A re you sick and tired of your gas going up? Oh, just to be clear, I’m not referring to that substance you put in your car to make it run. Rather, I’m talking about the gas that bloats your stomach up like you just drank a gallon of pickle juice, and causes anyone within a three-block radius of you to go running for the hills. I know so many people who think it’s perfectly normal and natural to be a human gas machine with abdominal discomfort and sometimes even pain, but I’m here to tell you it is not.
Chances are you may be suffering from a very common but often undiagnosed malady: food allergies. Now, while it’s possible to be allergic to just about any type of food, the two most common groups of foods that cause the most problems are gluten and dairy products. “Gluten” is a protein that binds together most grains, and is found in wheat, oats, rye, and barley. That means bread, cupcakes, cake, crackers, wheat pasta, and virtually anything else with flour in it. For those of us with sensitivity to this protein, our bodies let us know with the aforementioned symptoms and sometimes worse ones, like asthma or even eczema whenever we eat something that contains the offending substance. The main telltale symptom of dairy allergies include congestion, nasal allergy symptoms and abdominal discomfort–mainly that dreaded gas. If every time you have a bowl of ice cream, or eat a piece of cheese, you find yourself hacking, blowing your nose and “blowin’ the roof off the mutha,” chances are you are eating something your body sees as an enemy. They don’t call it “cutting the cheese” for nothing! Surprisingly, a lot of us are aware that certain foods “don’t agree with us,” but continue to eat them because “they taste so good.” After all, who can imagine life without bread, or not having a cold glass of milk to chase down those gluten-filled cookies with.
But here’s the problem with that mentality– eventually, you pay the price with your health. Whether it’s immediately obvious to you or not, food allergies start to take their toll on your immune system because they irritate and inflame the lining of your digestive tract, which can lead to what’s known as “leaky gut syndrome.” And yes, that’s as gross as it sounds. Little holes form in your digestive tract, which allows undigested food particles to travel to your bloodstream. In alternative medicine circles, it’s widely believed that this syndrome can lead to autoimmune diseases (where the body actually attacks itself) like Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and MS to name a few. Now you’re probably thinking, “Well, damn! a cupcake can do all that!?” It can if you’re allergic to gluten. Of course, if any of this sounds like it applies to you, the very best thing to do is to see an Allergist and have special testing done to determine what you’re allergic to. That said, many of us (especially in this economy) can’t afford a pricey visit to the doctor; and if that’s the case for you, here’s what I would suggest: Go on a dairy free or gluten free (or both) diet for a couple of weeks and see if you feel better. See if you can stop popping those antacids like they’re tic-tacs, and say goodbye to your best friend, Pepto Bismol. I can hear some of you fretting like it’s the end of the world at the idea of having to give up some of your favorite foods. “Well, what am I going to eat?” you’re probably wondering. Plenty! Actually, you’re lucky to be having these allergies this day and age because natural food stores have come a long way since the days of pushing that tasteless, gray matter called tofu. Now, there’s a large variety of gluten and dairy free products to enjoy. They’ve got soy, rice and almond milk, cheese and ice cream (all delicious substitutes for dairy), gluten free cookies, cakes and breads. And as far as healthy grains available you can eat with no problem, there’s quinoa, millet and brown rice–all healthy alternatives for those who have gluten intolerance. They even make brown rice pasta!
The only reason I know so much about this, is I’m a sufferer. For several years I experienced abdominal distress and asthma, until finally, after visiting a host of baffled doctors (one who even volunteered to remove my gallbladder as an experimental treatment–to which I said “thanks, but no thanks”), a homeopathic doctor diagnosed me and set me on a gluten and dairy free path. For a while after the diagnosis, I was still a skeptic. I thought surely a little bit of ice cream and cake couldn’t be the source of my problems. So I would test out his theory by eating the offending foods. Without fail, after roughly ten minutes of pleasure, I’d wind up curled in a little ball on my bed, agonizing in pain until my symptoms abated. Eventually, I got tired of playing that game. It just wasn’t worth it to feel so crappy. Nor was my husband game to put up living with a human beat-box! These days, I rarely get weak and cheat, I enjoy feeling healthy way too much for that. The human body has an innate wisdom and will sound alarms when something is amiss. So you might want to pass on the bread or cheese if your alarm sounds like a whoopee cushion.
I can sympathize! I went through the same thing, only after I felt better for a while I started reacting to yeast, garlic, eggs, corn, and soy! The sooner you listen to your body, the better the results will be. I write a column that empowers the gluten-intolerant for the examiner.com, check me out at http://www.examiner.com/x-22294-LA-Gluten-Free-Examiner
Just food for thought …
Lorinda
Kim how right you are. So many of us still eat the wrong foods even if it makes our bodies moan and groan.After reading this blog I began looking at my own eating habits because I too get bloated when I eat certain foods. I am also too used to what I eat and am that much a picky eater that I’m afraid to try the stuff that actually stop my stomach from feeling like there’s a steam boat resting in there. But like you said eating certain foods will eventually catch up to you. So the next step for me would be the lovely trip to the Doc.
Wow this was some powerful information…whew…It explains alot with a whole like of my family problems. THANKS FOR THE EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION. LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR BLOGS FOR NOW ON…DAMN, I JUST THOUGHT YOU WERE BEING FUNNY UNTIL I WENT BACK AND READ THE BLOG…THIS CERTIFIABLY ISN’T A FUNNY MATTER. I’M THE LADY THAT LET THE MESSAGE THAT I WORKED FOR OPRAH AND LET MY WEBSITES. PLEASE WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE REVIEW THE CELEBRITY TRAVEL CLUB AND COME ABOARD. I DON’T CARE HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE…LIKE OPRAH, YOU NEVER CAN HAVE TOO MUCH. MEOSMARTS WILL BE A BIG INCOME EARNED WITH YOUR FAMILY AND SHOW BIZ FAMILIES THEY DON’T KNOW LITTLE PEOPLE LIKE ME EXIST. SORRY FOR THE CAPS. I FORGOT TO TURN IT OFF AFTER THANKING YOU FOR THE INFO…SO I’M NOT YELLING
LOVE AND LIGHT, STAY IN FLIGHT!
LOOK FOR MY NEW TV SHOW, MEOKIDS COMING TO TV AS SOON AS WE CAN FIND A BLACK PRODUCTION COMPANY TO PRODUCE IT…MEO=MY EXPRESSION OF ONENESS:KIDS IS ABOUT TWO 3 GENERATION SHOW BIZ FAMILY JOINED BY MARRIAGE WHO ARE BILLIONAIRES THAT OWN AND OPERATES THEIR FAMILY BUSINESSES IN CHICAGO, BUT NATIVES OF NEW ORLEANS.
BTW, I HOPE THIS IS REALLY YOU BECAUSE I LOVED YOU AS AN ACTRESS SINCE DIFFERENT WORLD…LOL
I had a very similar problem. I had bronchial infections for 8 years and had many, many doctors tell me “Sorry, I just don’t know what it is” and they would then put me on yet another antibiotic. I went to see an acupuncurist who is also an MD and she said the first thing you need to do is give up milk – which includes caramel coloring and artficial and natural flavors and colorings. I can say that I’m not completely well yet – but I have not had an antibiotic since December ’08 – so I definately am moving in the right directions. Thanks so much for writing about this in your blog.
LORINDA – Thanks for sharing your link. The information provided is very educational and helpful.
ANGEL – Yes, sounds like you’re due for a trip to the Allergist. Go sooner than later, your body will thank you:).
MIYOSHI – Glad you enjoyed the blog and learned something from it. And thanks for the website information. Good luck with your show!
LINDA – Happy to hear you’re on the road to recovering your health. I hope you’re taking probiotics every day…you need them because antibiotics kill off all your good bacteria. It needs to be replaced. I’m sure your accupunturist has already informed you of that.
You say it all sooo well! Much of my story, especially that last paragraph. We are taught from birth that wheat and milk is good for us. I often now look at my beliefs.
Great post!
Food allergies are definitely nothing to ignore. My hubster has a strange food allergy that causes his throat to form “rings”. Those rings can cause the food he’s eating to stick in his throat. Not a fun night in the ER, I can tell you that!
Glad you’ve found what helps you with your “natural gas” problem. Just goes to show that “going green” is indeed a good thing.
Yes! This was my summer lesson! What a complete and utter path to happiness! I love being gluten free. i no longer eat dairy, white rice or flour, wheat,corn, soy, sugar, or salt and i am so happy this way. there are so many other things to eat, plus i like wearing my miniskirts. i’m writing a book about awareness and i am including this experience in it. we really can find happiness and greater awareness through deleting the toxins from our lives, especially the ones we can control. “leaky gut” releases toxins that can not be handled by overburdened livers and these toxins have been attributed in some medical circles as causes to cancers, diabetes and even the seeming harmlessness of “brain fog” and loss of memory/cloudy thinking. When you’re trying to move through this life successfully there’s no better friend than clear thought so yay kim for bringing this out to the forefront so that others can move forward on their paths. so kind.
Dealing with some serious health issues and looking into homeopathic treatment as well. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to your next blog.
THANX KIM.THAT SERIOUSLY HELPED ME AND I KNOW IT WILL HELP OTHERS.I AM GOIN TO GET CHECKED.AND U SHOULD FEEL GOOD KNOWING YOUR BLOG CUD SAVE MY AND MANY OTHERS LIFE.GOD BLESS YOU.THIS BRANDON BLACK AKA BRAN B FROM AMERICAN IDOL AND YOUTUBE.DA 1 DAT LOOK AND ACT JUST LIKE YA BROTHER MARLIN.MARLIN IS MY IDOL.HE MOTIVATE ME TO BE GOOFY EVERY DAY.BUT THANX AGAIN KIM.LOVE YA
this was not only informative, it was HILARIOUS! thouroughly enjoyed reading it!
–shug
thanks i needed that information seriously
its very helpful i got gas problems and now i know what too do thanks kim;0)
I would love to know what a sample menu day looks like for you. How affordable is it to make the change?
Hey, Kim! I went to your FB page to wish you a happy birthday and found your blog. This is a good one. I too discovered late in life that gluten and dairy are not friends of mine. Mostly it’s because our (American) wheat and dairy products have been compromised and genetically altered from their pure form. I don’t have these problems when I’m in most European cities (!) I just wanted to say “thank you” for the information. Sadly, many will not go the route of changing their habits, but those that do LISTEN (like in your other blog) will be thankful I’m sure. Recently, I met a “heavyset” woman who complained about swollen ankles and I advised her to look at her salt intake and ingesting so many processed foods and I could see in her eyes “oh, no, I can’t give up salt and my fast foods”. So I guess she’ll be happier, heavy, swollen ankles and with a shortened life. Keep on educating m’dear. And I’m still waiting for the wedding dance video
. xxoo cb
Hello I enjoyed your article. I feel that it is vital when discussing diabetes to at least point out natural treatments that have been proven to be efficient in controlling high blood sugar. Many natural herbs can be including in a diabetics regimen that will help keep a wholesome sugar level.