I would like to share with my readers a personal experience that reinforced my respect for the power of food sensitivities, and may perhaps result in your own reflections linking specific foods with symptoms that trouble you. Before I discovered GAPS, I had been on a fruitless lengthy search for treatment of constipation that had plagued me since childhood.
I received no effective help from conventional medicine, nor from a variety of alternative health care practitioners. I had tried many approaches, but never an elimination diet. Last December I heard an interview with holistic nutritionist Erin Chamerlik on The Livin La Vida Low Carb Show. She described the success she had using an elimination diet with her clients to alleviate multiple distressing diverse symptoms. I decided that in accordance with my no stone left unturned nature, that I should venture down that avenue. I contacted Erin and began to work with her to identify what foods might be contributing to my symptoms.
For those of you who do not know what an elimination diet is, it typically consists of an avoidance of the top allergenic foods, i.e. gluten containing grains, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, corn, nightshades, shellfish, additives, sugar, alcohol, etc, for a few weeks. After that period, each class of food is carefully and systematically reintroduced one at a time. A food that has been avoided is reintroduced at both breakfast and lunch, and then for the next three days, one watches for a reaction, such as a rash, headache, joint pain or swelling, really any sort of unusual symptom.
Food sensitivities frequently may not manifest immediately. They are different than a dramatic anaphylactic reaction which occur in people who are, for example, allergic to peanuts or bee venom. In those cases a person may experience immediate life threatening tissue swelling, resulting in restriction of their airways. Symptoms related to food sensitivities may be far more subtle and delayed, so careful self observation is necessary. Despite their subtlety, symptoms related to food sensitivities can be extremely serious and debilitating.
I have maintained a low carb diet for years because of a family history of obesity, metabolic disorder and my own tendency to gain weight, when my diet is high in carbohydrates. Eggs have always been a happy staple of my diet. In the reintroduction phase of the elimination diet, I was astonished to discover that when I ate eggs, a feeling of profound agitation and dysphoria came over me which lasted all day, and I did not sleep the entire night. Insomnia is another symptom that I have had since childhood, but not like that. It was an extremely unpleasant and powerful reaction. I must have become sensitized to the eggs, because that reaction was nothing familiar to me from my habitual multiple times a week egg consumption. After that experience, I avoided eggs for the next 6 months. My constipation persisted as did my low grade insomnia, but my mood was restored.
Dr. Natasha is not a fan of elimination diets. She believes that they can be very confusing, especially for the person who seems to be reacting to everything. One day it seems like it is to this, the next to that, until the poor subject becomes hopelessly confused. Eventually she may feel unable to eat anything with a feeling of safety. For this reason, Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends the GAPS approach to heal and seal the gut lining, which according to her theory is at the heart of the matter. Gut dysbiosis results in damage to the gut lining, allowing food particles, microflora and toxins to diffuse out of the intestine affecting the body and brain, causing an inflammatory response with potential symptoms related to every organ system.
Once the gut is healed, many food sensitivities can disappear, and foods that previously caused a reaction, may be well tolerated. After having been on GAPS for three months, I decided, in accordance with this hopeful notion that I might now be able to eat eggs again, to try them. I started with a small amount, and it seemed like it was fine. I was delighted. Eggs are so great! They are versatile, nutritious and convenient. I just love them. I began to do some wonderful GAPS friendly baking, eggs for breakfast and in my soups and did not think more about it.
A couple of months later I started to feel really anxious and down. My sleep was disrupted and I had continuous hot flashes day and night. I was in a perpetual state of major autonomic dysregulation. Mornings I was exhausted from lack of rest and sweating all night. I could not figure out what was going on, as there was nothing in my life that was upsetting or different. Was this some resurgence of menopausal symptoms? Suddenly I thought of the eggs. Could it be that I was reacting to them again? I stopped eating them and within two days I felt happy again, the hot flashes were reduced by ninety percent, and my sleep improved.
So now, I am off eggs again. At the GAPS Practitioner’s Training I asked Dr. Campbell-McBride if a person followed GAPS for two years and had healed and sealed their gut, could a food allergy, such as an egg allergy persist? She said, “Absolutely” and went on to say that it might be due to a parasite or fluke that was lodged somewhere and was continuing to cause that sensitivity. I thought that was fascinating. I never considered that a food allergy could be related to a parasite.
I have not given up yet about the eggs. It may have been too early in my healing process to reintroduce them. I may be allergic to just the yolk or the white, and I have not sorted that out yet either. A skin sensitivity test may be helpful in that regard. I will let you know what happens. My father and brother were allergic to eggs. They had canker sores and peeling skin on their fingers when they ate eggs. My manifestations were all psychiatric and autonomic, anxiety, depression, insomnia and hot flashing. So, that is interesting, that the same allergy manifested completely differently. If I had gone to see a conventional psychiatrist with my symptoms, I would probably have been prescribed an anti-depressant, hypnotic, and hormone replacement therapy.
I do not agree with Dr. Natasha that elimination diets are fundamentally not useful. In certain situations, they can be a clarifying tool. In my own case, for example, it helped me figure out that I was reacting to eggs. Often when I try something on myself, I also invite my patients to try my experiment as well. Several joined me on the elimination diet with Erin, and discovered that their migratory arthritis was related to gluten, their severe stomach pains related to gluten and soy, quinoa caused a rash, that sluggishness and rash appeared when they ate gluten, and dairy caused migraines. This was all crucial information. These were not, however, people who felt safe eating only three foods. Their sensitivities were much more circumscribed. In cases where people feel safe eating only a handful of foods, it makes much more sense to start with the GAPS Introductory Diet.
GAPS also offers the possibility that one day, these food sensitivities maybe alleviated, instead of having to avoid the foods for the rest of your life. Omitting the offending food is not really addressing the underlying problem. I do think, however, that elimination diets can have a place in sorting things out, and Erin Chamerlik was very helpful and responsive. She works on-line, so geography is not an issue. I recommend her if you decide to go that route. Also, as I have mentioned in other posts, many people are not ready to make the commitment necessary for GAPS, so if initially they can figure out which food is causing a serious problem, that is already a big improvement.
The elimination diet did not help my constipation or insomnia, GAPS is helping me with that. I am hoping that one day I will be able to enjoy eggs again. It may be a dosage question. Maybe a bit could be tolerated once in awhile until further healing occurs, or maybe that’s just the way it is always going to be.
Hi Judy – I have been following Mcdougall diet for several months now and feeling great especially when I focus on the beans. I did this diet to resolve low energy etc etc etc. Yesterday I ate eggs which I used to eat a lot. Your experience describes my reaction. Thank you for posting this and sharing. I will retest to confirm it is the eggs but pretty sure when started getting sweeping hot flashes.
I was will tell you that the Mcdougall diet will clear up any constipation issues you have. I have been eating a lot of food and have not gained any weight. One person in my group has lost 25 pounds in approximately 2-3 months. Also could check out website called free the animal. They do tons of research on probiotics fiber etc.
Thank you for writing. Everyone is so unique and needs to find the diet and lifestyle and exercise that is right for them. Its great that the McDougall plan has been helpful for you. It definitely would not be right for everyone.
In my own case, I am fine with egg yolks, it the whites that cause an immune reaction. I am working with a practitioner to see if she can help me with my food sensitivities. I will check out free the animal. Thanks again.
Hi,
I am a new mother, my daughter was born 6 weeks ago and I am experiencing severe post-partum depression and am nursing, about 7 years ago I had a nervous breakdown due to a bad situation with my teen age daughters and suffered severe anxiety with non-stop tremors for about 9 months, it was at that time I began researching non-stop for ways to heal and had come across an article about how it’s not a good idea to eat food from animals that are not humanely kept because their hormones could possibly affect you, it sounded odd but I wondered if this could be true? So, now that I am breastfeeding my daughter I wonder what your thoughts are about me breastfeeding her while I am suffering with this anxiety and depression and if the hormones and extra cortisol could affect her?
This sounds very challenging for you and your family. I could imagine that the cortisol in your system could get passed to your daughter, but I am not certain about that. But if you are feeling anxious and depressed, I imagine that she would likely be affected by simply how your are feeling and the interpersonal dynamic. Breast feeding has so many benefits for both mother and child, that if it is not a terrible burden, I would make every effort to sustain it. I know its a lot of work. Many blessings to you and your family.
Hi
I am interested to know how your health is going now with GAPS especially the constipation? It is something I struggle with and I am considering trying GAPS to see if it assists me. Currently I eat similar to the Perfect Health Diet after struggling to stay on a low carb/Paleo type diet.
My digestion is not perfect, but I manage it very successfully with Natural Calm a magnesium powder that works very well for me. I eat a mostly full GAPS diet, with the exception of some fresh cheeses. I never eat grains. I need to eat very low carb as well or else I don’t feel well and gain weight rapidly.
Hi,
Finding this post a few months ago started a new part of our GAPS journey for myself and my son. I initially found it after taking him off eggs yet again on our 16 months on GAPs Intro. I was curious why so many other kids with autism seem to be unable to heal this even on GAPS. The symptoms are exactly as you describe. It was so validating to hear an adult perspective on what he experiences. His biggest issue is huge anxiety which doesn’t come on right away but builds over time. Also many of these kids with ASD on my GAPs group seem to become addicted to eggs and regress terribly when consuming them.
The part that changed everything was this ; ” it might be due to a parasite or fluke that was lodged somewhere and was continuing to cause that sensitivity.” I remembered that Dr NCM suggests addressing parasites if after a year on GAPS a patient is not progressing. A few days later our energetic practitioner found different parasites in both of our scans. We started a cleanse and after about 3 weeks, my child showed no symptoms of autism. His anxiety vanished. He’s been cleansing now for over 2 months and still suffers dieoff most of the time, but when he gets through it, he is so much better than he was before. I am not convinced it will cure his egg allergy. But it has helped his severe pollen reaction (histdelia) considerably. His liver is functioning better than it ever has before. It’s also very hard on the body cleansing even with a solid GAPS foundation. I have an at home NAET kit and this helps me with the intense digestive symptoms so much. Interestingly the vial is both for eggs and parasites. Cleansing created a very intense healing crisis for me. I believe I have had these most if not my whole life so I plan to treat us both for 6-12 months to allow our guts time to truly heal without becoming reinfected. I would love to hear your thoughts on parasite cleanses.
Hi Amy. Thanks for taking the time to write. I am really not knowledgable at all about parasite cleanses, though recently a new patient told me about a remarkable reduction of very troubling Gi symptoms after a cleanse with Mebendezole (Vermox). Prior to consulting with me this particular individual had been on the GAPS introductory diet for an extended period and had seen some significant improvement, but then had a recurrence of serious symptoms, which completely resolved after the Vermox treatment. I have never prescribed it myself and am also not familiar with NAET personally, but for her it was like magic.
I’ve experienced this as well – healing to a point where I appear to tolerate things well, and then a difficulty with items returning. With my nursing DD, I had to do a rotation diet, rather than elimination diet or GAPS, to figure out what was causing her difficulties. Then I could follow the GAPS plan to heal her and myself.
I think the rotation diet was the most frustrating – keeping a log of every scrap I ate and every symptom experienced was a lot to write down! But it gave me a clear picture.
NAET was also a helpful protocol – though I did that long before I learned about more deeply healing dietary measures. It allowed me to welcome more healing foods back into my diet.
Thanks so much for writing. I do think that for some people who do not respond to the GAPS diet as outlined by Dr NCM, it might make sense to begin with a boring regimen of broth, meats and non-starchy vegetables, and simultaneously eliminate the top allergens, like wheat, dairy, soy, peanuts, eggs, seafood, shellfish, tree nuts and seeds like sesame and then systematically reintroduce them and observe the reaction.
I would like to have more clinical experience with NAET. So far I have not worked with anyone who has been treated successfully with it.
Hi Judy! Another avenue to explore to resolve intolerances might be BioSet or NAET treatments coupled with an intensive gut healing supplement protocol. I used a combo of N-Acetyl Glucosamine, Seacure (hydrolyzed whitefish protein) and the L-Reuteri strain of probiotic for a couple of months.
When I was initially tested via electrodermal screening, I had quite a few food sensitivities, indicating major leaky gut, and when I was retested 6 months later, only one sensitivity remained. I like to do a gut healing protocol once a year now, since there are so many things that compromise the gut lining (for me, I think my tendency toward adrenal fatigue is my Achilles’ heel.)
Hi Erin.
Thanks for writing. I liked the post on your site about adrenal fatigue. I am not familiar with NAET and Bioset. I will need to investigate. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.
Hi you all, my 13 year old and I have celiac and are allergic to the top 5 allergens: gluten, dairy, corn, soy, peanuts. We feel our best when we is grain free as well.
When my daughter eats eggs it badly disrupts her mentally, dibilitating even. I researched hens eggs and discovered that an egg is basically reconfigured from the food the hens eat (meaning, same stuff, just in a different form now).
Hens are fed CORN, sometimes MOLDY CORN (which contains corn molds that mimic estrogen, and are VERY CARCINOGENIC = xenoestrogens, just like plastic ). Out of curiosity, Google xenoestrogens and see if you have any of the symptoms of xenoestrogen ingestion (like breast cancer).
In the wild, hens eat like ducks: bugs and green stuff.
I am looking for a farmer in our area that feeds only green
stuff to their hens, and we will try these eggs and see what
happens. I did make the mistake of interpreting “vegetarian
fed” eggs to mean greens only, and learned the hard way that
many people deem corn a vegtable instead of a grain!
(And FYI, when American corn is more moldy than the government allows, farmers ship it to Mexico whose poor population eats it and is experiencing record birth defects known to be caused by eating moldy corn.)
I think McBride may be incorrect about food elimination techniques. If there is poison in food, like the mold mentioned above, the body has a poison reaction, which is not the same as an allergy. We would think it was irrational to think that we could gradually build up a tolerance to a poison, quite the opposite, the more we ate, the less well we would become.
Hi Leslie,
Such an interesting comment. Thank you for taking the time to write it. I eat eggs from pastured chickens, and I still have a reaction that is best characterized by tension and agitation and dysphoria, as well as sleep disruption. One of my readers was kind enough to send me duck eggs to try, which apparently have a different protein structure than chicken eggs, and I still had the same reaction. Maybe if one has eggs from birds that have been pastured, that with healing of the gut, eventually they would be tolerated. and it would not be getting used to a poison, as you described.
Dr Judy, you have written what I am currently going through to a T. Did you find solution to your digestive issues? Any information is greatly appreciated.
I wrote this post very long ago and have been working on my health all the time since then. The biggest difference for me in terms of food tolerance was after I started taking binders like charcoal and clay to treat mold toxicity. I can now tolerate eggs without difficulty. I avoid gluten, dairy, cassava flour and MSG, all of which makes me depressed and anxious and disrupts my sleep, but other wise I have a wider range than ever before. Not sure about cashews. But keep working on supporting your immune system. That is the key.
Thank you so much for your reply. How do I build my immunity, any pointers will be very helpful. Currently I am not able to tolerate many foods. How do I find the root cause? Last year I even went to a psychiatrist, before I could figure out it was gluten that is causing my anxiety.
I recommend that you seek a practitioner who looks for root causes. You could look on the Get Help page of the website for the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness ISEAI and put in your zip code or country and see if there is a practitioner who is local who could help. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=international+society+for+environmentally+acquired+illness&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
The egg allergy is not an allergy. The eggs that even small farmers sell which are “pasture raised” are still fed on toxic grains these birds produce a sorts of chemicals that go into the eggs they produce. None and I repeat none of these eggs are in any way remotely close to natural eggs. Chickens eat bugs and vegetation. That is why you are reacting to these toxic eggs every time you eat one of these eggs your system is going wtf is this and then you freak out. If you where or had access to natural eggs there would be zero reaction! And would only do good for you. I have exactly the same symptoms you discribe so I have to avoid eggs. Cos I don’t have access to natural eggs. And the stuff about parasites is absolutely nonsense eat animal foods as nature intended you will have no “reactions allergys”
Hi Judy,
I’ve just finished my first year on GAPS. I found during Intro that eggs were responsible for both digestive and emotional woes and kept them out for about 9 months. A few months ago I began cooking with them, and I was fine, so more recently I began eating them on their own. I still can’t seem to eat them raw, as suggested. Duck eggs were easier at the beginning, but chicken eggs seem okay as well. I, too, am looking to make sure there are no long term reactions- it’s interesting to me that you did well for a while and then not.
I’m close to you and you can often get duck eggs, which say they are local, at Savenors in Cambridge. They have quail eggs, as well. And other goodies GAPS people might like- duck and goose fat, odd meats, sausage casings, and a GAPS legal foie gras.
Your blog is wonderful and I’m so glad you’ve done the training- I thought about it (I’m an acupuncturist) and the timing wasn’t good. I love that you can be a local resource. Thanks. Nancy
HI Nancy, Thanks so much for your kind interesting and very useful message. Its nice to hear from someone local. I did not know that about Savenor’s and will definitely check it out. A very generous reader who appreciated the blog sent me some duck eggs from a farm near Pittsburgh, and I have been eating them without adverse reaction. Its really interesting what you said about the eggs. When I had the bad reactionI was also eating them both raw and cooked, and also quite a bit of them. It may be in part dosage related. I wonder if the raw/cooked distinction would make a difference. Anyhow, I think I will stay away from them for awhile. I have quite a bit more healing to do in terms of my digestion. I am not out of the woods yet. I hope our paths will cross sometime soon.
Hi Jim. I do not know that much about parasites, but its definitely something that I intend to learn more about. They fascinate me and I imagine have so much to do with health and illness. I have 2 books that are sitting on my night table waiting for me to read them, one is Parasite Rex and the other is called What’s Eating You. They both look good. I resonate with the idea of linking the cycle of the moon with the treatment. I think much too little attention is paid to the mysterious influence of these sorts of factors. I appreciate you telling me about this.
Cool Blog. Our autism world treats parasites with humaworm.com or NOW’s black walnut complex. There are plenty of parasite cleanses that might help. Just remember the 30 day parasite cycle (take the supplement for a minimum of 30 days) and start 4 or 5 days before the full moon. You’ll experience some die off symptoms if parasites are a problem. Something to consider….
Jim
Dr. Tsafrir,
Have you tried duck eggs? You may not react to duck eggs as you do chicken eggs. We raise both chickens and ducks here in Western PA. I prefer duck eggs to chicken eggs and from an animal husbandry standpoint I prefer the duck as well. Ducks are excellent free-rangers during the day and always come home in the evening.
If you don’t react to duck eggs, consider raising a small flock. I find them far more entertaining than chickens and they are more resistant to predation than chickens. I would be happy to provide more information if you become interested in raising ducks.
Thank you for your blog!
Best regards,
Philip Thackray
Phillip, thank you for writing to me about the duck eggs. Yes, I heard recently just what you wrote, namely that the protein in duck eggs is entirely different than those in chicken eggs, and maybe well tolerated by those with sensitivity to chicken eggs. I have made a preliminary effort to discover a local source in eastern Massachusetts without luck. The thought of raising a flock is an interesting one! I am originally a native of Pittsburgh, so it gave me pleasure to get a message from Western PA.
I am currently doing Intro GAPS with my son. When it came time to introduce the egg yolk my stomach was so angry at me, doing flip-flops. I waited again and tried the yolk again and it was much less severe. I am going to try again in a couple weeks. Also I love your entry about the GAPS training. I am aspiring to become a nutrition therapist and hoping to include a GAPS training as well. I absolutely love this work and it is so needed.
I wish you all the best with your training. Its great that you were able to better tolerate the eggs over time.
Hi Judy,
I struggled with an egg allergy for about 4 years. I have followed the Weston A. Price diet in modified form, and gradually the allergy has receded. Recently I’ve been able to eat eggs once a week with no problem. I am an egg lover so this makes me very happy!
I love your blog.
Rebecca
Thanks, Rebecca. That is a hopeful thought that one day I may be able to eat them again. Its a hardship to have to omit them from my diet. Its very limiting. I just read that some people who cannot tolerate chicken eggs do not have an adverse reaction to duck eggs, as the proteins are entirely different. I am in the process of seeing if I can find a local source. I am really curious to try them. They are supposedly delicious and terrific for baking as well.