Everything in moderation...

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

...is typically not the best way to go!

The saying "everything in moderation" is something I hear from people that do not want to make the commitment to what is important to address it their life. This saying can go right along another "ignorance is bliss" when the reality is that ignorance can kill you.

Let's look at this deeper today.

I "get" what people are meaning when they say everything in moderation but this often leads us to significant health issues. Take food sensitivity as an example. If I test a client and find that they are gluten, dairy and corn sensitive, this cannot be consumed in moderation. If the goal is optimal health and happiness, these foods would have to be eliminated from their diet.

This is essential because an intolerant food will create inflammation, digestive issues, adrenal imbalance and weakened immune system states. Looking at this even further we can all understand that all you need to do is consume a food that you are sensitive to only once per month to continue the inflammatory response, which in turn creates issues with digestion, immunity and adrenal function. Yes, you did hear me correctly, only once per month. This is why I cringe when I hear people say, "everything in moderation."

So how important is it to understand your food sensitivities? HUGELY important!

Almost all of my clients will test their gluten sensitivity cross reactive foods. These are foods that are similar in protein structure to gluten, so if you have a gluten sensitivity and have been eating gluten long term (most of us), your immune system starts to attack the cross reactive foods also. Yikes!

I am likely the best person to hear this from not only because I do this with my clients all the time, but more importantly because personally, I am the cross reactive poster boy. I actually have 17 or the potential 27 different cross reactive sensitivities. Dairy, corn, rice, coffee, yeast, eggs and almost every non-gluten grain also, just to name a few.

When people get this news, it is often perceived as bad news but I always share that this is simply a perception. While others may feel that food sensitivities are a restriction, I say eating food that you are sensitive to is actually restricting your right to optimal health and happiness. It is all how you look at it.

So what approach do you take to addressing your food sensitivities? First off, test them. As mentioned earlier I always recommend a cross reactive food testing and I am currently working with another company to perhaps take this even a step further. If this is a desire of yours feel free to contact my office directly at (949)954-6226. Now once you recognize your food sensitivities, it is sooooo important to eliminate these from your diet. I actually use and analogy in my own mind comparing my food sensitivities to a rock. If I see a rock on the ground there is not a thought in my mind that this is a viable food choice. If I see a food or food ingredient that I am sensitive to, this is a rock to me. That simple!

One more note to make is that I most often will recommend being off your sensitive foods for 12 months while working on a gut restorative program. It takes approximately 12 to 18 months to completely turn over you gut on a cellular level, so removing these foods while restoring your gut is the best option to potentially getting some of these foods back in your diet.

You cannot do this though if you do not have these foods defined.

Another factor to consider is tied into your overall meal plan. Just another area where everything in moderation can create some issues. It’s important to understand that we are all bio-chemically different and while one person may thrive on a particular diet; this same diet may be detrimental to another. This is tied into our genetics as well as any existing functional challenges. This is something that I refer to as your Nutritional ID. Understand that if you are eating foods in moderation that imbalance your nervous system or oxidation everything in moderation will not work out well for you. To learn more about Nutritional ID and to also assess your own personal Nutritional ID at no cost to you, follow this link.

So in the end, please be sure to question the belief that "everything in moderation" is OK for us. Perhaps it is if you only want to feel "OK", but I like to believe that followers of Depke Wellness desire to live into optimal health and happiness and rock their lives. I know this is you!

Enjoy rocking your life!