Tag: immune system

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The Ultimate Guide to Food Sensitivity Tests: Everything You Need to Know

Food Intolerance testing from Canada is evident as the ultimate food sensitivity test

Food sensitivities have garnered increasing attention in recent years as more individuals recognize the impact of various foods on their bodies. Unlike food allergies, which can be life-threatening, food sensitivities primarily affect the digestive system and are not typically life-threatening. If you suspect you have food sensitivity, it’s likely you experience discomfort after consuming the trigger food. Ultimate food sensitivity tests are good indicators of what may or may not be impacting your diet. 

What are Food Sensitivities?

Food sensitivities, also known as food intolerances, refer to adverse reactions when the body struggles to digest certain foods. Common culprits include gluten, lactose, fructose, and food additives. The severity of symptoms can vary widely, making it challenging to compare experiences with others.

Symptoms of food sensitivities encompass a range of issues such as headaches, bloating, abdominal pain, acne, constipation, diarrhea, and other digestive problems. If these are affecting you, the right diet can help you regain control of your lifestyle. 

Differentiating Allergies from Sensitivities

In the United States, many individuals suffer from food allergies, which can elicit severe and potentially life-threatening immune responses, often triggered by specific food proteins like peanuts. In contrast, food sensitivities generally cause a less severe reaction, stemming from the digestive system’s inability to tolerate certain foods.

How to Identify a Food Sensitivity

If you suspect food sensitivity, taking proactive steps to identify the trigger food is essential. Here are some methods you can employ:

  • Elimination Diet: Begin by eliminating suspected foods for up to two weeks. Gradually reintroduce these foods to assess your body’s tolerance levels and identify adverse reactions.
  • Food Diary: Keeping a detailed food diary can be immensely helpful. Record everything you eat and drink, along with how you feel afterward. This can help you detect patterns between your eating habits and symptoms.
  • Food Sensitivity Test: Consider undergoing a food sensitivity test accessible through online ordering. After providing a sample to the testing company, they analyze it against various items and provide a comprehensive report detailing any sensitive reactions you may have had.

Recommendations and Conclusion

When considering food sensitivity tests, thorough research is vital to make an informed decision. Starting with an elimination diet can provide valuable insights into potential trigger foods. If you opt for a test, it’s essential to exercise caution and seek advice from a healthcare professional.

Maintaining a well-balanced diet and lifestyle is crucial for overall health. Take proactive steps to understand and manage your food sensitivities, ensuring your journey is guided by a commitment to your well-being and pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.

Order the ultimate food sensitivity test

Explore our range of ultimate food sensitivity tests available on our website. Embrace the path to better health and wellbeing.

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Can Exercise Boost The Immune System?

Exercise

The benefits of exercise are widely known and is recommended by health professionals to keep us healthy. The cardiovascular system benefits most as the increase in heart rate makes the heart and circulatory system work, therefore making it stronger and more stabilised. But can it directly affect the immune system in keeping those germs at bay and boosting our immunity?

Well, it seems it can! Regular exercise can improve the immune system by increasing the body’s production of antibodies and T cells. This makes them travel faster, improving the body’s immune and metabolic systems. Increasing the heart rate increases the breathing rate aiding the flushing out of bacteria from the lungs and airways, in turn, decreasing the chances of catching colds and viruses.

In fact, a recent study has shown the impact of regular exercise on Upper Respiratory Tract Infections. A group of people were monitored and there was a significant reduction in severity of symptoms for those who were active 5 or more days a week. These same subjects were seen to be 50% less likely to contract an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection than those who were sedentary.

Exercise is also known to increase body temperature, acting almost in the same way the body does when you have a virus when it gives you a fever, killing pathogens and preventing the growth of bacteria. Sweating is good for you in this instance and brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘feel the burn’.

There is also a link between physical and mental health. Exercise can help reduce stress levels and lower stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. The release of feel-good endorphins can be great for the mind and keep you motivated during exercise.

So essentially, moderate exercise is almost always advantageous to keeping yourself healthy and germ free, so go for that walk, do that dance and keep that heart pumping.

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Elderberry for immunity 

Elderberry

Elderberries and their flower are packed with antioxidants, in fact, in folk medicine Elderberry is considered to be the most healing of all plants. Though there are over 30 types of elderflower, the Sambucus Nigra variation found in Europe is most closely tied to healing and boosting the immune system. 

Reducing inflammation and alleviating stress are two of Elderberry and Elderflower’s more popular qualities and has also been used as treatment for a number of ailments including respiratory infections. As we all know by now, Covid 19 affects the upper respiratory tract and can exacerbate existing respiratory conditions, resulting in some case in Pneumonia. Therefore, protection of this system is crucial to protect us at this time.  

Introducing Elderberry into our diet may have some immunity boosting effects and can be found in supplement form and can be difficult to ingest it in its natural form as processed forms of Elderberry are found more widely in the food industry.  

Elderberry

As with all new supplemental additions to your diet, check with a health professional before taking Elderberry in large doses. It can have a diuretic effect so drink plenty of water with it and avoid if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.  

Elderberries are also high in Vitamin C, which as we have already established, has been widely used to treat the common cold by supporting cellular functions of the immune system, directing immune cells to the site of infection and defending these cells from free radicals.  

Extracts of black elderberries have been used in studies to confirm the positive effects it can have on the severity and length of influenza. Subjects found a significant improvement in symptoms, after just 2-4 days, whilst those without Elderberry took between 7-8 days to see any improvement at all. 

The Elderberry is packed with antioxidants, in fact, the anthocyanins and flavonoids in Elderberries have 3.5 times the amount of antioxidant power of Vitamin E, and we know these to be hugely beneficial to us and that they help prevent chronic disease.  

One particular study showed that Elderberry polyphenols produced more white blood cells, which in turn supported the immune system offering it more stability.