Do you dread the change of seasons because you know you will fall victim to relentless itchy eyes and a watery nose? Or maybe you live in constant paranoia of accidentally consuming a food that leaves you stuck in the bathroom for hours?
You don’t have to live like this! Recent research has uncovered the amazing potential of ancestral nutrition to heal the modern plague of allergies. Did you know that current estimates report that approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from some type of allergy or intolerance?
Repeated trips to the pharmacy for liver-toxifying pharmaceuticals are patently unnecessary. We’ve investigated a more holistic approach toward healing allergies and intolerances permanently with food. Read on!
Why so many people have allergies today
Why do so many of us have allergies today, when our great-grandparents hardly knew what allergies were? There are many theories, but some of the most common ones include the rise of GMO foods, a widespread nutritional deficit and poor diet, the increased prescription of antibiotics, and the constant application of antibacterial cleaners and soaps. There is even a possibility that the dramatic increase in caesarean births has caused large segments of the population to be left with poor digestion, an inadequate immune system, and chronic allergies or food intolerances.
Perhaps it’s a combination of all of these factors, but we know for sure that allergies are a modern problem. Unfortunately, addressing a contemporary “man-made” problem with a synthetic solution, i.e., running to the pharmacy to get “a pill for an ill,” is not the best choice in the long run.
Why the typical medical approach is flawed
The conventional medical community has yet to acknowledge the incredible importance of nutrition and digestive health in preventing and reversing illness, so doctors and pharmacists continue to recommend over-the-counter drugs, or even allergy shots and other prescriptions to those dealing with allergies. These substances only reduce the body’s allergic response to the trigger — they don’t fix the root problem.
So how can we look back in time, to the practices of our ancestors, in order to reverse the debilitating onslaught of allergies and food intolerances?
How to heal your allergies naturally
In the holistic health community, a major cause of allergies or food intolerances is a condition also known as “leaky gut syndrome.” We know that when the intestinal walls are damaged and the bacterial community in the gut is out of order, you end up with a flawed system and multiple associated symptoms.
You can reverse this long-standing damage and reduce allergies by consuming foods that “re-seal” the gut and support healthy gut bacteria. Some of the best foods to choose are:
- homemade broth
- grass-fed gelatin powder
- aloe vera gel
- kefir
- kombucha
- fermented vegetables
- prebiotic fibers such as onions, dandelion greens and jicama
Along with adding in these healthy foods, it’s important to move away from a highly processed diet and eat more nutritious, real food.
Get started with your natural allergy-healing protocol today! Read more about foods that fight allergies here.
-Liivi Hess
Liivi is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and is training to become a doula. She inspires women to find peace and personal power by taking control of health and fertility naturally. Liivi‘s passion is ancestral nutrition and primal lifestyle design. She and her partner Will live between Toronto, Canada and Queenstown, New Zealand.
Sources:
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000549 http://ncp.sagepub.com/content/24/2/227.short
http://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/71488
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/137/3/794S.short
