HERE’S THE THING
When I was a child, I was actually glad that I had seasonal allergies. It got me out of doing yard work many a time! Not only did I sneeze 1001 times but I actually broke out in hives when I sat on the grass too long. From end of February/early March all the way through May, I suffered seasonal allergies big time!
My mom finally got a prescription for me and it helped but it really dried me out ….as most allergy meds do. I think I used the prescription up until my late teens and obviously back in those days, I had no idea what being on meds for that long would do to my system but it did keep me from sneezing and wheezing as well as scratching my throat raw, all night long while sleeping. And I certainly can’t forget about the itchy/watery eyes because omg — annoying! While I stopped the prescribed medication, I grabbed all of the ‘over-the-counter’ allergy meds there ever was!
Here’s the thing — when I started eating a paleo diet, I had NO IDEA that it would help me at all when it came to things like seasonal allergies. I mean, how can food change the way we react to pollen, grass and/or just a change in the weather??? Doesn’t seem possible and yet it is!
The following Spring (after eating a paleo template), my husband actually pointed out that he hadn’t noticed me sneezing as much and that I wasn’t scratching my throat in my sleep (I guess it was loud and worse than my snoring!) and I didn’t think much of it but to say, “knock on wood” because it was definitely a pleasant feeling to not be drugged/dried out, just to keep from the uncomfortableness of seasonal allergies.
DID MY FOOD CHOICES REALLY PLAY A ROLE OR DID I GROW OUT OF IT?
A few years pass by and I feel like I chalked up my very minimal allergic reaction to Spring was perhaps because I grew out of it. Honestly, it never occurred to me that it was my diet that put an end to months and months of not being able to go through a day without countless sneezes etc! So why do I think this change in food allowed me to be free of these allergies????
I have a bit of proof as you read on – but in a nutshell …our bodies are smart. My body (pre-paleo) was too busy trying to fight inflammation caused by an unhealthy diet. It didn’t have the time to address the allergies. That was the last thing it needed to address. I had an unhealthy gut, poor sleeping habits and really poor eating habits so my body was busy trying to keep me moving throughout the day and be a functional mom, all the while doing this as I was fueling it with really poor quality gas! (I was also dealing with the stress of a toxic marriage).The body is designed to help you keep on truckin’ and it targets the more important health concerns before it turns to things like seasonal allergies ….(or even weight loss for those of you who wonder why it’s so hard to lose weight). Our bodies are smart in prioritizing!
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED!
I grabbed some dark chocolate almonds at an open market “fair” if you will. They looked amazing – super dark and I just needed them! After eating a handful later that night, I began feeling a little yucky. I didn’t put it together with the dark chocolate almonds …just figured I wasn’t feeling great. The next night – same thing…I grabbed about 6 and ate them. And yet again, didn’t feel well later that evening AND the very next morning, my allergies kicked in! By the end of that following day, I had sneezed about 100 times and the eyes and throat started in too. The allergies went on to do their thing for a few days and I just assumed that this year had more pollen or what have you but pretty baffled that it waited til the first of April to start in – I mean, in years past I had been dealing with allergies for a couple months before April showed up.
So just a couple of days after the 2nd partaking of these dark chocolate almonds, I had another handful while watching a movie and guess what?? Yep…..another stomach ache! My hubby finally tied these almonds to my upset tummy and read the ingredients! OMG! OMG!! OMG! I wish I had them to rattle off to you but we tossed the rest. There was shellac for one and about 6 other ingredients that I have no idea what they were EXCEPT that when we googled them, it had very much to do with plastics and non edible items! I was dumbfounded. No wonder they were so shiny and dark! Needless to say, I tossed these chemically ladened dark chocolate almonds and never looked back.
No more tummy aches and yes, you got it — allergies subsided just a few days after giving these guys up! It’s been a full week since I’ve sneezed, wheezed or scratched my throat!
BUT WHY, YOU ASK?
What did my body do and why did my allergies appear so suddenly? It protected me and let go of the less critical “issue”. I truly believe this! It just makes sense. Eating a real food diet isn’t about the physical and while the physical appearance can make change, food is really there to support our needs. Having a healthy gut allowed me to steer clear of all allergy meds as my body protected me from these allergens BUT as soon as it needed to protect me from foreign toxic chemicals, it let go of the less threatening problem -seasonal allergies – that I deal with this time of year. This. fascinates. me!
So ask yourself – what are you dealing with that you could possibly be free from if your body was functioning at optimal health? Is your body trying to fight off “too many bears” to be able to help you with even the most simple improvement in health? We put our bodies through fight or flight mode more often than probably needed. Take a good look at what you’re putting into your system and what your body is doing to protect you from some of those toxins. If it didn’t have to fight of those toxins, perhaps it could help you in ways that you have been hoping for!
Stop and think. Take a hard look. It’s time to be honest and real. Our bodies truly do want the best for us — so let it do its job ….but first, you must do yours. Give it the respect and the fuel it needs to thrive! I am pretty sure it will reward you once you feed it with real food (#foodwithapurpose) but also prioritize the needs of self care. You are the only you you’ve got! Be intentional and make YOU count!
