The New Year is always a time when we evaluate and determine if there are any changes we should make. We often vow to be healthier, but we may be overlooking the biggest factor in our immune system, our gut.
Over 70 percent of our immune system originates in our gut and therefore, if our gut is not healthy, we won’t be healthy. Do we consider headaches, eczema, heartburn, reflux, or intestinal distress problems as just a part of life? That is only true when it is occasional. When these issues recur over and over, or are even part of our daily life, this is not normal.
Food intolerances are the biggest cause of intestinal distress and we may not even realize it. When we eat foods that we don’t tolerate, it causes inflammation in the lining of the gut. This makes our immune system compromised and causes both our intestines and our body to react, including illness, eczema and arthritis.
Keep a food log to determine if there is a pattern. Write down everything eaten at each meal for a week or two, also making note of any incidents of headache, indigestion, heartburn, reflux, etc. Try eliminating trigger foods for two weeks. Down the road, if we want to try adding back a food, eat a spoonful 2-3 times during one day and allow 24-48 hours to see if there is any reaction. Write down any reaction. Eliminate the food again for 3-5 days and then test it one more time. If a reaction occurs again, it is most likely that you are intolerant to that food.
So go with your gut, listen to what it is telling you, and you will be healthier in 2018. Happy New Year!
