Dynamic Choices » Family Wellness

I Removed A Food From My Diet And Now I Feel Worse

 

One of my favourite resources and one that I recommend to all my new clients is the magazine and website of Gluten Free and More.  They offer a wealth of information and loads of great, family friendly recipes that work in the lives of real parents.  If you join their website at https://www.glutenfreeandmore.com/you will be emailed recipes regularly that are always delicious and easy.

Today I was emailed an article from Gluten Free and More that talks about the withdrawal symptoms experienced by a woman when she removed gluten from her diet.  This is a very important concept and one that I want to emphasize.  One of the ways that I know that my clients have removed the correct underlying trigger food is by the development of some type of withdrawal symptoms.   As the article mentions, incompletely digested gluten and dairy based foods create by-products that are in the opiate family.  This is the family of drugs such as heroin and morphine and thus they create an intense craving for the food and symptoms of withdrawal when they are removed.     The link to read the entire article is http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/4_8/giving_up_gluten-2024-1.html?ET=livingwithout:p113877:6963a:&st=pmail&s=p_tuesdaytip030513&t=B_TL_P

This principle of withdrawal also applies, however, to other foods.  When any food that is the major, underlying cause of a symptom is removed, these symptoms often temporarily worsen.  If the food created a runny nose, then the person’s nose may run excessively for a few days before it begins to improve.  The withdrawal symptoms are always an exaggeration of the symptom being created by the food.  They usually last about 3 to 4 days and can be improved with an age appropriate dose of Gravol. If people are unaware of this phenomenon, they often stop the diet as they believe they are actually getting worse.

It is also important to note that once you have been off an offending food for a period of weeks or even days, consumption of the food will often lead to an exaggerated response and an increase in symptoms.  This is often one of the things that helps people stay committed and motivated to the diet as eating the food again can be very unpleasant.

So, if you remove a food from your family’s diet, don’t be surprised if their symptoms worsen temporarily.  It passes in a few days and is a sign you are on the right track.  Persevere and you will find improved health on the other side!