Not feeling well? Your healthy foods may be to blame..

Written by Kaytee Weaver Monday, 23 January 2012 15:50

Even the healthiest of foods can wreak havoc on certain individuals.  Food intolerances are fairly common and produce symptoms including migraines, skin rashes and digestive problems when consuming culprit food items.  Wheat, dairy, soy and products containing gluten are a few things people have to eliminate from their diet due to the inability to digest or break down the food.  Others may be extremely sensitive to caffeine or artificial sweeteners.  I’ve learned through the process of elimination that I’m sensitive to items containing dairy, wheat and soy and do my best to keep them out of my diet.  Food intolerances are a less serious form of food allergies so while they are not life threatening they can still negatively affect your health, performance and mood in a serious way.

Yesterday it dawned on me how important it is to be in touch with the physical signals your body sends from eating certain foods.  I normally don’t eat wheat products but got stuck with a whole wheat bread option for lunch.  I figured I would go ahead and eat it to see if I would experience any negative effects.  To my dismay, about 10 minutes post meal I began to get a slight headache, congestion and fatigue - all symptoms of wheat sensitivity.  Now whole wheat products can be a great whole grain option, but for those who can’t tolerate this otherwise healthy food, the negative impacts won’t be so fun to deal with.

If I wasn’t in tune with my body and how it reacts to different foods (another benefit of healthy eating) I might not have noticed these subtle symptoms and brushed them off as afternoon slump.  This goes to show how important it is to listen to your body.  If you take care of it, it will take care of you.

If you’ve experienced any of the symptoms above, perhaps you should do a trial elimination process to see if there are certain foods you need to avoid or remove altogether from your diet.  I encourage you to read the list of “Food Allergy and Intolerances” from the Food and Nutrition Information Center found here (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/allergy.pdf).  It’s really helpful and can keep you from having to deal with the negative after-effects related to food sensitivities.

•    Egg
•    Fish/Shellfish
•    Milk/Lactose
•    Peanut/Tree Nut
•    Sesame Seeds
•    Soy
•    Wheat /Gluten
•    Sulfite Sensitivity

When you feel your best - you can perform your best, both in the gym and in your everyday life!

Kaytee Rae
FitnessRx for Women Forum Member and NPC Bikini Competitor!