Top Allergenic Foods
Hope everyone survived Halloween! We wanted to focus this month on some of the top foods people are allergic to and why.
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Dairy – Contrary to popular belief, we do not absorb the calcium from dairy very well. Due to its acidity, our bodies must use its own supply of calcium and magnesium to metabolize dairy. It is over consumed and pasteurization destroys most of the nutrients. Did you know that probiotics such as acidophilus cannot survive in pasteurized dairy? Raw dairy on the other hand would be much better for you.
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Soy – Western society has abused any potential benefits from soy. Traditional Asian cultures consume soy in moderation and when consumed, it has been in fermented form. Now it’s been shown to have negative effects on fertility, hormones, thyroid function and digestion. It’s also been linked to contributing to certain cancers. It also has a connection to the increase in peanut allergies. Read ‘The Whole Soy Story’ by Kaayla Daniel for more info.
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Wheat – Over the years, wheat has been bred over to contain more gluten (6-12 more sets of chromosomes than the original 2-4). Add to this the problem of over consumption, genetic modification and the fact that whole wheat is NOT a whole grain! Refer to last month’s article on ‘gluten’ for more information.
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Sugar – in case you haven’t noticed, it’s also in everything we consume. In fact 1 teaspoon will turn off our immune system for up to 6 hours. Not good when you’re trying to fight off an infection or a serious illness such as cancer. Sugar free substitutes such as Splenda, sucralose or aspartame are just as bad, contributing to weight problems and diabetes. If you find them in your ingredient list, put it back on the shelf.
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Peanuts – Peanuts are actually legumes and not nuts. Peanuts contain aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are produced by various strains of fungi and are some of the most toxic and carcinogenic substances around. Did we mention that they are also genetically modified? Did you know that peanut oil is in some vaccines? Read ‘The Peanut Allergy Epidemic’ by Heather Fraser.
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Corn – First of all, corn is NOT a vegetable, it’s a grain. Corn is also high in aflatoxins (as are many grains), genetically modified, and over consumed. It is often in animal feed, an ingredient in Fructose, high fructose corn syrup, baking powder, mannitol, xylitol, and in almost everything we eat. There must be a reason why it goes out the same way it went in!
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Eggs – when it comes to eggs, we have to consider what the chickens have been fed and what they have been injected with. Eggs are also a common ingredient in several vaccines.
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Fish, Shellfish – The major allergens in fish are flesh proteins called parvalbumins. Sometimes fish poisoning is confused with a fish allergy as the symptoms may be similar.
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Tree nuts – Often people with an allergy to one will have an allergy to another. Coconut on the other hand is not a nut and reactions to coconut are extremely rare. FYI, Nutmeg and Water Chestnuts are not nuts.
So as you can see, everything we consume is a problem. What is left for us to eat? Actually what’s left is what we should have been eating all along – fruit and plenty of vegetables!
Upcoming Events:
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Tuesdays until Nov 15th –Cancer Prevention Cooking Class – This is turning out to be a very popular program. We’ll be holding another in January; maximum 10 participants Book Now!
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Wednesday November 16th – RJ Millar founder and formulator of Auum Canada will be talking about Omegas(essential fats), which forms are better and why – a very important topic!