When the subject of a food allergy comes up, most people think that it’s something you’re born with and all you need to do is stay away from the offending food.

Well, it’s not quite as simple as that.

Here’s why:

The elite eight

Currently, the eight most common allergenic foods in the US are:

• Wheat
• Corn
• Soy
• Eggs
• Dairy
• Meat
• Sugar
• Peanuts

These are also foods that are very abundant in our diets.

But they are causing more problems than they ever did before—that’s because our food supply has transformed dramatically, and our bodies are seeing these molecular changes in our foods as a danger and reacting with an allergic response.

Here are some ways these foods have changed over the years:

There are over 30,000 different varieties of wheat, but in the United States, we only grow one for human consumption. 

Over the last several decades, we’ve been hybridizing that one species of wheat to increase its gluten content…and now our wheat contains nearly double the gluten that it did just 50 years ago. 

We are not biologically designed to handle that much gluten…so our bodies are instead reacting as if the gluten is a dangerous invader.

There are many varieties of corn, and the corn grown here in the US is vastly different from the native corn in places like Mexico and South America.

Corn has also been hybridized to death, and now it’s also genetically modified and used in countless products (without requiring GMO ingredients to be spelled out on the label).

GMO crops can create varieties of proteins that are foreign to your body…and it remains unknown how your immune system may react down the road.

Soy has been used for centuries in Asian countries as a protein source, and these cultures have typically fermented it to make it more digestible. 

Well, we’ve taken a wide left turn in the US because it’s not always fermented so it can cause digestive fireworks down below.

Plus it too is being genetically modified. 

Gone are the days when chickens could roam and graze freely in fresh green pastures.

Now they’re subjected to horribly inhumane, filthy conditions—miles of them are stacked on top of each other, with their wings and beaks clipped and their claws pulled out so they won’t hurt each other.  The wastes are abundant and the chickens are stressed to the max.

These conditions most assuredly affect the quality and nutritional integrity of their eggs (and meat too).

Additionally, they’re injected with hormones and antibiotics which make their way into you when you eat their eggs.

The lactalbumin in human milk is vastly different from cow’s milk, and both are different from goat’s milk.

That’s why babies may start having reactions to cow’s milk once they’re weaned, and other people who react to cow’s milk find they can tolerate goat’s milk.

In addition, cows are also subjected to inhumane conditions and are injected with antibiotics and hormones which become a part of their milk.

The drug injections and inhumane treatment of animals also carry through to the meat they produce for our consumption. 

Conventionally produced meat contains antibiotics and hormones, plus you are eating the muscles of an animal that is stressed, sickly and living in a filthy environment.

Sugar is murder on your friendly gut flora and can hamper your immune functioning--just one teaspoon can depress your immune system for up to 5 hours!

Our bodies have the capability to cope with about 2 teaspoons of sugar a day. 

Considering that the average can of soda alone contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar, it’s easy to see that many of us are assaulting our bodies day in and day out and taunting our immune systems.

8-  Peanuts

Our production of peanuts hasn’t radically changed, but what has changed is that peanut oil is used in vaccines…and this can trigger an immune response to peanuts.

How to combat food allergies

Here are four smart strategies that can make a big difference in combatting food allergies.

Many people have noticed that when they eat organic meat, eggs, and dairy, they don’t have the allergic reactions they had with conventionally produced products. 

Plus organic products by their very nature do not contain GMO ingredients, so you are avoiding that concern as well.

Seek out farmers’ markets and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs to help control the cost.

It’s easy to avoid hidden allergens in processed foods when you stick to real foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs.

Research has shown that probiotics can significantly reduce allergic reactions to foods, especially the strains Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus casei.

Seek out a top-quality multi-strain formula that has these three allergy-fighting superstars.

A healthy functioning immune system is your best protection against viruses and infections.  If you do choose to vaccinate, read the package insert in its entirety prior to injection.  Package inserts for all vaccines can be obtained at www.fda.gov.