Do I have a Food Sensitivity? Is it an issue and how to test.

Since I see a lot of digestive issues in my practice I find that food sensitivities are something worth exploring in many. They are quite common and can lead to a variety of different health concerns from digestive complaints, to skin issues such as eczema or psoriasis, to fatigue and joint pain. They are different from severe food allergies, such as an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts that occurs immediately, as they are a more delayed reaction. Food sensitivity symptoms can take up to 72 hours to appear after eating, so a low-grade food sensitivity can be hard to spot. The more severe a sensitivity the quicker and/or more severe you notice the symptom.

What causes food sensitivities?

When we eat foods we are sensitive to it causes the digestive track lining to become inflamed and small “breaks” in the lining occur allowing partially digested food particles to “leak” into your bloodstream, where your immune system sees them as invaders. Your body then produces antibodies (IgG antibodies) which circulate and attach to the food particle. When your body cannot eliminate the antigen-antibody complexes quickly, your immune system mounts a larger response leading to symptoms of chronic inflammation. The more of this food you eat, a higher level of inflammation can occur. So not only can you suffer from local digestive symptoms, it can then cause systemic inflammation.

Damage to the intestinal lining (aka leaky gut) can be caused by several things other than a main food sensitivity, such as gluten. This could be medications including PPIs, antibiotics which disrupt the normal flora in the intestine, overgrowth of other bacteria such as yeast or Candida, other invading bacteria, and high stress causing lower levels of digestive enzymes and blood circulation to the gut.

How do you test for food sensitivities?

The gold standard for food sensitivity testing is an elimination diet. Meaning, you eliminate all the common foods sensitivities such as gluten, eggs, dairy, sugar etc, for 3-4 weeks then reintroduce these foods back in one at a time to investigate what, if any, reaction you have to that individual food. It may be different for different foods, for example, cramping and diarrhea from dairy and bloating and fatigue from gluten.

Another way to test food sensitivities that I do often in my practice is a blood IgG test, testing 96 common food sensitivities with a simple blood prick test. The test is measuring the amount of IgG antigen-antibody complexes produced when your blood is exposed to that food. The higher the level, the worse the sensitivity. I have seen big improvements in patients health when they identify and eliminate their food sensitivities.

Do you have to eliminate foods forever?

Now my goal is never to limit someones diet even more longterm, so I interpret a test result a couple ways.

There may be 1-5 foods that are high on the list and these are generally the true sensitivities, ie - contribute to the leaky gut picture. These foods would be eliminated either longterm or for several months while we heal the gut and address any other contributing factors.

If many foods sensitivities come up, some in moderate levels, it proves there is a leaky gut and systematic inflammation. I advise to limit these foods for the time being and stress the importance of gut healing using probiotics and soothing and healing herbs for the gut. We also may need to explore stress levels, and other systemic bacterial overgrowth contributing to inflammation.

Once we complete a gut healing protocol it is easier to introduce certain foods back into your diet.

Do you have symptoms of a food sensitivity?

If you are struggling with digestive concerns, skin issues, fatigue, joint pain, depression even, and haven’t explored triggers from your diet, I would suggest reaching out to an ND like myself to explore this possibility. As I mentioned above, there may be more to the story that just a food trigger but it commonly has a component in someone health concerns.

Note - If you are noticing digestive concerns triggered by higher fibre foods or the lowFODMAP diet has been suggested and is helpful to you, that may be a different issue all together that we can definitely explore as well.

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

How To Boost your Body’s Immune System

The change of season is upon us but with that brings cold and flu season. Of course we are all a little more worried about getting the sniffles this year. Luckily there are many great herbs and vitamins that boost our immune system so we are better prepared to fight an infection that comes our way. Keep reading for some of my favourite solutions.

Immune Modulators vs Immune Stimulants - What’s the difference?

Both immune modulators and immune stimulants are important this time of year. Immune stimulants are herbs and vitamins that activate the immune systems response to fight something right then. Herbs such as echinacea and garlic are examples. Immune modulators are herbs and vitamins that boost the immune system by stimulating white blood cells to enhance the body's response to a stimulus that may come its way. Primed and ready let's say. Herbs and foods such as astragalus and medicinal mushrooms, as well as vitamin C, zinc, and vitamin D are all examples. Include these in your diet or as a supplement.

My Cold & Flu Go To’s:

• Myers IVs - This is probably one of the best times to get a boost. High in vitamin C and B vitamins with added zinc for immune support. A 30 minute visit for a big boost.

• Higher dose vitamins - We want to increase vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin A and zinc especially when we are coming down with something. Some of my go-to supplements are a combo of many of these.

• Immune herbs - Herbs such as echinacea, astragalus, andographis or elderberry for kids are all great immune supporting herbs. They can be found in a number of different immune supplements/tinctures/teas/syrups.

• Immune Injection - Minimally invasion, safe for everyone, provides immune supportive herbs. Into the glut it goes! This is a quick in house treatment.

• Probiotics such as The Cultured Coconut Kefir - I love this local product as it provides trillions of probiotics to help our gut health and ultimately our immune system. Prefer a capsule? There are great options available at the clinic.

• Thieves oil - One of my favourite essential oil blends to diffuse in my room with antibacterial and soothing herbs. You will probably smell this in my office this time of year. :)

• A. Vogel Echinaforce Sore Throat Spray - I love this product for any sore throat! You can find it at Superstore, health food stores or even Bulk Barn. So soothing and effective!

• Immune Boosting Smoothie - This is a go-to in our house all year round to provide lots of vitamin C. Recipe here!

• Medicinal Mushrooms - This could be a mushroom blend powder mixed in coffee, a liquid blend like THIS, or a homemade mushroom soup or “immune boosting soup” like THIS one, if you tend to get sick often. Some examples of medicinal mushrooms are reishi and ligustrum. Astagalus herb pairs very well with mushrooms.

• Eucalyptus Steam Inhalation - Add a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil in a bowl of boiling water, place a towel over your head and the bowl and breathe in the steam for a few minutes. This acts as a wonderful decongestant.

• Wet Sock Treatment - Old remedy that really works to drain congestion from your head. Look it up!

• Sleep & Rest- Always the best option! The quicker we allow ourselves to rest, the sooner we feel better.

What are your favourite ways to fight a cold? Let me know in the comments below!

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

Leaky Gut - Yes there could be "holes" in your gut!

As a Naturopathic Doctor who sees a lot of gut issues, I get questioned often by people who have heard the term leaky gut, wondering what it is and if it could be the cause of their health issues. This is something I do see often in practice and I find very important to fix in order to treat a number of different issues, such as IBS, eczema, depression and most autoimmune disorders.

What is leaky gut?

Your gut is actually quite fragile as the lining of your intestines is made up of only 1 layer of cells, called enterocytes, lying between your gut lumen and the blood vessels. A border of microvilli on top increases the surface area to aid in absorption of nutrients, water and electrolytes. The intestinal lining also regulates the trafficking of environmental antigens (1) . These enterocytes are held together by tight junctions, like water-way locks, preventing the cells to come apart when inappropriate. Remember the childhood game red-rover? This is the game your gut is always playing. However, damage to the gut lining from inflammation and stress, releases a protein called zonulin which weakens these tight junctions making the lining more permeable (2) and ultimately creating small gaps between the enterocytes that cannot close up. Food particles, or antigens get absorbed between the cells now instead of through the cells, activating an inflammatory and/or immune response in the gut and blood stream.

What health issues can this cause:

• Local inflammation - IBS symptoms such as bloating, cramping, diarrhea, constipation

• Autoimmune conditions (1) - Hashimotos thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus and IBD, MS

• Systemic conditions - eczema, psoriasis, acne, joint pain, headaches, seasonal allergies

• Mental/emotional issues - depression and anxiety, chronic fatigue

What causes leaky gut:

• Gluten - this was the first thing found to increase zonulin levels

• Bacteria and infections - or bacterial endotoxins also found to increase zonulin levels

• Stress - this decreases stomach acid and digestive enzymes leaving larger particles of food to descend into the intestines which irritate the gut lining

• Medications such as proton pump inhibitors, antibiotics and NSAIDs

• Simple sugars and food additives

How to fix leaky gut:

If you haven’t read my blog post about the 4Rs in gut health, I’d lead you there to shed a little more light on my whole gut healing protocol. Ultimately we need to reestablish the zonulin-dependent intestinal barrier function to close up those gaps between the cells. There are a few favourites of mine that been shown to be very effective at REPAIRING the gut, but don’t forget to REMOVE, REPLACE and REINOCULATE as well.

• L-glutamine - this is my go-to for any gut issues, from mild to major. Always given in powder form to ensure a high enough dose.

• Collagen - helps to support and strengthen the gut lining like glutamine. I love the brand Sproos that I carry in my practice.

• Zinc carnosine - studied to heal the gut, including the stomach lining after H.pylori or an ulcer or after NSAID use

• Mucilaginous herbs - marshmallow, aloe vera, DGL, slippery elm

If you struggle with any of the conditions listed above do not hesitate to reach out to discuss the best treatment options for you! Heal your gut to heal your body and start feeling yourself again.

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

References:

1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384703/

2 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21248165

Stop Sneezing and Start Breathing! A Guide to Spring Allergies

Well the sun is finally starting to come out along with warmer temperatures (please please stay!!), but that doesn’t mean all happy times for those who suffer from spring allergies. Pollens and other allergens are starting to come out and cause sneezing, itching and runny noses. Naturopathic medicine can be very helpful in battling these spring allergies, so you don’t have to rely on over-the-counter, or even prescribed, anti-histamines forever! 

I know what it is like, I have been there. When I was younger I would get chronic hives if I didn’t take Reactine daily. I also could barely function without Reactine, eye drops AND Flonase in the morning one summer when at camp, especially when there was fresh cut grass! Fast forward to a year or so later with no allergies at all, after seeing an ND myself and working through some of the suggestions below. 

3 Main reasons for chronic allergies:

• Poor adrenal function - The function of your adrenal glands are very much connected to your immune system. I see it time and time again, that if someone is drained due to chronic stress they start to have more sensitivities, allergies or just get sick more often. 

• Poor liver detoxification - Think of your body as a bucket. If there is too much toxicity going into the body but poor detoxification from the liver, that bucket is going to overflow and symptoms such as allergies start to occur. We need to empty the bucket somewhat by aiding in liver function. 

• Poor digestion - The digestive system is a main organ of elimination. It also makes up about 70% of our immune system. When we are eating food we are sensitive to, too much sugar or processed foods we damage the gut and its proper function. The digestive system is also affected by such things as chronic stress and chronic use of antibiotics. More damage to the gut leads to a poor immune system and poor elimination. It is that simple. 

Solutions for your allergies:

1. Clean up your diet - If you suffer from spring allergies every year I would advise you to start cleaning up your diet at least 3-4 weeks before allergens start to affect you. This means decreasing the amount of sugar you eat, decrease processed foods and takeout and figure out other food sensitives you may have to avoid for now. Just that will strengthen your immune system and proper detox. Your body can focus on controlling inflammation elsewhere instead of your gut. Add heathy foods such as fresh veggies, fruit and even a little local honey will benefit your digestive system, liver and immune system. 

• Add a probiotic - This is especially important if you suffer from digestive concerns or you have had multiple rounds of antibiotics throughout your life. We want to repopulate the gut with those good bugs to support the immune system. Not all probiotics are created equal though so please come see me if you are unsure what to take. Start with one with at least 11 billion units, try coconut kefir or include fermented foods into your diet. 

• Introduce Urtica diocia (Nettle leaf) - This mineral rich herb acts to revitalize the liver as well as inhibits masts cells (an important part of your immune system) from releasing allergens. This makes it very helpful for spring allergies. It can be taken as a tea or added to a supplement. 

• Quercetin - This is a plant flavonoid found in foods such as apples, kale and onions, which was a key player in eliminating my allergies. It has a low bioavailability in food so a good quality supplement is necessary to do the trick. Quercetin helps to down-regulate histamine release from mast cells, instead of completely blocking it like over-the-counter anti-histamines do. That means you may need higher doses at first but will not have to take it long term, unlike Reactine or Aerius. 

• Take vitamin C - Not only is vitamin C a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, it helps support the adrenal glands as well. The can be given in a Myers IV in clinic or in a buffered supplement form.

With these few suggestions you can minimize or even completely resolve your chronic sneezing and itching! Depending on the severity of a patients allergies, I tend to give a combo of these suggestions. If your allergies are chronic and severe you may need a more comprehensive liver detox program. This is something I can guide you through at the clinic. 

In health & happiness, 

Dr. Karen