。他们喝了牛奶后可能会胃痛，或者在肺，气管，喉咙里产生痰液。很多人对小麦，谷物或者蔬菜也有相类似的过敏症状。
很显然，小麦和碳水化合物就属于这类情况。事实上，有很多人都对碳水化合物和糖过敏，即使他们只吃了一点点，他们就会失去自控能力，开始吃更多。更糟的是，这种食物不能被很充分的消化，结局只能是体重增加了。
在很多类似的情况下，对小麦和其他谷物的过敏或许就是潜在的因素。如果你决定完全戒掉这些食物，这就像让一个烟民戒烟或者让一个酒鬼戒酒一样十分困难。但是一旦你开始行动，好处也会滚滚而来。你会失去对这些食物的兴趣，体重也会迅速下降。
因此，如果你正在减肥，还有食物过敏，检查一下你对那些食物过敏就显得尤为重要。理疗家将通过一个“维佳测试”向你提供一些信息。这个测试不算便宜，但随着测试的人越来越多，费用正在逐步下调。最后，理疗家将会打印出你应该戒口的食物。当你看到你最喜欢吃的东西在列时，你可能会很失望，但为了你的健康和体重着想，试一试吧。当你减肥成功时，你会惊喜地发现实际上你也不是很想吃那些过敏的食物。
有些人对这个检查持怀疑态度，也不相信很多人对常见的食物过敏。这可能很奇怪，但想想我们每天吃的那么多的东西。过去，人们通常只住在自己出生的地方，也只吃当地的东西。如今，这是不可能的。一方面，人们总是搬家。另一方面，食物不在从当地采集而来，而是来自世界各地。因此，人们得食物过敏的几率就增大了，所以你所吃的东西可能是你的祖先连看都没看到过的。这样，你的身体可能就缺乏某种特定的酶去消化这些食物。
你当然可以按照祖先的饮食习惯吃东西。我们的祖先来自不同的地方，我们很多人也不知道自己遗传了哪些和食物过敏相关的特定基因。另一方面，过敏测试只是针对个人的，它或许会给你一个满意的答复。
更多信息请访问 Gabae Weight Loss, 获取更多有关减肥，饮食，营养和健康生活的资源。