Food sensitivities can manifest in some really weird ways! Since our bodies are constantly changing, it is common for our sensitivities to change too. As we heal the gut, people will often see that they can reintroduce foods that they once were not able to eat. For the past few years, I have stayed away from dairy, gluten, alcohol, soy, and legumes. I feel SO much better without these foods, so I never really feel like I am missing out on anything. With that said, I want to note that everyone’s body is different. One person’s fuel can be another person’s poison and vice versa.
A few years ago, I said to my husband, “I wonder if cheese still bothers me like it used to.” I decided to give it a shot, so we made gluten free pizzas with real cow cheese on top. I ate it and felt completely fine – no crazy stomach issues or stuffiness in my nose like I would have had years ago- BUT the next day I had to drive my husband into the office because his car was in the shop. We got in the car, and he said, “What is that smell?” While the cheese didn’t seem to affect my stomach and sinuses like it used to, my body was still rejecting it. I smelled-OMG- from the cheese!!! I couldn’t believe this. I stopped wearing deodorant years ago after I changed my diet (Body odor is the body’s way of getting toxins out of the body. Once I figured out the foods that best nourish me, I found that no matter how overheated I got, I never had a need for it, so I stopped wearing deodorant.) After all, it is better for our armpits to breathe from a detox perspective 🙂 I texted my Functional Medicine doctor asking her if she had ever experienced this too, and she said she immediately stinks after she eats something she is sensitive to! Who would have ever thought? Looking back on it, this makes complete sense because I stopped needing deodorant when I started eating better. That said, the hormonal changes with pregnancy and postpartum have caused me to need it again. I have started using this kind of better for you deodorant.
The point of me sharing this is to show that food sensitivities are weird and can show themselves in peculiar ways. When I eat too many gluten free grains, I break out on my cheeks and upper arms. Alcohol makes my hormones go crazy. Legumes give me hives, and apparently, dairy makes me smell. Our body often whispers to us what it likes and doesn’t like, but it is up to us to really listen to it before it starts screaming.
What are you sensitive to, and how does it affect you? In my online course, we talk all about this and the importance of keeping a symptom journal; it can really help you determine which foods are best for you!
Anytime a symptom appears in my body, I always try to backtrack to think about what I just ate. Oftentimes my symptoms are food related, and in my experience, most people’s symptoms are food related too!
