The Missing Link To Your Weight Loss
The Missing Link to Weight Loss
Have you ever gone to the doctor complaining of a headache, fatigue or stomach issues and the doc just tells you to take some Advil, lay down and rest and continue one with your life?
Or perhaps weight loss is your concern and you have been on diet after diet with no results and you just can’t figure out what is wrong?
Food sensitivities is one of the most often over looked and under diagnosed reasons behind stubborn weight loss.
The Science of a Food Intolerance
The immune system is like a team of specialized cells that protect the body from anything it does not think belongs. The cells of the immune system use chemicals called histamines that are released when they come in contact with unfriendly bacterias, viruses, parasites, or foreign substance that the immune system believes to be harmful to the body to fight off the invader.
This process is meant to keep us safe and protect us from harmful pathogens. The immune system must do this process all while discriminating between what is harmful for the body and what is not harmful.
It must also not attack any of the body’s own healthy tissues. This is what happens with an autoimmune disease. The body starts to think that it’s own body tissues are harmful and starts to attack and break it down.
The body’s immune system is a sophisticated self-defense mechanism that is fighting off anything harmful around the clock but sometimes a glitch occurs. For example, when the body develops an allergy to what one would consider relatively harmless like peanuts or pet dander the “cure” is worse than the disease. Meaning that the reaction the immune system has to that seemingly harmless food causes an intense response that can result in something as serious as anaphylactic shock and even death. This is usually a rapid or immediate response and therefore considered an allergy.
However, with a food intolerance/sensitivity the results can be delayed. Symptoms of a food intolerance may take serves hours or days to manifest and become difficult to diagnose.
What is the difference between a food allergy and food sensitivity?
An allergy is a reaction that triggers the release of antibodies that results in immediate symptom onset. A true food allergy causes an immune response that can affect multiple organs and in some cases, be severe or even life threatening. Food sensitivity symptoms are delayed and are typically limited to digestive problems, but they can lead to chronic inflammatory health issues.
If you are someone who exercises regularly, eats “right,” and still cant’ lose weight, there is a possibility you may have a food allergy or intolerance.
Inflammation and Weight Gain
In a study in 2007 that looked at two groups of overweight children suggests that food allergies and intolerances are a cause of the inflammation an obesity and not a consequences.
Damage to the gut can lead to leaky gut, allowing food particles to be exposed to the gut’s immune system. This then results in a immune reaction leading to inflammation, which increases insulin resistance resulting in obesity.
When the lining of the gut is inflamed, small openings in the lining will leak out food particles into the blood streams where they are considered foreign invaders and the immune system will be activated.
The immune system will attack these foreign particles and cause inflammation in the body. Many people eat foods that they are allergic/sensitive to several times a day and the immune system starts to work in overdrive.
Symptoms of a food intolerance are usually delayed and don’t occur for days later therefore they can be hard to spot. Without knowing what is going on with your body one tends to eat the same foods doing damage over and over again. Eventually inflammation is all around the body and causes weight gain and chronic disease.
Inflammation from any cause such as food, bacteria or a high-sugar, high-fat diet results in higher insulin levels and insulin resistance. Removing foods that the body has sensitivity to and that is causing inflammation may be the key to weight loss.
When eating foods that your body has a sensitivity to over and over again it starts to create a low grade chronic inflammation in your body. This is detrimental to weight loss because inflammation causes you to hold onto extra water weight in your body. Inflammation can cause problems that can weaken the the gut lining resulting in malabsorption. When your body experiences nutrition insufficiencies from malabsorption your body tends to start to store fat to help combat the lack of nutrients it is not getting.
Inflammation in the body can also cause you to feel lethargic and exhausted which can lead to the excess use of sugars and caffeine to help to make it through the day. Depending on sugar and caffeine to help with energy causes a cycle of crashing blood sugar, more exhaustion, and weight gain.
How to identify food intolerance
Blood Test from ALCAT labs. This lab tests for food sensitivities and not allergies. The Alcat Test may help uncover which foods and other substances trigger chronic inflammation and its related health issues such as gastrointestinal, metabolic disorders and others.
The Alcat Test measures cellular reactions to over 450 substances.
For more information or to schedule an ALCAT test email info@SabrinaSarabella.com
Food Elimination Diet- Dairy and gluten are the most common triggers for food intolerance's that cause inflammation in the body. Start an elimination diet by taking out any of the high inflammatory foods like dairy, gluten, and processed foods. Eliminate these foods from your diet for at least 4-6 weeks and start to notice how you are feeling. Focus on eating green leafy vegetables, lean proteins, low glycemic fruits and healthy fats. If you start to feel better, have more energy and feel less bloated you probably have a food sensitivity to one or multiple foods that you have eliminated.
After you have eliminated these foods for 4-6 weeks you can start to challenge the foods by putting them slowly back into your diet. Choose one food to add back into at a time. For example, if you choose dairy, have yogurt, cheese and ice cream in a day (or any other dairy products you are used to eating). Wait 3 days and see how you are feeling. Do you have your old symptoms back? If your symptoms don’t come back then you can add this food back into your diet. Continue to add a new food back in every three days and monitor progress.
The Food Elimination Fix is 6 week step by step guide to removing foods that are most likely to be causing your food intolerance.
In conclusion, food sensitivities can be a contributing factor for inflammation and weight gain in the body. You must first remove the foods that are causing the issues and then repair the gut. Once the body can properly heal from the inflammation weight loss can occur.
