Tag Archives: allergies

Keeping On Top Of Allergies

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Food And Environment Allergies

As the Spring season kicks off, it brings with it warmer weather, rain, melting snow, and the dreaded POLLEN and our reaction of hay fever to it. More children seem to have allergies today than ever before. There are many theories to explain why this maybe such as perhaps we are “too clean”, or introduction of certain foods to early such as peanuts maybe identified by the immune system as foreign, or a parent having allergies, eczema or asthma.  Here are some things you can do for your child if they are suffering from allergies.

According to Food Allergy Canada, up to 300,000 Canadian children suffer from food allergies and children under the ages of 3 are most affected, however, the most chronic condition is non-food allergies in kids 12 and older.

How To Manage These Food Allergies?

First, it is very important to identify that the symptoms are related to a true allergy and not a sensitivity / intolerance – there is an overlap with the symptoms produced by both such as rashes, fatigue, stomach issues. However, symptoms such as dark circles under the eyes, puffiness and swelling, chronic diarrhea and of course anaphylactic shock are related to allergies. A simple blood test will help reveal whether there is an allergy or an intolerance. Once identified, here are simple tips you can use to help your child:

  1. There are natural and over the counter remedies that can help deal the symptoms of environmental allergies, so talk to your child’s naturopathic or medical doctor before starting either.
  2. Getting tested for allergies is important to identify what additional allergies your child has. Cooking foods can sometimes make a difference, as there may be less of an allergen.
  3. For environmental allergies, good hygiene practices and limiting or eliminating exposure helps.
  4. Educating those around you when it comes to cooking with foods or being around kids or people with known allergies such as peanut and shellfish, or being affectionate with a person / child after ingestion of known food allergies can be disastrous!
  5. Know the signs of anaphylaxis and how to treat them!

Should You Be Getting The Flu Shot?

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Its that time of the year where its getting colder and windy, people are coming into work with the sniffles, which you are trying to avoid like the plague, right? And you think, I should go get my flu shot or should you?

Lets start with the basics about what the flu is all about. We will then discuss what the flu shot is, and how effective it is, and then you can decide if you should be getting the “FLU SHOT” or if you should look at alternatives.

What is influenza?

Influenza, commonly known as “the flu,” is a contagious respiratory infection that is caused by a virus. It is most common during the winter months. Symptoms include fever, chills, runny nose, sore throat, cough, headache, muscle ache, fatigue and decreased appetite. The most common treatment for the infection is to let it run its course with the symptoms, which will usually improve within 2 to 3 days. You can certainly try to improve or shorten this duration with naturopathic / homeopathic treatments as well, hope remedies such as chicken soup, ginger teas and inhalations, along with lots of bed rest and drinking lots of fluids. Antibiotics at this stage will not subdue the virus.

How dangerous is the flu?

The flu can lead to complications mainly in high risk groups such as the elderly and other people with pre-existing medical problems such as heart, lung or kidney dysfunctions. People with diabetes, anemia or compromised immune functions are also at a higher risk for developing complications. The high- risk groups may develop complications such as pneumonia and in severe cases can lead to fatalities.

How prevalent is the flu?

Thousands of people every year contract the flu virus and is a common ailment. There are three types of the Flu virus that can cause the flu. Each of these types has an amazing potential to mutate or change rapidly, making it very difficult to develop an immunity to the disease.

How is the flu vaccine made?

Early in the beginning of each year, authorities travel overseas to assess the composition of the current flu viruses that are circulating. They project that these certain flu viruses will arrive in North America later that year during “flu season” and instruct flu vaccine manufacturers to include those particular strains in their vaccines. To develop a flu vaccine, chick embryos must be inoculated with influenza viruses and from there the mixture is cultivated for several weeks. Each flu strain is then inactivated with formaldehyde and preserved with a derivative of mercury called thimerosal (mercury is a neurological toxin!). Flu vaccines may also contain other substances such as polyethylene glycol, polysorbate 80, hydrocortisone, neomycin and polymyxin (antibiotics), sodium deoxycholate, MSG, and “porcine” (pig) gelatin. The three strains of the virus are then blended into one vaccine, which is licensed by the FDA and distributed by the manufacturers, without ANY requirement for a scientific control-group for testing.

How safe is the flu vaccine?

Serious reactions to the flu vaccine include allergies to some of the vaccine “ingredients” which can be life threatening. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a severe paralytic disease can also occur several weeks after getting the flu vaccine and is fatal in 1 of every 20 victims. Numerous studies have investigated and documented other serious adverse reactions to the vaccine such as encephalopathy, brainstem encephalitis, polyneuritis, optic neuritis, myelitis, vasculitis, myelopathy, facial paralysis, brachial plexus neuropathy, reactive arthritis, bullous pemphigoid, polymyalgia rheumatica, uveitis, Gianotti-Crosti syndrome, pericarditis, polyangitis, thrombocytopenia, cellulitis, myositis and “asthmatic exacerbations” in people with a history of asthma.

  In a large study conducted on children 5 years of age or older, who were vaccinated with the live-virus nasal spray flu vaccine, were shown to cause a statistically significant increase in asthma or reactive airways disease causing symptoms of wheezing and pneumonia.3% of the children between the ages of 6 months to 1 year were hospitalized with respiratory problems and for those vaccinated with the inactivated flu vaccine in this age group, 1 out of every 100 children had to be rushed to the hospital. Children from 6 months to 2 years had to be hospitalized for nearly 5 days requiring bronchodilators and steroids.

 How efficient is the flu vaccine?

Given that researchers travel overseas early in the year to predict which strains will travel to North America much later in the year, most of the vaccines produced do not contain the actual strain that ends up circulating as they may have mutated by the time they get here. The “guess work” could often mean that the wrong strain was picked or the circulating flu virus likely mutated between January and the later months, making the new vaccine useless!

Even when a good match is made between the strains, making up the vaccine and with the current flu virus circulating at that time, immunity from the shot is short-lived as antibody levels begin to decrease and are low one year after vaccination. Permanent immunity to a particular strain can only be achieved when the virus is contracted naturally, allowing natural antibodies to form. Each flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three viral strains of that year, and does not protect against respiratory ailments, intestinal disorders, ear infections and microorganisms associated with different diseases such as the cold, all of which are not comprised of in the vaccine.

 Researchers analyzed 51 studies regarding the effectiveness in healthy children involving more than 260,000 persons. In children 2 years of age or older who were administered the live influenza vaccine (nasal spray), it was found to be only 33% effective! Children 2 years of age or older who were administered the inactivated influenza vaccine (shot), only 36% were found to be effective. Lastly, for children under 2 years of age who were administered the inactive vaccine, the vaccine was found to be 0% effective.

An analysis of 25 studies involving thousands of healthy adults under 65 years of age found that the influenza vaccine “did not affect hospital stay, time off from work, or death from influenza and its complications.” A systematic review of 64 studies was carried out over 40 years of the flu vaccine in the elderly. The results showed that for elderly people living in the community, the flu vaccine and protection against the flu was 0% effective as was protection against pneumonia. For elderly people living in a group home, protection against the flu was found to be 0% effective!

So should you be taking the flu shot or should you strengthen your immune function naturally and ride out the symptoms?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

**Adapted from Vaccine Safety Manual: For Concerned Families and Healthcare Practitioners by Neil Z. Miller, Foreword by Russell Blaylock, MD**

Is Naturopathic Medicine Helpful For Treating Asthma, Eczema Or Allergies?

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Naturopathic medicine is alternative or complementary medicine that treats various health ailments with natural therapies. Naturopathic care of asthma, eczema and allergies is based on healing the symptom as well as identifying the cause of the allergies, asthma or eczema. Naturopathic doctors usually work to treat the root cause of the problem or symptoms, be it asthma, eczema or allergies.

Natural treatments from a naturopathic doctor for eczema and asthma are based on first identifying what the person is allergic to and eliminating that item from the diet or environment if possible. With naturopathic treatments, along with diet changes, various herbs and supplements are also used to improve the overall health of the person and rebalancing an overactive / dysfunctional immune system, which usually causes the symptoms of sneezing, itching, runny nose and eyes, and rashes.

In most cases that are treated with naturopathic medicine, we find that the symptoms improve tremendously and become a thing of the past as the individual adopts a healthier lifestyle and balances their immune system. As a naturopath, my approach to treating asthma or eczema has always been to first get to the root of the problem, and that usually involves testing for allergies to various allergens, once that has been established, I usually treat by modifying the diet and use additional nutrient or herbal supplements if necessary and generally the outcome has been great in terms of resolving the health issue.

Need more information or treatment for asthma, eczema or allergies, please call us or visit us.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Improving Allergy Symptoms Naturally For You And Your Pets

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Allergies cause symptoms such as skin irritation, hair loss, digestive symptoms, sneezing, hives, runny nose and eyes, diarrhea, vomiting, headaches among other symptoms. Allergies are triggered by specific foods, environmental elements such as pollen and dust, molds, chemical pollutants. Pinpointing allergies can take a lot of time, so one way to narrow down the time and find out what is causing them is by doing some allergy blood tests.

In order to improve symptoms of allergies in you and your pet, its important to improve your  and your pet ‘s health first, and which will help the body come back to balance and in turn improve overall health symptoms. Three key things you can do:

1. TAKE A LOOK AT THE DIETARY FACTORS IN ALLERGIES AND CHANGE THE DIET ACCORDINGLY

Foods play a huge role in worsening allergy symptoms, so try to monitor your diet and your pet’s diet. The most common allergens for humans include: milk, wheat, soy, oranges, eggs, corn among others. For pets, try eliminating corn, soy , wheat, beef and yeast . Switch them and yourself to a healthy hypoallergenic diet of rice, lamb, chicken, vegetables, fruits and whole cooked grains, but no wheat.  Reintroduce the foods one at time after a month to see the reaction and if tolerated, you can introduce the food into the diet.

2. IMPROVE DIGESTION

Optimizing your digestive system is a great way to alleviate allergy symptoms. Various supplements are helpful in improving digestion for you and your pet. Simple suggestions to improve the digestive symptom include: having a wholesome diet with lots of fiber, which helps to keep the digestive system running smoothly and clean, eliminating toxins and decreasing allergenic potential. Yogurt or lactobacillus (acidophilus) supplements are great as the acidophilus provides natural antibiotic to ward off any undesired bacteria or parasites and helps to improve immunity too.

Click here for information on digestive disorders.

3. CREATE A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

Various cleaning products and chemicals, mold and dust can cause allergic reactions. Try to use natural household cleaners in and around the house, which are generally just as effective but much more safer to use. Wash out bedding, linens and sheets weekly with gentle laundry detergent as harsh chemicals and perfumes could irritate your pet’s and your skin and the respiratory system.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic in Toronto.

What Is The Difference Between Food Intolerances And Allergies?

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Food allergies are those that are quite often immune mediated – meaning that they could be life threatening quite often if they are anaphylactic. Food intolerance / sensitivities usually produce a milder reaction such as fatigue, or loose stools, flatulence, skin rashes, congestion among other symptoms. Mild allergies may produce similar reactions too.

With food allergies, the body’s immune system produces a class of antibodies called the IgE immunoglobulins, where as with food sensitivities or intolerance, the immune system produces a class of antibodies called IgG immunoglobulins, both of which are accurately tested using blood. Severe food allergies such as those that can cause anaphylactic reactions and can be tested using scratch tests, however, these tests quite often produce false positive results due to other factors that the individual might be undergoing such as stress, prescriptions they might be using, among others, and this can be quite traumatic for a person who shows positive to everything under the sun!

Both of these reactions are immune mediated so in order to treat them or get relief, most people use antihistamines and other allergy relief medication. However, to get true relief, you must look at what caused the immune system to cause a hypersensitive reaction / or dysfunction in the first place and treating the root cause will quite often treat the mild allergies and intolerances, but not severe anaphylactic allergies.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Controlling Allergies At Home

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The most effective treatment for allergies is to reduce your exposure, especially at home. There are several ways to do this = clean up your environment. If you have skin allergies or any allergy symptoms, you can get relief by removing allergens from your environment. By cleaning up your environment, you can reduce dust, dust mites, chemical and environmental pollutants in your environment that cause symptoms.

Controlling allergies in the bedroom

• Encase pillows, comforters, mattresses, and box springs in zippered, allergen impermeable, dust proof casings. Avoid purchasing foam rubber pillows and mattresses as they are more likely to harbor molds.

• Wash blankets, sheets, pillowcases, and mattress pads every other week in hot water (130 degrees F+). Hot water kills dust mites. Cold or warm water does not. Throughout the House (Especially the Bedroom)

• If you have wall-to-wall carpeting in your bedroom, remove it if possible. In addition to being the single most chemically-treated household item, carpeting acts a host for a multitude of allergic agents. If this is not possible to remove wall-to-wall carpeting from your bedroom, periodically apply a solution of tannic acid to inactivate allergy-causing dust products that routinely emanate from carpeting.

• If you have a forced air heating system in your home, cover the air vents in your bedroom with air filters to clean the air at the point of entry. If you have a central air heating and/or cooling system, install an electrostatic filter to clean air before it is distributed throughout your house.

• Avoid using heavy curtains and / or Venetian blinds to cover bedroom windows. If possible, purchase window shades. Shades are less likely to accumulate irritants than curtains or blinds. If you use curtains in your bedroom, launder them frequently. If you use blinds, clean them often.

• If possible, purchase hardwood furniture instead of upholstered furniture. Soft furnishings are more likely to collect and harbor dust and other allergens than hardwood furnishings. If you purchase upholstered furniture, buy only furniture covered in leather or cloth and constructed with an additional allergen barrier.

• Install a high quality HEPA / charcoal air cleaner to remove airborne allergen particles, molds, animal dander and pollutants. The filter of the air cleaner should be sized to the room dimensions and the air cleaner should process four to six air exchanges per hour. Air cleaners should not be placed directly on carpeting as their exhaust may blow dust and other contaminants harbored in the carpeting into the air.

• Control heat and humidity with an air-conditioner. Use a dehumidifier to reduce moisture. Heat and humidity stimulate dust mite and mold growth. While dust mites reproduce rapidly in environments of 75% – 80% humidity, they cannot live in environments of less than 50% humidity.

A humidity level of 40% or less will eliminate dust mites. Use a gauge to monitor humidity levels in your home. Avoid over humidification of the air in the winter. If using a humidifier, change the water and clean the humidifier frequently to prevent mold growth.

By: Sushma Shah, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, at Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

The Naturopathic Perspective On Body Cleansing And Detoxification

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BODY CLEANSING AND DETOXIFICATION

Cleansing is an important part of maintaining health, slowing the aging process and preventing diseases, by allowing the body to rid itself of a build up of toxins. There are many ways of doing this. Ideally, a person should be free of commitments during a cleanse, as much as is possible, because a relaxed person can detoxify more efficiently. Another note of caution, do not ever make yourself “fit” into a cleanse. The cleanse should “fit” you. Take time to experiment to see what regime will best suit your schedule, but also remember that you will need to make room for it no matter how busy you are.

A cleanse can be a fast, but it doesn’t have to be. You can eat while cleansing, provided that you use cleansing foods. If you want a specific food list for cleansing, check into any cleansing book and they will list the foods specifically. Generally, it is avoiding heavy foods like red meat, wheat, dairy, fried foods, Soya products, dried fruit, etc. You would eat fresh fruits, fresh veggies, whole grains with the exception of wheat, some chicken or fish, etc. (Some veggies contraindicated when cleansing are tomatoes, potatoes, and the squash family. Dried fruit is usually a no-no too.) Any condiments you use would be very simple like flax oil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, etc.

The idea is to eat easily digestible foods so as to “free-up” the eliminative organs such as the liver, kidney, skin, lungs, colon, and lymphatic system, so that they can spend more time detoxifying and less time digesting. (Some of these organs aren’t directly digesting food, but do help in the processing part of digestion). A juicer is also recommended, though a basic cleanse can be done without this.

With these things in mind, let me run through a few ways you can accomplish a health cleanse and detox. (Please ask you naturopathic doctor to select an appropriate cleanse / detox for you).

IF YOU ARE TAKING PRESCRITION MEDICATION, PLEASE TALK TO YOUR MEDICAL DOCTOR / NATUROPATH BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY CLEANSES!

TYPES OF DETOXIFICATION

•   PLAN A: Fast for half days with fresh vegetable and fruit juices. Then eat lightly in the latter part of the day. For example, brown rice or millet with fish or chicken and a salad. Have a variation of this for supper or have a few glasses of fresh juice from your juicer.

•   PLAN B: Juice with veggie and fruit juices all day (take your juice 1½ to 2 hours apart) with 4 to 6 fibre drinks ½ hour between juices. A mixture of a high quality psyllium mixture and ground flax seed is excellent for cleansing. It aids the removal of toxins from the intestines. A word of caution here — if you have never done a fast before, do not attempt this without doing the ½ day fast first. Also, for fasting, going on to the fast and coming off the fast must be equal to the number of days you are planning to fast. For example, if you plan to fast for three days, you would start eating fruits and veggies with easy to digest protein, like seeds, fish, etc., for three days before fasting. When you come off the fast, you must start with blended fruits and salads, and gradually work your way to easy-to-digest proteins for three more days, at least. Coming off of a cleanse is almost more important than the fast itself. It can “make” or “break” a fast. (Don’t do this on your own if you are on medication of any kind).

•   PLAN C: Use cleansing foods all day without any fasting. Pick from a cleansing food list to make up your menus a head of time. A sample menu would look like this: Breakfast: Ground almonds soaked over night in purified water. Have them with maple syrup. Lunch: Brown rice, chicken, salad with a flax oil or olive oil dressing. Dinner: Chicken breast, brown rice and veggies.

•   PLAN D: Juice fast on the weekends, while eating cleansing foods during the week.

Additional aids to cleansing would be:

1) Use herbs to help clean out the toxins from fatty tissues, the liver, colon, lymph, lungs, kidneys and skin. Herbs are quite necessary to really get the “junk” out of the body.

2) Grow wheat grass and juice it. Add it to your veggie and fruit juices. It is excellent for cleansing.

3) Eat cleansing foods that are in season if at all possible, and eat as much organic as possible.

4) Drink enough water to enhance the detoxification process. Water is the best solvent known to man. It will take toxins out of your body when nothing else can.

5) Use affirmations to help you stick to a cleanse. For example, “Hour by hour my body is purifying itself,” or “Every minute that I am fasting or cleansing, I am flushing dangerous poisons out of my wonderful body.”

•   PLAN E: CLEANSING PROGRAM BASED ON A RAW FOOD DIET PLAN

1) Eat all vegetables and fruits cleaned and RAW. Make sure a variety is eaten – smaller quantities of different foods rather than a lot of one or two foods.

2) Drink liquids one half-hour before and one hour after a meal. Avoid drinking during the meal. This tends to dilute the digestive enzymes, hence affecting the digestion and assimilation of food. Have small sips of liquid before your meal or with your meal.

3) Raw, unroasted and unsalted nuts, beans sprouts, and mild cooking spices (e.g. garlic used sparingly – basil, thyme, etc.) can be eaten. Hot and spicy seasonings (e.g. table salt, curry, black pepper, and hot peppers – should be used sparingly or avoided. Cayenne and red pepper may be used sparingly.

4) Do not mix vegetables with fruit in the same meal because they interfere with each other’s digestion. Wait an hour or two between each. Generally a food combining order with this program and with regular meals is: First: carbohydrates (starches such as breads, potatoes, carrots).?Second: proteins (beans and grains, meats, fish, tofu). Third: fats (dairy products, oils and creamy foods). This order is suggested because it is related to the speed of digestion.

5) Eat melons alone- this includes watermelon, winter melon, cantaloupe.

6) No sugar, candies, sweets, pastries, packaged snacks. Avoid using self – administered medications.

7) Over the day, keep fluids (water, vegetables and fruit juices mixed 50% with water) going through your body (unless you have real problems with fluid retention). You do not need to force fluid down but par attention to yourself and do not ignore your feelings of thirst. A juicer will give you real vegetable and fruit juice, and if used regularly, it will be well worth the cost.

8) If any food gives you indigestion or discomfort, record it and let clinician know. Do not eat those foods that cause problems fro now.

COMING OF THE RAW FOOD DIET

1. MOST IMPORTANTLY DO NOT OVER EAT.

2. DO NOT SPLURGE ON JUNK FOOD – EAT SENSIBILY

3. Gradually eat more of your usual food, but follow the guidelines or your common sense. You may prefer to avoid some of these usual foods or to eat less of them, e.g. red meats. If you have a question, ask your naturopathic doctor.

FOOD SENSITIVITY AND DETOXIFICATION

You may notice that while doing a detoxification plan, a lot of your health concerns may resolve naturally. These could be as a result of avoiding various foods that you might have a sensitivity / intolerance to. Food sensitivities can be related to allergies or other disturbances in your functioning. A simple way to monitor your self for “disagreeing” food is described below.

For the first week or two, after the detox diet, eat one new food per day. If you feel indigestion, get headaches, mood changes, constipation, bloating, eczema, a flushed feeling over your face or you feel uncomfortable after eating a food, avoid it for the time being, as your body does not agree with it.

Here is a list of natural foods that help the body cleanse naturally: Please talk to your naturopath before using any herbs as they can have various adverse effects if not taken correctly.

•   Artichokes – Contains plant compounds known as caffeoylquinic acids, which increase the flow of bile and help to digest fats.

•   Beets – Beets contain betaine, which promotes the regeneration of liver cells and the flow of bile. It also has a beneficial effect on fat metabolism.

•   Broccoli – Broccoli and other members of the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi) support the liver’s detoxification enzymes.

•   Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – Food sources of vitamin C and glutathione, which are essential for detox.

•   Protein – Protein is required by the liver for detox. Beans, nuts, seeds, quinoa, protein powder. Some people may choose to eat fish in moderation.

•   Onions and Garlic – Rich in sulfur containing compounds. Involved in sulfation, the main detox pathway for environmental chemicals and certain drugs and food additives. Helps with the elimination of harmful heavy metals from the body.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Allergies Versus Sensitivities

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In Canada, we have three allergy seasons that are related to the environment:

1. The Early spring allergy season which is driven by tree pollens beginning in March or April, and lasting until mid-June.

2. Late spring / early summer allergy season caused by grass pollens: from late May until mid-July or even early August.

3. Last but not the least the ”TRUE HAY FEVER SEASON” late summer / early autumn — from mid-August until the first frost –which is primarily attributed to ragweed and other “weed” species.

We also have something called the Perennial allergic rhinitis, which occurs year-round, is triggered by common household allergens such as dust mites, animal dander, and mold.

There are various approaches to treating allergies using various sprays, pills and creams, however the best approach is the natural one- which basically focuses on improving the ”hyperactive” immune system, which is usually imbalanced in people who have allergies.

The natural approach also focuses on natural methods to improve overall immune function and health, and tone done the up-regulated immune system, hereby reducing your allergenic response to otherwise harmless proteins.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Allergies And Weight Gain – Is There A Connection?

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I have found that in several of my patients who tend to have a lot of food intolerances seem to be the ones who tend to gain weight just by smelling the food, so is there a connection?

Here is my hypotheses – if you eat foods you are not tolerating, then you body is going to respond by producing inflammation in the body and can be seen on the body as puffiness or swelling of certain parts – e.g. ankles, the other way the body might react is by not eliminating properly, hence there is a decreased frequency of bowel movements to less than 1 a day leading to constipation and a back up and compacting of stools on the sides of the intestines, which can contribute to unnecessary weight “gain”, so if you are one of those individuals who tend to gain weight just by “smelling the foods”, take a closer look at what you are eating and how it may be affecting you.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.