We spent several consultations focusing on the right nutrients and other strategies to heal Brenda’s leaky gut (much of which I condensed into my free Quick Start Guide to a Happy Gut), which subsequently helped tame her seasonal allergies. Add in dairy, and it triggers the overproduction of mucus inside your nose and sinuses, which will trap more pollen, keeping you feeling miserable for longer. I explained that each time you eat gluten, the immune response it triggers can last up to six months. I had Brenda keep track of her symptoms, and we quickly saw a major culprit: She was eating a lot of "healthy" whole wheat pasta and low-carb whole-grain wraps with cheese. A nasty forward-feeding cycle develops as food sensitivities keep your immune system revved up. Research 2 shows what I’ve found in my own practice: Intestinal permeability creates a vicious cycle of inflammation and allergic reactions. A delayed onset (from several hours up to 36 hours after you eat the offending food) shows up with unwanted skin rashes (eczema, for example), fatigue, mental fog, and migraines. A skin rash, itching, shortness of breath, and closing of the windpipe are among the symptoms of food allergies.įood sensitivities, on the other hand, involve a prolonged or delayed reaction to food. Food allergies create an immediate response that can begin within seconds to minutes after contact with the protein substance. You might not even be aware of these sensitivities because they can manifest without gut symptoms, instead showing up as seasonal allergies, postnasal drip, chronic airway congestion, and recurrent sinusitis, to name a few conditions.įood allergies differ from food sensitivities. The immune system does not recognize these, so it attacks, which results in food sensitivities. Leakiness or "hyperpermeability" of the gut essentially means partially digested protein molecules from food slip through your gut wall and create chaos. To eliminate her allergies and all their miserable symptoms, we had to start with her gut. The driver of your symptoms of seasonal allergies-including sneezing, feeling stuffy, and a runny nose-begins with chronic inflammation in the gut, which puts your immune system into overdrive.įor Brenda, a leaky gut ramped up her immune system, amplifying the effects of her environmental seasonal allergies. When I tell patients that everything starts in your gut, I’m not kidding. When your microbiome becomes unbalanced, all sorts of havoc ensues, including seasonal allergies. Underlying these and other problems is your gut microbiome, a diverse ecosystem living inside you comprising trillions of symbiotic bacteria that help maintain a healthy digestive system. Pollen release happens in waves, so this can go on for several weeks at its worst. So if your gut is sounding the alarm, the rest of your immune system goes on full alert, wreaking havoc on your enjoyment of the beauty of spring flowers. It’s as if the gut controls a dimmer switch on immune reactivity, even to the outside world. ![]() But once you consider about 70 percent of your immune system resides within your gut 1, you can understand how gut problems can trigger or worsen immune-related conditions like seasonal allergies. Because I am a medical doctor who focuses on gut health, my patients don’t always make that connection between what they eat, digestive wellness, and spring allergies.
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