Health

Food Sensitivities: A Naturopathic Approach

By Dr. Jenna Dye, Naturopathic Physician

Food is one of the most common causes of inflammation in the body. This inflammation can lead to chronic illnesses. In naturopathic medicine, we focus on diet in detail to find potential foods that may be impacting your health. Once those foods are identified we can eliminate them and begin to nourish the body with foods that decrease inflammation, while healing the digestive tract.

There are two main types of immune reactions to foods. An IgE reaction is an immediate reaction that can occur within minutes of consuming a particular food. This reaction is often severe and easier to pinpoint which food was the culprit. A common example is a Peanut IgE reaction. After consumption there can be symptoms of hives, swelling, and difficulty breathing. Consuming these foods can be dangerous and must be avoided.

The other type of immune reaction is an IgG reaction. This is more of a sensitivity rather than a true allergy. This is a delayed reaction that can occur within hours or up to days after consuming a particular food. These reactions are often less severe and harder to identify. Reactions can include generalized fatigue, brain fog, muscle or joint pain, constipation, gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, eczema, and other skin conditions.

There are different ways to identify food sensitivities. The gold standard is the basic elimination diet. We eliminate the most common highly allergenic foods for a period. Once symptoms have resolved we can then slowly reintroduce them and see how the body reacts. Common allergenic foods are dairy, wheat, eggs, corn, and soy. Another way to test for sensitivities is an IgG blood test. This is a sensitivity test that allows us to identify up to 100-200 different types of foods that may be negatively reacting in the body. These results can help us decide which specific foods to eliminate based on the level of reactivity.

Whichever way we identify food sensitivities, we eliminate those foods while healing the gut with additional naturopathic support. It can take up to six to eight weeks for symptoms to resolve. Imagine it is like a pair of shoes that causes a blister, you need to remove the shoe for a while, let the blister heal and then try the shoe on again. If the blister does not return then you can wear the shoes, if it does then it needs more time to heal.

A naturopathic physician can offer a more comprehensive and individualized approach to help you identify, eliminate, and heal any obstacles that may be impacting your health. Food is one of the simplest places to begin the healing process.

Dr. Jenna Dye is a licensed naturopathic physician. Her role is to support the body’s foundation to restore and maintain optimal health. Together with her patients, this is achieved by identifying and removing barriers that may be impacting health while creating a healing environment. For more information visit drjennadye.com.

What to Look for When Choosing a Probiotic

By Justin Marsh, CEO of Arthur Andrew Medical

Probiotics have been gaining popularity in recent years, but the benefits of these live microorganisms have been around for centuries. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, nearly 70 million people in the U.S. suffer from digestive diseases—making the need to understand how probiotics can improve gut health more important than ever.

Probiotics are friendly bacteria that reside in the digestive tract and stimulate the increased production of white blood cells and beneficial proteins, helping to maintain the proper balance of healthy intestinal bacteria. Research from The Journal of Environmental Science and Health states that probiotic supplementation promotes healthy digestive function by binding to toxins in the intestines and decreasing their accessibility to the body.

A probiotic with powerful antioxidant and immune-stimulating properties should be taken regularly to boost the body’s immune defenses. However, choosing the right one will help maintain optimal gut health.

Below are four things you should consider before purchasing a probiotic.

THE PROBIOTIC STRAIN

The individual bacteria strain determines the health benefits you can expect from a probiotic. Standard off-the-shelf probiotics are freeze-dried bacteria often killed in stomach acid during digestion, leaving you without many benefits. However, probiotics that use a spore formula are much more resilient to destruction during digestion. Spore probiotics are encased in protective spores that later sprout and germinate inside the body, giving long-lasting benefits.

For example, if you see the strain B. animalis on the label, this strain helps in aiding digestion and fighting food-borne bacteria, while strain B. breve helps your body absorb nutrients by fermenting sugars. Researching the specific health benefits of probiotic strains is important when choosing what probiotic is best for you.

THE INGREDIENTS

Most people focus on the active ingredients of supplements and often overlook the “other ingredients,” such as sugar, artificial flavors, colors, and other hardto-pronounce ingredients. Knowing how the active ingredients will influence health is imperative, but it’s also important to understand how the supplement’s other substances may affect you.

Look for supplements that contain natural additives, flavors (e.g., cane sugar), and colors (e.g., beet juice). Avoid supplements containing sucrose, maltodextrin, gelatin, silicon dioxide, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, and artificial colors/ flavorings.

STORAGE RECOMMENDATIONS

When stored properly, you’ll get the maximum health benefits from a probiotic. Some probiotics can only survive a few years on the shelf and must be refrigerated to prevent spoiling. But probiotics formulated with high-quality spore form and live bacteria strains can survive indefinitely. We recommend using a spore-based probiotic that does not require refrigeration and will last longer, but whichever product you choose, be sure you are following the label instructions provided.

REPUTATION AND CREDIBILITY OF THE BRAND

Purchase probiotics from a reputable brand with products backed by science, statistics, and industry standards. Before choosing a product, find out what clinical studies helped determine the ingredients for the formula–supplements should have statistics that clearly support the health benefit claims.

You should also verify that the supplement company has certifications for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). The FDA establishes strict requirements to certify safe, accurately labeled products. Choosing a brand of supplements that provides scientific research to verify the safety and efficacy of their products is very important.

Daily probiotics will benefit your overall health by supporting digestion and the immune system. Educating yourself on the types of probiotics available and which is best for your health is key. We recommend purchasing products from a reputable healthcare professional or vendor who stands by their products and uses highquality ingredients that are well-researched and have a proven safety record.