Identifying Food Sensitivities
Messages from our Bodies
By Beverly Morgan, IBCLC, FILCA
Just as a baby sends subtle signals of distress well before crying, our bodies also send subtle signals about food intolerance. We don't need to wait until our body is crying with upset to know there is a problem with some of the foods we are eating.
When first talking about food sensitivities, almost universally a mother will say she doesn't have any allergies. Once we dialogue about some of the subtle signals the mother will usually identify one or two foods that she doesn't tolerate well. For example, for one mother it was garlic and onions. Once she though about it, she realized she did not feel well after eating garlic and onion. For another mother it may be milk, or wheat, or corn, or gluten, or peanuts, or rice or red food coloring.
When coming up with a potential list of foods to avoid while nursing, the foods that go on my list are tailored to reflect the foods a mother doesn't tolerate well. It could be potentially any food, and also any environmental substance. While not classified as true allergies, these may also have an impact on how a person feels.
When first talking about food sensitivities, almost universally a mother will say she doesn't have any allergies. Once we dialogue about some of the subtle signals the mother will usually identify one or two foods that she doesn't tolerate well. For example, for one mother it was garlic and onions. Once she though about it, she realized she did not feel well after eating garlic and onion. For another mother it may be milk, or wheat, or corn, or gluten, or peanuts, or rice or red food coloring.
When coming up with a potential list of foods to avoid while nursing, the foods that go on my list are tailored to reflect the foods a mother doesn't tolerate well. It could be potentially any food, and also any environmental substance. While not classified as true allergies, these may also have an impact on how a person feels.
Here are some of the signs your body may send to alert you to its distress:
Lumps of phlegm in the throat, runny nose, the need to clear the throat often, clicking or tickle in the ears when swallowing (fluid in ears), heartburn, smelly stools (when the gut is working well there is no smell to a bowel movement), grumbling sounds in intestines (sign of poor digestion), diarrhea, constipation, wind-burned look to cheeks, reddened/itchy skin other area of the body, eczema, a feeling of fatigue (especially if it comes about 20 minutes after a meal and you were not noticeably tired before the meal), passing smelly gas, burping up the food aftertaste, a feeling like a hangover after eating a food, a bad taste in your mouth (should not have a noticeable taste), a crack down the center of your tongue, bleeding gums, canker sores in your mouth.
Many mothers make assumptions about foods that limit their diet unnecessarily by trying to find a universal list of foods to avoid rather than keying in to foods more specific to them.
Think about the subtle signals you body may be sending! Are you eating foods that cause you to feel less well? When these foods are avoided, the changes in one's well-being can be dramatic, but they can also be subtle and easy to miss. Over the long term, these changes mean more energy and better health for life.
Your body's cues may be subtle, but once you tune in it is amazing what you can learn. If you want to learn more read the book, "Is This Your Child?" by Doris Rapp.
Think about the subtle signals you body may be sending! Are you eating foods that cause you to feel less well? When these foods are avoided, the changes in one's well-being can be dramatic, but they can also be subtle and easy to miss. Over the long term, these changes mean more energy and better health for life.
Your body's cues may be subtle, but once you tune in it is amazing what you can learn. If you want to learn more read the book, "Is This Your Child?" by Doris Rapp.