Food Allergies -- the good, the bad, and the really, really irritating

We got the boys' food allergy profiles back, and all I can say is that I feel certain it is my husband's fault. He's the one from whom they inherited all this stuff (no, it is on both sides of the family, I suppose). But seriously, I used to think that all the food reactivity Noah has was directly from his brain injury, which tends to be the case for many brain-injured kids. But now that I look at all of Eli's test results, I am realizing that it may have a lot more to do with a genetic predisposition to poorly digest food.

The truth of the matter is that most food allergies come from the fact that we don't digest our food well. First of all, we don't chew it well (the first very important part of digestion). Then a certain number of people lack the necessary stomach acid to break down their food. Often times doctors suggest the "purple pill" or some other PPI for reflux, which further cuts down on stomach acid, further reducing ones ability to digest their food well. In some cases, you body can actually attack this undigested food as a foreign substance.

My husband is a great example of this. He was put on the "purple pill" only to find out that while most of his symptoms were no better, he had some new symptoms that cropped up. He stopped taking it and started an acid/digestive enzyme supplement. Not only did his reflux symptoms decrease (and most of the time stop completely), but his food allergies (for which we couldn't find the cause, but would make his lips swell up badly) have never occurred since then either. (Make sure to consult your health care professional before making any changes to prescription meds!!).

Anyway, both of the boys have various food sensitivities (Eli is mostly wheat/gluten, soy, and yeast. Noah's were various but included wheat/gluten and many other things). The good thing is that we now know why Eli has all his sinus trouble but tested for very little pollen allergies. It is also great that I now have some real direction on foods I can add back to Noah's diet (which has been a real struggle if you haven't read past posts). Every new food that I have tried on which he tested negative has been a success so far!! He is on a four day rotation for the first time in years!!

The really frustrating thing is that I now have to make all of Eli's food from scratch. I did a lot of that anyway, but there were a few gluten free things I could get in the store to add to his lunch that made things a lot easier. When you throw in soy AND yeast, there is virtually nothing you can get in the store. You'd be amazed at what all has yeast in it. Plus, because of the yeast he can't have honey or cane sugar. Anyway, I am cooking most everything from scratch, and we are ALL on a four day rotation diet (it doesn't work if we don't eat the same things).

I only scratched the surface on many of the topics mentioned in this post, so if you have any questions, feel free to email me at my address listed on the home page!