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At-home allergy test to assess in four easy steps whether a particular food might be triggering intolerance or sensitivity issues. Not appropriate for severe situations that may trigger anaphylaxis.
Food sensitivities and allergies in children are clearly on the rise. Official estimates put the number at about 6% of children under the age of three. This sure seems low to me.
In my child’s preschool class, 10 of 12 children suffered from at least one food allergy!
When I went through elementary school in the 1970s, I barely remember one child with a food allergy of any kind.
Food Allergies, Intolerance, and Sensitivities
In years past, genetic predisposition was a clear and primary contributor to the development of allergies.
However, the modern-day tendency for children to eat just a few types of foods all the time like pizza, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, boxed cereal and peanut butter sandwiches is a big reason for the skyrocketing allergy trend.
Exclusive eating requires a constant demand for the same types of digestive enzymes over and over. This can eventually lead to digestive exhaustion, food addictions, and biochemical disruptions.
Poor diet in infancy and childhood which is devoid or low in animal fats such as egg yolks, cream, and butter is also a contributor to the development of allergies.
Arachidonic acid and beneficial cholesterol in these nourishing animal fats promote the development of an intestinal wall that is strong with much integrity.
The nutritionless, carb-heavy, rancid vegetable oil-laden processed foods most allergy-prone children subsist on can lead to weakness in the intestinal walls. Another name for this is leaky gut syndrome.
These microscopic perforations allow partially digested food particles to enter the bloodstream. At that point, the trigger is set for an unpredictable mix of auto-immune and behavioral disorders.
What to do if you suspect a food allergy in your child or yourself but you wish to avoid expensive testing?
Home Pulse Test
As it turns out, it is rather easy to test for a food allergy at home.
Note that this is not appropriate for any situation where anaphylaxis might occur.
The four simple steps include the following:
- Avoid the suspected food for at least 4 days.
- Eat a moderate amount of the suspected food on an empty stomach. Consume no other food within the previous 2 hours (drinking water is fine).
- Measure pulse rate (beats per minute) before and 5-10 minutes after eating the food in question.
- Calculate the difference in pulse rate. Did you find a significant rise of more than just a few beats per minute? If so, then an allergy or intolerance is likely even if you do not identify any other symptoms.
Besides an increased or racing pulse, food sensitivities and allergies can be identified via rashes, fatigue, insomnia, headaches, joint pain, and even hoarseness.
How to Heal
Once one or more food allergies are identified, a diet such as GAPS would need to be followed.
Over a period of time, usually 18 months to about 3 years, the gut wall will heal and seal. At that point, offending foods can be gradually reintroduced into the diet.
If the allergies are not severe, simply eating a varied and best traditional diet may be all that is necessary to put them in remission. This means no refined or stimulating foods.
“Refined” and “stimulating” foods would include anything made with white sugar, white flour, rancid vegetable oils like canola or soy, sodium, and caffeine.
In addition, a variety of traditionally fermented foods and beverages like home-brewed kombucha help tremendously with supplying friendly bacteria and food enzymes to keep the intestinal tract in optimal function.
These vital foods help maintain the integrity of the gut wall. This prevents compromise where undigested foods spill into the blood and trigger symptoms of sensitivity or intolerance.
Prevention is the Best Policy
Ultimately, it is best to never have to “undo” allergies if at all possible.
Eating a nourishing, traditional diet while pregnant and breastfeeding and ensuring that growing children receive regular and sufficient quantities of optimal growth encouraging foods.
These include cream, butter, ghee, egg yolks, fish eggs, grassfed and organ meats for development of a sturdy intestinal system.
This is the best insurance policy against ever needing any sort of special diet to combat allergy or other autoimmune issues.
Reference
Nourishing Traditions, About Food Allergies and Special Diets
The illustration at the top of your article shows somebody doing a skin test?? Nothing in the text addresses this. I want to know if there is a way of testing this way at home. I get flu-like symptoms from sawdust, fatigue, cough, etc. Allergy tests never indicate much of anything. Could I make up my own scratch test with sawdust?
Incorrect , you might want to do a little research on how humans had to evolve to become lactose tolerant. Naturally we we’re born with an enzyme called lactase that was active in our early born stages, but would deactivate toward adulthood. This is due to the fact that , in our natural state, we were only suppose to consume breast milk. Although as years progressed some women couldn’t produce their own milk and had to rely on out sources this lead to a new phenomenon whose consequences have led up to humans now being lactose tolerate. The idea of dairy nourishing the body is in fact false as well. I would suggest looking into some of the studies done on this topic, a great one would be the one done by Harvard.
I see that you’ve bought into the “dairy is bad” propaganda. While processed dairy is definitely to be avoided, fresh dairy from grazing cattle sustained humans for millennia long before agriculture started. If it wasn’t for dairy, you and I wouldn’t even be here my friend. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/dairy-precedes-the-advent-of-agriculture-in-human-history/
Consuming (even high quality, minimally processed) dairy products in early years is the main reason for my digestive debilitation. My family consumed / provided a mostly organic / home grown and home-made from scratch diet until a few years after I started pre-school and my mum began teaching. It was wonderful and amazingly nutritious – especially compared to what the average child consumes in utero and in early childhood – except for those born dairy-sensitive. I have always been sensitive/intolerant/allergic to a host of dairy components: lactose, casein, and whey (modest amounts of milkfat are tolerable). The consumption of dairy nutrients lead to an early disadvantage for the development of my gut biome, and an unpredictable array of mild to severe digestive disorders and other health problems, especially psychiatric issues – most notably, eating disorders. Please do not forget to caution your readers that human breastmilk is the only milk we are intended to consume. Other animals’ milk poses a risk and should always be consumed with caution, not abandon.
You are misinformed about dairy! If what you say is true, then why did many healthy ancestral cultures consume dairy as a primary staple? These were carefully documented in the book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Dairy nourished humanity for thousands of years … long before agriculture. Many people do very well on dairy for their whole life (including me). Perhaps you just don’t do well on dairy because of other reasons. Antibiotics as a child is a big reason why many people develop terrible digestive issues. Don’t blame dairy when the reason or your digestive problems is from modern environmental causes.