People are frequently diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, or a psychiatric disorder, such as anxiety or depression, typically because physicians are unable to find another cause for their symptoms. Solution: Eat small frequent meals, don’t skip meals, cut back on simple sugars and carbs, and eat a balanced diet with quality protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats (olive oil, coconut oil, avocados). A five-hour glucose tolerance test with insulin levels can also help determine if you have reactive hypoglycemia. Solution: Keep a food diary and write down everything you eat. Notice patterns of how certain foods affect you. Certain foods and additives are known migraine triggers (caffeine, chocolate, MSG, aged cheeses, for example). Sending off a food allergy profile can be helpful in determining which foods may adversely be affecting you1. Solution: Keep a food diary, do an elimination diet, and see your health care provider and/or a gastroenterologist to get tested for these disorders. Occasionally a CDSA (comprehensive digestive stool analysis) through a laboratory specializing in nutritional medicine can help identify the cause of GI problems2. Solution: Do a food allergy/sensitivity profile, try off grains such as wheat, and do a blood test for mineral deficiencies, including magnesium, with a serum and red blood cell (RBC) magnesium level. Often, getting off sensitive foods and increasing magnesium in the diet (500 mg to 1000 mg/day) will help with chronic constipation. Solution: Do a food allergy/sensitivity test and stool analysis (CDSA test) to look for increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut), do an elimination diet and get tested for nutritional deficiencies, including zinc. (Zinc deficiency may increase inflammation in the body.) A trial off of nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers) may also be effective in a small proportion of individuals.Food is medicine, but eating the wrong types of foods along with nutritional deficiencies can make you sick. If you’re still unsure, it never hurts to see your health care provider and get tested for food allergies. The test may be what you need to finally receive answers for unexplained symptoms and chronic health problems. Richard has presented at numerous local, national, and international scientific conferences on Lyme Disease, and has published on the role of co-infections and toxins in Lyme Borreliosis. He was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award by theTurn the Corner Foundation for his treatment of Lyme Disease, and has dedicated his life to helping those stricken with this devastating illness. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease, released through St Martin’s press.
