Heal Your Gut, Heal Your Allergies

Allergy symptoms frequently begin with poor digestive function. When a person has indigestion, heartburn, bloating, pain, diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel disorders, etc., their immune system is compromised and the body becomes more sensitive. It overreacts to things it shouldn’t, including pollen, grass, and other triggers associated with spring.

What causes allergy symptoms?

Several factors contribute to the digestive problems that give rise to allergy symptoms, including:

• Dysbiosis: A very common scenario, bad bacteria in the gut overwhelms beneficial bacteria. Processed foods, a diet lacking in cultured and fermented foods, and antibiotic use all contribute to dysbiosis.

• Gluten and other food intolerances: Eating foods one may be sensitive or allergic to can constantly provoke the immune system and damage the lining of the intestines.

• Low stomach acid: Low stomach acid often underlies heartburn and acid reflux. When stomach acid is low, undigested food backwashes into the esophagus (heartburn), bacteria overtake the stomach, improperly digested food degrades the intestinal lining, and bacteria and other pathogens are able enter the intestines. Stomach acid is also necessary to trigger the gallbladder to release bile and the pancreas to release enzymes, two important processes for digestion.

• Poor liver detoxification: Gut damage causes chronic inflammation, which keeps the immune system on red alert and overburdens the liver. As a result, the liver can’t adequately detoxify pathogens that escaped through the damaged intestinal lining into the bloodstream, another factor that triggers the immune system and leads to allergies.

Repairing gut health varies from person to person depending on his or her needs. The starting point is always an anti-inflammatory diet that removes food intolerances and calms inflammation, helping to restore balance to an overactive immune system.

• Probiotics and fermented foods improve digestion, support detoxification and tame an overstimulated immune system. They can also help repair the gut and hence the immune system.

• Digestive Enzymes - Many of us do not have sufficient digestive enzymes to help break down the foods we eat and therefore causing digestive distress. Consuming a digestive enzyme with each meal helps your digestive system to break down the fats, proteins and carbohydrates, enhancing your immune system.

• Chewing mechanically breaks down very large food molecules into smaller particles. Food is then exposed to saliva that contains enzymes to aid in digestion.

Your immune system resides in the gut, and when digestive problems set in, immune problems are sure to follow.

By Michelle Pascal, Registered Holistic Nutritionist